Imagine life without things we consider staple products of most households, soap, stationery, simple pain relief. Students from Coleg Gwent’s Pontypool Campus recently visited Gambia, taking with them 18 suitcases filled with such items to rural areas where they are considered a luxury.
Fifteen students and four staff from health and care courses spent a week in the country, distributing materials such as medication, stationery and clothes to local nurseries, medical centre and community groups and saw for themselves how money they’d raised for the Gambian Longevity through Village Enterprises (GLOVE) charity was helping local people.
The trip has left a lasting impression on students, who experienced poverty but also the vibrant culture of Gambia, and a host of fun and generous people. “It was really, really great – a fantastic, experience,” said student Abbey Humphreys, 18 from Cwmbran.
In a completely different way of life to the one they’d left behind, students ate only local produce such as rice, chicken, spices and peanuts, and got stuck into working in the community: “It was a real eye opener, seeing the difference between the local schools in Wales where we do work placements and the schools we visited out there. They’re worlds apart. But although in comparison they have very little, the people are so happy all of the time!”
Living away from modern technology such as TV or the internet, students learnt about Gambian forms of entertainment and got to know local people. Abbey said: “We spent some time at the beach where GLOVE put on some African drumming.
“A young local boy who was passing on his way home from school joined in with the dancing and stayed for hours – he was a great dancer and so happy to meet us and join in. At the end of the evening I gave him my cardigan for his walk home, as by then it was quite cool and I was worried he’d get cold. It was just a cardigan to me but he was so grateful.”
The group also learnt how £1,500 they raised for the GLOVE charity is benefiting Gambian people, who have to rebuild their own houses from clay bricks every three years: “I didn’t expect the place to be as poor as it was, so it was quite an emotional experience to see how much they appreciate a lot of things like stationery, healthcare products and clothes, things which we tend to take for granted,” said Abbey.
“It was great for us to raise the money, take it out there, and then see how much the communities benefit from it and how much of a difference we can make.”
But the visit was just the start for the group, who still have the Gambian people firmly in their hearts and minds now they’re back in the UK. Students are hoping to reinstate a feeding programme at a nursery they visited, which ensures local children got enough to eat. It takes just fifty pence to feed a child for a week, but due to the economic climate the nursery’s funding has dried up, so Lecturer Leanne Johnson and her students are keen to get the programme up and running again.
This is the fourth time lecturer Leanne Johnson has visited the country: “It was another fantastic trip – the students certainly embraced the opportunities to see and experience another culture.
“They joined in with local activities and learned so much about how the people live, for example, the differences between the various tribes, their customs and beliefs.”
