Care and Welsh Baccalaureate students from Coleg Gwent’s Pontypool Campus braved the chilly weather in support of school children in Gambia last week. Students ditched the bus to get a taste of what life’s like for many school children in The Gambia who have to walk miles to school every day.
After the seven mile walk from Goytre Wharf to Pontypool Basin, the group are now well on their way to collecting their sponsorship target of £400.
The money they raise from sponsorship will go towards helping the village of Cheesay as part the Glove Project, which works in partnership with rural village communities in The Gambia to reduce poverty, promote education and improve health.
Some of the students who took part in the event will experience Gambia for themselves next April, when they visit the village of Cheesay, taking with them much needed supplies including medication, stationery and clothes which they will distribute to local nurseries, medical centres and community groups.
Lecturer Leanne Johnson joined the students on the bracing walk which took two hours and fifteen minutes: “The weather was very cold, but everyone was determined to complete the walk for the Glove Project,” she said. “All the money raised for the Glove Project will go directly to helping Gambia’s rural communities, as students will be paying for the visit in April themselves. We are very much looking forward to our visit to Cheesay in April.”
