We thank all the supporters of the Friends of Govi who have helped GOVI achieve its principal objectives in 2006. These were that many visually impaired children were receiving an education, food and living a style of life they would otherwise have been denied if the GOVI Resource Centre did not exist.

During 2006 the number of pupils increased both within the school and those integrated into mainstream schools. At the end of the year the first nursery class of children was also settling in.

When Joan and I made our first visit to the school in 2006 we found it in excellent condition and very clean.. But the head teacher then dropped a bombshell: the World Food Aid (WFA), which had been supplying the main part of the children’s food, had been withdrawn from The Gambia. WFA needed to concentrate its resources on the most needy parts of the world. But the GOVI school was down to its last few days of rice and other supplies when we arrived. A visitor to the school came to the rescue and went out and purchased £100 of foodstuff. This provided time for the Friends of Govi to sort out a proper supply.

Much of the organisation of this was carried out by Lamin Saidy who is a member of the Friends of GOVI. During the year he frequently called at the school, liaising with the head teacher, Sarjo Bajinka, and the GOVI board, finding out any problems or requests for maintenance and stationery requirements. Smaller matters were dealt with and larger issues were referred to the Friends of Govi by fax or telephone. This made it a quieter year for us with fewer visits to the school.

At a special ceremony we met the newly-elected GOVI Board and were made honorary life members of it. The ceremony was a big occasion and many ladies wore beautiful African dresses.

Fodda Wadda, a long serving member of the Board who had been the treasurer and had become a friend, retired at the elections. At the ceremony he was recognised for his dedication and commitment to the visually impaired and to the GOVI Board. It was good to see more female members and one or two younger people elected to the Board.

The school was running well with increasing numbers of both children and members of the unplanned adult literacy class. The increase in adult numbers and the plans to start a nursery class meant a great demand for equipment and stationery. The head teacher, Sarjo Bajinka, requested that, if possible, the furniture, desks and chairs be replaced, as many were in a dangerous condition. Nor were there suitable chairs for some of the older pupils.

Lamin found that St John’s School for the Deaf had a very good senior wood and metal work class which was capable of fulfilling the contract. This contract benefitted the deaf and the visually impaired - a most satisfactory outcome. It was a busy but successful week.

During the summer Lamin kept in touch with general information and on one occasion informed the Friends that during a period of particularly heavy rainfall a section of the school wall had collapsed. The repairs were soon carried out.

Our annual three-week visit in November began badly as an email had not reached the Friends. The new board had tried to email us about drawing up a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This is a semi legal agreement between NGOs and charities which is unique to the Gambia. This problem also held up the production of a film needed by Muslim Aid UK for the launch of World Child Blindness awareness in London. The next two days were spent obtaining a template of an MOU and formulating and typing an agreement which would be satisfactory to both the GOVI Board and Friends of Govi.

We found that the pupils and staff at the school much appreciated the furniture produced by St John’s School. A further request by Sarjo Bajinka for a raised path between the two school entrance ramps to enable pupils to use white canes was agreed to.

The large end of the school was overcrowded due to the increased number of adults using it for literacy classes and space was lost due to areas being partitioned off for basket weaving and Braille machine maintenance. It was agreed to construct a new building for basket weaving and Braille machine maintenance. During this time a grant arrived from Muslim Aid to purchase Braille machines and other specialist equipment for the adult literacy classes.

Phillip Feller

 

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