Far away friends
Hello my name is Lynn Deubert, and I have been a registered childminder for fourteen years, I live in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. I have now visited the Gambia four times and will be going for the fifth time later in the year. During these visits I have developed a special relationship with the people and a local nursery school.
In 2003, when my daughter was 14- years old, her friend Luke and his family invited her to The Gambia for a holiday. She came back with wonderful tales about the relaxed lifestyle and vibrant culture of the Gambians. She was also full of admiration for a woman in Bakau, Haddy Bojang, who managed a nursery school just down the road from the hotel. The school had been a corrugated tin shed with just one classroom and no toilets but now, thanks to Haddy’s leadership and financial help from English and Dutch supporters, there are now four concrete classrooms built on community land, housing 225 pupils aged 2 to7. I was very eager to follow in my daughter’s footsteps and visit the country that had enchanted her so much. On Christmas Eve 2004 my family and I flew to Bakau in The Gambia where I was lucky enough to meet Haddy. She told me there are no state-funded nurseries or schools for children under-7 in The Gambia because early years education isn’t a government priority. Once children turn 7, the government subsidises their education but many parents still can’t afford the £50 fee and, consequently, send their children to work instead of school. Haddy became headmistress of the Bakau Nursery School in 1969 because she wanted to give children a better start in life. Haddy relies on funds from private companies and sponsors to keep the school running. After touring the school and meeting many of its pupils, I decided to help Haddy by securing sponsors for the children back in the UK. I also wanted to forge a link between the children I mind and the children in Bakau so they could learn about each other’s cultures. As soon as I got home, I told my minded children about The Gambia and Bakau Nursery School and helped them to write letters and draw pictures introducing themselves to the children at the school. Before long, letters and pictures from The Gambia were sent to us. The children now exchange regular letters, drawings and photos with their far away friends. Some of their families even sponsor children at the school. We also celebrate Gambian festivals such as Ramadan and Tabaski, the Gambian New Year. With the help of the Terri Salmon and Mandy Gomersall chair and vice of Worcestershire County Childminding Association, I’ve also generated support for Bakau Nursery School amongst local childminders. Fourteen childminders all over the county, some belonging to Childminding Groups, now sponsor children at the school. They hold coffee mornings or raffles, or make generous personal donations. I collect the money, plus all of the letters and cards the children in Worcestershire have made, and give them directly to Haddy on my visits. Haddy and the children from the Bakau Nursery School also send letters to all of the sponsors, telling them about the day-today happenings at the school and their school reports, e-mails and photo’s. I really want to make a difference to the lives of children at the school and have made a long-term commitment to help them. My parents hold coffee morning and last year raised enough money to have new desks and chairs to be made for one classroom to be made by a local carpenter. My daughter is hoping to teach in The Gambia one day. The nursery at my local primary school, where I drop off and pick up my minded children, has decided to hold a Christmas raffle to raise funds for the nursery school in Bakau. So there’s been a knock-on effect from my interest and support for the school. I think my time in The Gambia has influenced my childminding philosophy. In The Gambia the children don’t have many toys but they play happily with things in their natural environment and learn naturalistically. I’ve realised that we can hinder children’s imaginations by giving them too many toys and stimulants. Now, I take the children for more walks into the forest and let them play with what they find and see in our communities. We spend more time doing simple every day activities together like visiting local parks, forest walks and markets. You don’t need lots of material items to help children learn and have fun we just have to look at our own environment. The people in The Gambia really value their families – they all live together in compounds as one big extended family –so formal childcare isn’t needed. Childminders may be unnecessary, but Haddy and the children at Bakau Nursery School think they’re wonderful. I’m known over there know as “Lynn the Childminder” – a label I wear with pride. I have now managed to get Haddy 28 sponsors over the past few years, and hope to get a few more over this coming year. Fifty pound a year it costs for each child to go to school in The Gambia, and each family has to find this money from somewhere if they wish their child to be educated. I feel every child should be given a chance of a good education. To us in the Western World it is not much money but to them it is a massive amount, and a good education could make their lives so different. The Gambian people deserve every scrap of help available to them not because they ask for it (most are often too proud to) but because I feel they are entitled to the same opportunities in this life as those who are born in the Western World. My aim is to help to raise funds for as many children as possible by telling as many people about this wonderful country. If you are interested in finding out more or sponsoring a child please contact me at: | ||
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