FRIDAY
Our last day at KMJ, sports day! We started with nursery 3 who were very excitied and all wearing their PE kits! We split them into 2 teams and set them up as relay races - although this was much harder to do than you think!! We started with the bean bag race - they needed lots of encouragement to actually race! This was followed by the egg and spoon race with some very careful runners. The boys were much more cautious than the girls. This was followed by a running relay race and finally the sack race!!!!!! The children absolutely loved this race and needed no encouragment. We promise there will be pictures up tomorrow (wednesday). The pictures are brilliant. We said goodbye to Nursery 3 and moved to Nursery 2.
Again in Nursery 2, more orgainsed teams(!), we did the bean bag race, egg and spoon race and introduced the three legged race. The children thought our demonstration for the three legged race was hilarious - they were also higly amused watching each other. Some children got the concept of this race, however some needed an escort (ready to catch!) yet all managed to stay on their two legs of should we say three. The last race was the scak race - again very well enjoyed. We left the sports equipment with the teacher to use again. The promised they would use all resoucres given to them to maxium effect. They also said they had learnt alot from us anbd we have learnt alot from the children and teachers.
In the evening we met up with Linda, who works in The Gambia, to learn more abou the Gambian curriculum in lower basic, roughly equivalent to English primary schools. We learnt such a lot and have a broad understanding of how the curriculum works in The Gambia. Our evening was finished with possibly the best Pizza in the Gambia. We went to Sene-Gambia, Paradios Pizza!
SATURDAY
Today we went to visit the little boy we sponsor. His name is Nuha. He goes to a nursery school in Jambanjelly, near to his home. As usual Wandifa did a fabulous job of pointing out interesting aspects of Gambian life. As this is Dan's first visit to a more rural area this was particularly interesting. We got to go to Wandif's brothers compound to see the goats! Wandifa insisted we took photos of the goats new bed to show Pippa! Unfortunately his brother was out so we only got to meet the goats! We arrived at Nuhas compound to lots of smiling faces. One minor problem, Nuha had gone to play hunting for the day. Luckily his father went to find him on his bike. Wandifa suggested we send out the search and rescue dogs, like in the police programmes. While we waited, Dan finally got to play football and Lauren played catch with the girls. Finally Nuha was found and we had a few presents for him (a pair of chelsea shorts and two t-shirts) He was very proud and put them on straight away!! We gave his parents a small goodie bag for the whole family and then took lots of family photos. It was time to head back to spend the rest of the afternoon by the pool, before the storms set in.
SUNDAY
Today was Dans big day! His locks have now been braided. We have spent the day at Fatoumatta's compound (this is the girl that Laurens family sponsors) Lauren really enjoyed meeting the family again and had a few presents for them. Fatoumatta and her mum were really happy with their presents. Fatoumatta's mum started to braid Dans hair (which was more painful than he expected!). Half way through the braiding we were treated to lunch - chicken domada, it was lovely (for those who are unsure of what this is, it is chicken with rica and a peanutty sauce.) Afterwards the braiding continued and Wandifa decided to have a go on Laurens hair. Before we knew it, it was 4o'clock and Dans hair was finished! We have had a great day chilling with the family, Yankuba, Wandifa and Abdoulaye. On the way back the two youngest children fell asleep, this matched how we were feeling!
MONDAY
Our last day, we went back to the market to do some last minute bartering. After we left the market we went back to the hotel to relax and enjoy the rest of our last day.
We have had an absolutely fantastic time out here and have learned lots about the Gambian way of life and our own teaching! We want to saay a big thankyou to everyone who has supported us and donated money towards resources. We are really grateful as were the teachers and children who received them. We believe they will be used to their maximum potential. We hope you enjoyed reading the blog. Please, Please, Please, Please look at the blog on wednesday, as we will have added more photos which should bring our blog to life.
Lauren and Dan.
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