Background

Gambia Tourist Support - GTS

As a result of a holiday in 1997 a small UK family established a unique charity in the Gambia. The simple aim was to create much needed employment and training opportunities for Gambian people,thus affording them the dignity of supporting their families.

GETS uk Trustees
& Advisors

Education
in Gambia

This proved of great value to both tourists and Gambians alike and eventually led to small profits, which were immediately ploughed into educational projects. These included the purchase of materials for schools or allocating materials donated by tourists; managing and monitoring correct use of specific sponsorship monies on behalf of the sponsors or by funding it from charity funds for identified students.

Baobab tree

Eventually, working with a local community they were able to actually build a school, staff it with Gambian teachers and arrange the support of visiting volunteers. Encouragement and support to assist communities to be responsible for running their own schools was also implemented with close attention to monitoring correct use of the hard won funding

By January 2004 GTS had management and/or funding responsibilities for 3 nursery schools and had, (working alongside sponsors), built a community library, a nursery school, and a sports centre .

The on going educational projects were from necessity balanced against the vital need to organise tourist support via trips, catering, driving and accommodation responsibilities to earn the funds to maintain employment. Both aspects of the charity's work were in danger of being overloaded.

Bakoteh
Community Library