Overview of Clear Waters

The Gambia

Background

Michael and Angela Faal have been travelling to The Gambia since the mid-eighties, Michael's father was born there.  Africa is a place where in a short time you can become swamped by the poverty, but more obvious is the physical toil and the emotional struggle people have to endure just to get through an average day, especially women (Jegane).

The Faal family compound is situated on a main road and at the front of the house the community located a stand pipe which consisted of a small flat concrete base and a single tap, you would have to get up very early to be first in what would quickly become a very long queue.

We would often see a lone women arrive at the stand pipe with a babe strapped to her back, a toddler in hand and a bucket on her head.  After considering how we could help we decided to try and fence a small area adjacent to the stand pipe creating a small creche, and train a carer to look after the toddlers so their mothers could return with the water and get a little organised at home before picking up the child.

After returning to the U.K. we thought of little else and wondered how we could raise the money.  Quite by chance at a family gathering after telling this story to friends, a man who was the Director of Playsafe U.K. a playground installation company showed an interest in helping.

Within a couple of months Playsafe had collected from clients, a multi-play system with swings and a slide, a play train, a play boat and were planning to come to The Gambia and lay safe rubber flooring over the whole area of the playground.  As there is only one other playground in the whole of The Gambia, situated in the capital Banjul, the whole of the community were fully involved in the development.

We decided to build a new standpipe area with a roof and once we confirmed this we had all the help necessary from the Goverment.  A duty waiver was granted and after fundraising to ship a container we finished the project in November, 2004.  Until our registration in October, 2007 we have worked tirelessly on several other projects and work is ongoing.

• Mothers
• Infants
• Elderly
• Disabled

For technical support please visit the online

support site www.help.ik.com