past a small shack, which Kaddy disappeared into. After walking for another 5 minutes, we reached a shack, this was Tumbulu’s home. Tumbulu was working at the school with us and a big part of all the work. His wife and mother-in-law were there along with all his children. They invited us in to his home, found us all chairs and then gave us the red juice which was nicknamed ‘magic juice’ by us due to it soothing your throat after a very spicy meal. He


then proceeded to give us all a necklace he had got for us. I don’t think you would find many people in Britain who would invite 20 strangers into their home, give them drinks and then a gift!


Eventually the day that we would be leaving dawned. I think we all knew it was going to be difficult. It was a weekend morning which meant it was strangely quiet as we walked outside to get breakfast. The day seemed to go at a fast speed throughout the day. The children arrived and we were excused from work. This meant we were free to spend the whole day playing games and (unfortunately) braiding hair! One of my favourite parts of the day was when I was sitting with the group of girls and several other people in our group and Mussa. When he asked me to tell the story of Cinderella, the stories just carried on from there. Around 3pm we were invited to a ceremony that the headmaster and Mr Jobe held for us. Walking over to the middle of the grounds we approached a small gathering of plastic chairs sitting opposite a table with an important looking man sitting behind. There was a choir of prefects singing several songs such as ‘Friends are like Flowers’ and several others, in between the moving speeches from the senior teachers, the children crying, the presentation of certificates and a short speech from Roisin thanking the school. It got emotional and I, like many others, were holding back tears. We went back to the room we were sleeping in and collected the last few items into our backpacks. Much too soon, Mr Ralls told us we had ten minutes to say goodbye and get on the bus. It was sudden, and that moment of comprehension that we were actually leaving suddenly dawned. I turned around and all the children I had got close to were there. They ran up to me, and we hugged and laughed. I told them another story and promised I’d be returning the following year. Mr Ralls then called us to get on the bus; Kaddy then threw her arms around me and begged me not to leave her behind. Jenny Alice walked over and we played one last game of ‘Hokey Cokey’. Once again sir called us onto the buses. I started walking to the bus and the children were outside, crying. It was horrific to say goodbye. You could hear them crying even when we were on the bus. I don’t think anyone on our bus had dry eyes,. As soon as the bus started to move away, the children ran after the bus. It was heartbreaking to see them standing at the school gates as we drove away, leaving them behind.


Since returning to the UK, I have had several emails from the girls and I even had a phone call from Kaddy in which she sang a song to me that she had actually written, It meant a lot that she had used her own money to phone me. Still now, four months later, I got an email from Fatou yesterday. The Gambia was an amazing experience which I would recommend to anyone. It has left me with fantastic memories, new friendships and a new perspective of the lives that we lead.


By Keira Andrews 154


Gambia


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