History

My involvement with The Gambia started during a short holiday  in 1993 when quite by chance I was invited by Famara Demba (our  Gambian Representative and Trustee of the DBF) to  visit the remote village of Nyofelleh. I spent much of the remaining part of my holiday at the village getting to know the people and the differences in our life styles

Famara talked about the desperate need of a school in the belief that the future of The Gambia depends largely on educating the children of today. So I offered to help him achieve his goal.

The Nyofelleh Primary School opened within a year with 90 Children on the roll, two untrained teachers, and no equipment other than a blackboard and some chalk. That was a great day. I’m happy to say that with help from friends and colleagues the school prospered

Due to the help of the World Bank the school expanded The Gambian Education Department adopted it. UNICEF provided books for 5 years and Water Aid provided a well. Nyofelleh School is now a Lower Basic School and is looking very established.

It became obvious that the people of Nyofelleh and the surrounding villages lacked even the most basic medical help. So The Derek Bailey Foundation, as we have become, decided to build a Medical Centre offering simple medicines. Little did we know at the time that the underlying need for medical care was far beyond our expectations?

The Village Development Committee took over the running of the clinic in 2008.

Our Newsletters on the following page will give you an idea as to what we achieved in Nyofelleh.

Joan Bailey - Treasurer