Lexicon har de senaste åtta åren gett stöd till elever på Jofi Modern School i Gambia. Vi fortsätter även denna jul att ge ett helhetsbidrag för 2021 som täcker mat, lärare, utbildningsmaterial, lokaler och allt annat som barnen behöver för att få en god utbildning och kunna fortsätta utvecklas med nya kunskaper. Eleverna på skolan är mellan 4-13 år. Satsningen och bidraget görs i direktkontakt med skolan, alla bidrag går rakt till barnen och deras utbildning.

Tekniskt pedagogiskt stöd

Lexicon har även hjälpt till med att införa ny teknik i lärandet. Bland annat genom en Microsoft-plattform som lösning för skolans administration. Lärarna har även fått tillgång till iPads för att undervisningen ska breddas med fler tekniska inslag och variation.

Lars Sundelin, ägare Lexicongruppen:

- Det är ett utbrett problem att människosmugglare övertygar många i Gambia att fly till andra länder. Människosmugglarna tjänar pengar men för de som flyr blir besvikelsen oftast snart uppenbar. Många råkar ut för tragiska öden. Med kompetens stärks framför allt barnen, men även Gambia i sin helhet. Barnen vinner en stolthet och får starkare framtidstro. Kopplingen till utbildning gör att det känns naturligt för oss att stötta Jofi.

Covid-19 sätter extra stor press på skolan och landet

En hälsning och rapport om läget på Jofi School under rådande läge, av Fiona Kajue, co-director på Jofi Modern School i Gambia:

– Best wishes to all at Lexicon. With out you guys this school could not survive doing what we do ie providing free quality education to the poorest children so they have opportunity in life .

Here is a photo of some of your sponsored children wishing Lexicon GOD JUL. We hope everything is going well in Sweden, as far as is possible with Covid 19 . We were allowed to return to school on the 28th October 2020 and it was stressful, as most of the children and parents don't believe in Covid 19 and were reluctant to wear masks or follow covid 19 instructions. We take temperatures at the gate and then the children are sent to wash their hands at the bucket taps with soap. We do our best, but social distancing is not really that possible in this small school, however the infections are luckily low in the country at the moment.

Our senior teacher Mr Kabba had a serious collapse on the first day of school and was then off sick for 3 weeks, having hit his head on the way to the floor. He has recovered well, though has to take things easier, but it was a shock to us all. The day before it happened we ran a first aid class for our teachers, so they were able to put their training into action and did very well. Over the first 3/4 weeks many of our children all became ill with coughs and fevers and vomiting and we suspected covid, but everyone tested was negative. It was a scary time however it was down to another virus. During the first 3 weeks we had many things to deal with as we had almost 3 teachers sick every day as it hit everyone throughout school. The children had been sitting home for so long and seemed to have forgotten a lot, including even the national anthem.

We have spent this term trying to refresh their memories and get them all back on track. Many of them had been running very wild in the streets, without much adult supervision, so coming back to school was hard for them, but I am glad to report that school is an organised and calm place most of the time as they have now settled back into the routines. We are not doing any of our extra curricular activities this year such as drama or dancing and singing because the children need to concentrate wholly on their curriculum and catch up. It does seem strange that it is nearly Christmas and we have no parties to organise or a drama show to put on due to covid restrictions and the restricted budget. We will probably let them watch a Christmas movie on the last day and let them bring in snacks, but it will be study right up to the last day.

As many parents are struggling even more this year we have been encouraging children to return any old uniform, that is still in good condition, to pass onto other children and this has really helped several children.
We also are not seeing any visitors in the classes this year, as their have been no tourists and due to  covid rules, though we heard some did fly in this week, but again everything in the country is very subdued. Once again we all thank Lexicon for their support and the difference it is making to so many families here in The Gambia.

FLER KAN HJÄLPA

“Jofi school aims to give under privileged children an equal start in life.”
Läs mer här om Jofi Modern School.