LATEST NEWS

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Central National Europe purchased 610 custom-made Christmas cards.

The money will again support our partner project, The Glove Project, helping amputated children in the Gambia.  https://www.gloveproject.life/child-amputees

More info soon.

This year I decided to stick with the woodland animal theme again and paint a content snowy owl, with the slogan: Proud to work with the whooo is whooo of the business.

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Finally, we were able to retrieve our parcels from the container. One is still missing. But the items for Animal Care Home Gambia have all arrived as you can see below:

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About 1.5 months ago, we took in two male puppies (around 5 and 7 months old), that would have ended up on the streets, just like so many other dogs in the Gambia.
Of course they had mango worms, so two days ago, they got treated, dewormed and their first vaccinations. On the photos you can still see the scarring by the maggots (mango worms)
Today they'll get neutered and we'll buy the rest of the necessary vaccinations at the pharmacy to take to the vet, so they had a full service and are safe from rabies and other gruesome diseases and so they can not contribute to the overpopulation of (stray)dogs by producing puppies anymore.

Big trouble and little trouble have been called Sparta and El Chapo (not by us). 

They got their new collars and leashes (reflective for safety) and a ball. They play with it all day because it even "loses" treats - there's nothing more exciting. 

About mango flies:

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordylobia_anthropophaga

Cordylobia anthropophaga, the mango fly, tumbu fly, tumba fly, putzi fly, or skin maggot fly, is a species of blow-fly common in East and Central Africa. It is a parasite of large mammals (including humans) during its larval stage.[1] C. anthropophaga is found in the subtropics of Africa and is a common cause of myiasis in humans in the region.[2]

Female tumbu flies deposit around 300 eggs in sandy soil, often contaminated with feces. The hatched larvae can remain viable in the soil for 9–15 days, when they need to find a host to continue developing.[4] If a larva finds a host, it penetrates the skin and takes 8–12 days developing through three larval stages before it reaches the prepupal stage. It then leaves the host, drops to the ground, buries itself, and pupates. It then becomes an adult fly able to reproduce and begin the cycle all over again.[5]

Trigger Warning!

If you can stomach it, there's a video of the larvae (example): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt_erMDrzcw

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The container with our donations has finally arrived. After a lap of honour via Las Palmas, Spain. Rumor has it, that there was another ship docking already, that had to be unloaded and there was no capacity for our ship. Whatever the reason was, there was a delay of almost 2 weeks. Now the red tape has to be dealt with and then we should be able to retrieve our parcels.

Animal Care Home Gambia needs their pens and cages very badly, since there had been a recent influx of stray mothers with puppies. They were all in bad conditions and needed medical treatment (flesh fly maggot wounds, that are very dangerous, mango worms, wounds, malnutrion) and a safe environment to decompress and recover.
Unfortunately, some of the puppies have tetanus and die one after the other, as some cruel person had cut off their wee tails before they were being rescued. It is absolutely devastating to watch, as there is almost no chance to save them. Their bodies become rigid, they can not eat, they suffocate, as their chests are cramping, it also leads to heart failure... (photos of these puppies below)

You see, how important that organization's work is for animals, that don't have any help otherwise.

Have a look at their work there: https://www.facebook.com/HappyAnimalsHappyPeople

 

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This year we are also supporting The GLOVE Project's child amputee programme

https://www.gloveproject.life/child-amputees

The profit from the Christmas card sale is mainly going to this project.

I'll update more detailed soon.

ABOUT THE CHILD AMPUTEE PROGRAMME

Here in The Gambia those with disabilities are frequently marginalised, ostracised, socially isolated and many (children) are abandoned. There is no Government assistance and generally the cultural and societal belief is that these people can achieve little more than being street beggar’s.

This is the harsh reality.

The Glove Project's Juvinille Amputee Programme started in February 2019 when they came across 15yr old Dembo. Child Amputees are frequently not at school, being deemed unworthy of the expense of uniform, books, shoes etc in a Country where money is a scarce commodity. Why spend scarce resources on a child  deemed unlikely to become anything other than a street beggar.  These children are frequently neglected and hidden away.

THE PROSTHETICS

Are old and cumbersome, heavy and ugly frequently the children sizes are not available and the team have to cobble things together. Whilst these are free the sockets to fit the stump have to be molded and made to fit the individual and it is these materials which have to be paid for as well as transport to and from the prosthetic centre in Banjul.

HOW THE GLOVE PROJECT DOES THIS

"Spend time visiting the child and care givers at their home, the children are rarely with their mothers and fathers, rather  with extended family, frequently living in abject poverty.

Purchasing the fitting of a prosthetic leg and rehabilitation onto that leg.

Ensuring the child has a place at a school, funding uniform, books and all necessary equipment. At times including school feeding if under nourished which most are.

Purchasing bicycles to promote mobility and social standing. To have a bike is a considerable achievement here and quite a status symbol for a child.

The distances to school are frequently too far to walk on the old prosthetic legs that are available and without a bicycle, attending school would not be an option for most of these children.

Supplying sacks of rice which is the staple food, to the family so as the child is seen to be of some value and to promote improved nutrition.

When donations allow clothes and shoes are given.

We undertake regular home visits to monitor the child and to encourage acceptance and value by the family, promoting love and involvement by the local community.

We find and fund apprenticeships for the older children.

We monitor growth and fund replacement prosthetic fitting as the child outgrows their limbs. New prosthetic limbs are needed approx. every 6 to 9 month depending on growth rate. We monitor for bones growing through the amputation site and arrange and escort for Orthopeadic reviews. This may mean re amputation or trimming of the growing bones is necessary and timely intervention is required along with intensive post operation care."

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Today, we loaded some parcels in a container going to The Gambia.
This time, we also support a little organization, called "Animal Care Home Gambia", that is helping cats and dogs.
They take in injured, homeless and orphaned pets and are in urgent need of kennels and pens for their patients. These are not easily available in The Gambia, that's why we send them. We also added some wound desinfectant, cat and dog toys and other little surprises.

Have a look at their work there: https://www.facebook.com/HappyAnimalsHappyPeople

If you want to support them, please let us know. They are always in need of pet and medical supplies.

We also added 3 big boxes of clothings and other necessities for families again.
The container will be on the way by 02 January 2024.

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Central National Europe purchased 500 custom-made Christmas cards.

The money will contribute to various projects, that are still in need of funding.
We'll also send some urgently needed things in a container before Christmas.
More info soon.

This year I decided to stick with the woodland animal theme again and draw a wild female brown bear, that I met in the Slovenian forests last September.

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In the night of 12 to 13 July 2023 The Gambia heavy rains and strong winds have caused quite a lot of damage again. Even our little car got damaged by a citrus tree, that had fallen and broken a window. (FYI: No donations are being used to repair this damage)
But of course, other neighbors were more seriously affected.

Amadou's house lost large parts of the roof and had to be repaired as soon as possible, as more rainfall was to be expected very soon.

We were able to supply beams and covered the costs for a new corrugated metal sheets to replace the damaged parts of the roof.

Luckily, during the weekend friends came together and managed to finish the repair job.

Many thanks to the donors who made this quick help possible.

Please consider donating.

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

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Central National Europe purchased 572 custom-made Christmas cards.

The money will contribute to various projects, that are still in need of funding, such as the destroyed house.

This year I decided to stick with the woodland animal theme again and draw some sika deer looking at the company's logo.

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Central National Europe purchased 500 custom-made Christmas cards.

The money is going to contribute to the building of the house that got destroyed in this year's windstorm, which also killed the family's father and left the mother and children homeless. (See news updates on our homepage)

 I painted all 7 foxes in water color and assembled them so it looks like they are interacting with the company's products.

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Our volunteers are working in their spare time, so mainly on weekends.
This is how we are able to save costs for workers and the donations can go exclusively into purchasing of materials. 
We are very grateful for everyone's support.

Building a houses is not cheap, even in Gambia.

We still need your support, please.

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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Part of the walls have been erected already.
The house is going to have 3 rooms.
Don't let the construction technique confuse you. There is a foundation beneath the walls, made of reinforcing bars and concrete. The concrete floor will be added later on.

Building a houses is not cheap, even in Gambia.

We still need your support, please.

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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Rainy season is finally over.
We had some more sand delivered for the construction of the foundation.
Currently things are a bit slow due to the lack of volunteers helping to rebuild. We hope to find more workers asap. 

Building a houses is not cheap, even in Gambia.

We still need your support, please.

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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After 4 months, our container has finally arrived in The Gambia and we were able to clear it from the port and transport everything to our storage, until we're there in person and able to distribute everything to the families needing them badly. Only certain items will be distributed earlier by our local contacts/members at our disposition.
Nothing seems to be missing or damaged, only the packaging suffered a bit. But we'll see once we arrive in The Gambia next time. Unfortunately, (due to the new government and its regulations) we had to pay customs and transport this time, so I hope to sell many Christmas cards this year to cover the costs.

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Due to the almost permanently bad weather (rainy season), it is not  easy to make progress on the construction site. 

The Gambia was hit by another storm last Friday around 11.30 p.m.

A woman in the neighborhood was hit in the face by a flying debris (allegedly an iron gate) and got killed.

The storm also destroyed the maternity ward of Fass Njaga Choi. It had been built by the VDC and a charity called HELPING CHARITY.

At the time of the storm, there were 2 women in the station. One birth went smoothly and the mother and child could be discharged, but the other had to be relocated because the roof was leaking heavily. Rainwater poured from a the cardboard ceiling panels onto the beds and the entire floor of the ward.

The ward serves the catchment of 19 neighboring villages, so the roof has to be repaired asap - just like so many other buildings.

The neighbor who took the widow and her children in now also has (partly) no roof - see photos.

Some good news at the end: Another neighbor donated 5 bags of cement to the family to help rebuilding their house.

Building a houses is not cheap, even in Gambia.

We still need your support, please.

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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Thanks to your donations we were able to start already:

Construction started July 26, 2021.

Due to heavy rainfall partly with local flooding, it is not possible to work continuously.

Bricks are currently still being produced by hand.

Here some current photos again.

Building a houses is not cheap, even in Gambia.
We still need your support, please.

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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Thanks to your donations we were able to start already:

Construction started last Monday.

Due to heavy rainfall partly with local flooding, it is not possible to work continuously.

Bricks are currently still being produced by hand.

Here are two photos from Sunday.

Building a houses is not cheap, even in Gambia.
We still need your support, please.

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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Our container is already on a container ship near the coast of West Africa, after being reloaded in Las Palmas.

The current position of MSC SANTHYA is at West Africa (coordinates 13.9211 N / 17.41457 W) reported 27 hours ago by AIS. The vessel is en route to the port of Conakry, Guinea, sailing at a speed of 14.4 knots and expected to arrive there on Aug 3, 15:00.

The vessel MSC SANTHYA (IMO: 8913411, MMSI 355363000) is a Container Ship built in 1991 (30 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Panama.

Let's hope, everything will go smoothly, as there have been reports of a broken loading crane at the port of Banjul.

Photo credit: miranda reiffers te loo

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Thanks to your donations we were able to start already:

Construction started yesterday.

With the first batch of sand and cement, some bricks were made by hand in a special mold. They now have to dry before they can be used for construction. In the meantime, the remains of the old house can be torn down and other necessary work can be started.

The on-site helpers worked for hours with great enthusiasm.

Building a houses is not cheap, even in Gambia.
We still need your support, please.

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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Thanks to your donations we were able to start already:

The first load of sand, steel and cement arrived yesterday. As we don't want anything to be stolen, everything (except for the sand) is stored with the neighbor.

There was an appeal to the neighborhood for as many people as possible to come and help with the construction work. Start of construction is planned for today.

We'll keep you in the loop.

Building a houses is not cheap, even in Gambia.
We still need your support, please.

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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This is the house of the family of a friend of ours. As you can see it got completely destroyed. They also lost their father that night. They are faced with ruin.

________________

 Update:

We talked to the widow, Fatou. D., and the neighbor, who took the homeless family in.

Her husband had saved the children first and was finally trying to leave the house with his wife. That's when the house collapsed. His legs were totally smashed by the rubble and his blood loss was too severe to save him. His wife also had a massive piece of the wall on her chest and couldn't move. Only the children were able to run to the neighbors and call for help. And as we've already told you, nobody had heard them.

Fatou's injuries got treated, but she also had a serious shock after the disaster.
Currently, they are staying with a neighbor, who told us, that he didn't know what to do. Nobody was helping so far and the family had nowhere to go. And this wasn't about to change in the near future, so they were stuck in their situation.

They were so mind-blown and relieved when we told them, that we'd help them rebuild the house by means of your donations.
The neighbor said, he'll organize people to work on the construction site. We'll send the material. This time the house will be built with cement bricks, since the mud houses are not solid and safe.

Also, there will be video/photo updates of the progress.

Meanwhile, I send you the sincere thanks from the widow, the children and the neighbor.

Building a houses is not cheap, even in Gambia.
We still need your support, please.

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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This is the house of the family of a friend of ours. As you can see it got completely destroyed. They also lost their father that night. They are faced with ruin.

________________

Full story:

An overnight windstorm in Gambia has killed more than 10 people, the National Disaster Management Agency said Thursday.

“The North Bank [Region] was hard hit...We recorded a minimum of deaths [there] and at least one in the West Coast Region,” the agency’s executive director, Sanna Dahaba, told reporters. (Stats from Thursday morning, meanwhile there are more victims)

The storm began late Wednesday evening, affecting at least 3,140 people and internally displacing 1,531.

- - - - - - - - - -

Our friend's family home was destroyed in the storm in the middle of the night. The father took his wife and children outside in an attempt to evacuate them, when a large part of the house fell on him. His wife and the children could not free him. So they ran to the neighboring houses, banging on the doors and calling for help. But since the storm was so loud and everyone inside sought shelter and hid, the neighbors believed that the noise was the storm. The family spent the whole night crying and unprotected next to the injured father. It wasn't until the next morning that the neighbors found them and called for help. The father was transported to one of the main clinics in the capital Banjul because of the seriousness of his injuries.

Tragically, our friend's father, who was buried by rubble from his house on the night of the storm, could not be rescued in the hospital and died from his injuries.

We want to help the family.

Perhaps there are a few among you who would like to support?

Please consider donating.

Reason: storm victim

DONATION ACCOUNT of GAMBIAid

IBAN: AT 31 3209 2000 0281 1289

BIC: RLNWATWWGAE

Please support us in our work.

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Finally, we're done loading our next container.
It took us a couple of days to sort, label, transport and store everything.
The loading list contains various things, from first aid materials, to school materials, toys, waterpump, irrigation, sewing machines, household articles, furniture, lighting protection, copy machines, computers, printers, various bags (office/laptop, school etc.), clothing, wheelchairs, mattresses for bedridden, child's bicycle, desks etc.

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Thank you very much to

Mr. Fritz Bugkel/ Bugkel GmbH  for donating a lot of nontoxic wall paint, mixing colors, a pallet truck, pots, dishes, cutlery, a toaster etc. And for transporting all the donations including the sewing machines and bike to our storage.
Your support is highly appreciated!

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Tanja Gutenthaler sent a leather satchel, scissors, pencils etc.

Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.
We are mainly collecting colored crayons, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, ruler, pencil cases, schoolbags.

Please do not send ballpoint pens, felt tip pens and other pens that are either empty quickly or dry out easily. We don't want to litter and there is no proper waste management in The Gambia. Thanks

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In cooperation with Goal for the Gambia, we were able to support a young widow and her children with 50 kg of rice.

A neighbor of one of Goal for the Gambia's caseworkers recently passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly, "... a relatively young Mam with a young family who are left devastated and fearful of the future without him. 

It was inappropriate to take a photo as she was extremely tearful but very grateful.  She is at a complete loss to know how she will manage after the sudden death of her husband and receiving this rice made her a little more at ease knowing she could feed her family.   The case worker who knows her is keeping an eye on her and trying himself , along with other neighbours to get her through these very dark times. "

Thank you very much for the donation, Helga Metzler!

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There is always a way to support charities. Since the donations we receive are very little and earmarked, I decided to paint a picture for the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust in order to support their projects. It can eg. be used for Christmas cards, be printed, auctioned... to raise money.

We are also still looking for bridles/snaffle bits (jointed or straight), small headcollars and other horse gear (donkey/cob size) in mint condition; max. 4-4.5 inches (10-11.5 cm), salt licks, dog crates medium or large size etc.

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Thank you very much to

DI Pia Anna Buxbaum for donating 2 industrial sewing machines including matching tables. One can be powered alternatively through a motor or a foot pedal, the other one with a pedal. They are ideal for areas without (reliable) power supply. These sewing machines can possibly generate at least 2 incomes and therefore provide for 2 families. The child's bicyle is ideal for eg. riding to school (there are no school busses).

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Thank you very much for a small TV, a cell phone for seniors and headphones. We will likely give both to either an elderly or handicapped person.

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Central National Europe purchased 600 custom-made Christmas cards.

With this money we are able to cover some of our expenses for the storage, which unfortunately is not free anymore.

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For this year's Christmas cards I painted a reindeer. You can see the finished cards on our homepage very soon.

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Margrit Windisch sent a parcel containing pens, pencils, exercise books etc.

Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.
We are mainly collecting colored crayons, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, ruler, pencil cases, schoolbags.

Please do not send ballpoint pens, felt tip pens and other pens that are either empty quickly or dry out easily. We don't want to litter and there is no proper waste management in The Gambia. Thanks

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Elisabeth Klammer sent a parcel containing pens, scissors, rulers  etc.

Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.

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A few weeks ago we were contacted by Valerie and Elias, students at the Oesede secondary school in Georgsmarienhütte, Germany.
They wanted to present our organization and our water project in the course of a geography project.

Here is the result of their efforts, which they can be very proud of: https://everyone-needs-water.jimdosite.com/

They even produced a video: https://youtu.be/p_LRUJDVQvo

Thank you very much for your support and the effort!

(Foto: https://gymnasium-oesede.de)

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In cooperation with Goal for the Gambia, we were able to support two families with 50 kg rice each.
Thank you very much for the donation, Helga Metzler!

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When we heard the news, that boarders had opened for goods trafic, we decided to send a part of our private donations to The Gambia.

Unfortunately, we cannot send a Container, because we have to be in Gambia for its arrival, so we can distribute and use the donations accordingly.

So, we sent a VW 70 D van, that we had bought ourselves and put some beds and mattresses inside.

The car will be used as Commercial car (taxi). It is going to Support a Family, whose father (=provider) had died. One of the sons is old enough to drive it.

The beds and mattresses are to large and of low value to be stolen on the long way to The Gambia, that's why we decided to put them inside the van.

Meanwhile, the car had been loaded and is on the way to Antwerp.

We also sent a pressure washer (privately financed as well), separately. Times are dire, but at least it's enabling to establish a car wash, which will again contribute to a family's income.

As I already mentioned, all this was privately financed.

All the other donations are still waiting for a Transport after travel restrictions are lifted.

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Update on solar fountain fundraising.
After some problems with the German donation platform betterplace.org, we ask for donations directly to our donation account.


Very brief summary of the events:

Since betterplace.org is, as already mentioned, is a German platform, we had great difficulties getting the collected donations paid out, which had been always easy before, but suddenly was no longer possible. In addition, our fundraising presence on the betterplace homepage was blocked.
In Germany it is relatively easy to receive a donation favor notification. In Austria you have to have an auditor (costs per year at least EUR 5,000.00) check the books of our non-profit, submit this to the tax office and then after a long wait you will get this notification. Our small association does not have these financial means and we still stand behind our statement that 100% of all donations should go to projects in The Gambia.

After some back and forth I was able to get a certificate of our non-profit status from the tax office (waiting period more than 7 months) by showing all the required information.

Fortunately, betterplace acknowledged it and after 2 further months the remaining amount, unfortunately minus processing and bank charges, was transferred to our donation account.
(Direct transfer would also be better because no platform can deduct any intrests)

When the donation chaos finally came to an end, Corona "happened" and unfortunately there are further delays. We cannot send a container as planned or travel to the Gambia and build the well. However, the plan is still in place and is being implemented reliably. We hope that our means will suffice because on the one hand, the donation goal has still not been reached and on the other hand, we also have storage costs that accumulate due to the many delays. However, these costs are not covered by donations intended for the well, but by separate income. Donations for the water pump will only be used for this purpose! We hope that we can hold out financially in the meantime.
We still lack almost EUR 1,700.00 for the tower construction, which we could not collect due to the blocking of the platform.

We very much hope that there will be positive reports again soon. Until then, we are grateful for any donation for the implementation of the project.


Many thanks to everyone!

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Barbara Hassler sent a parcel containing pens, pencils, crayons etc.

Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.

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Central National Europe purchased 440 custom-made Christmas cards.

With this money we are able to cover some of our expenses for the storage, which unfortunately is not free anymore.

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Barbara Nemecek sent a parcel containing pens, pencils, crayons etc.

Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.

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Today, we had a major transport of various donations to our storage:

Central National Europe donated several desks, computers and screens in mint condition, plus the transport (special thanks to Josef!)

 
Thomas Cook, even though having other serious problems, still thought of us. After clearing their office, they sent us many boxes of office material and gym bags etc.

Thank you very much, everybody!

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A parcel from Stefanie Anna arrived, containing pens, pencils, crayons etc.
Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.

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We received several parcels containing lots of school material from the "Farbengarten" elementary school in Allhartsberg, Lower Austria.

Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.

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Another parcel containing pens, pencils, crayons etc. arrived. Unfortunatly, the sender is unknown.
Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.

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In April, we received a major donation of crayons, pencils, sharpeners and erasers from Stifte stiften.

Why did we only ask for this kind of school supplies?
On the one hand, it means less waste, when being used. Felt pens, ballpoint pens etc. are being randomly disposed of somewhere (in the bush), when empty or dried out. On the other hand, this time the school material went to a very different destination than Gambia:
 
Part of this Stifte Stiften delivery went to Mozambique, to surprise a local primary school.
Since we couldn't send a container, I was limited to flight baggage. But of course, even these couple of kilos of school material was better than nothing. I also tried to show other travellers, that they can also make a difference how ever small the contribution. So, I hope I could encourage others to help as well in future.

The principal in Ponta d'Ouro (Ponta do Ouro), Mozambique, also hoped for future support. But unfortunately, we have to focus on our projects and areas in Gambia. I told him, that I'll encourage other travellers to take materials with them.

The school's name is Escola Primária Completa Ponta d'Ouro, a primary/elementary school, but also attended by up to 13-year-olds. There are more than 1000 students and because of limited capacities (space, teachers, means) it is operated in two shifts.
They teach Portuguese, of course, but among many other subjects, also English as foreign language.

The principal is very grateful and happy about the donations and expresses his heartfelt thanks to all donors of Stifte stiften.

The rest of the Stifte stiften delivery goes in our next container to Gambia, as usual.

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Leonie Rudelsdorfer sent us a parcel containinga pencil case, pens, pencils, crayons etc.
Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.

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We received some more printers (as good as new) by Ricoh, including a colour multifunction printer. Today a truck company delivered them to our storage at no charge.
Thank you very much also to Mr. Machowetz for the great organization and support!

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Susanne Unterkofler sent us a parcel containing a beautiful schoolbag and several pencil cases with pens, pencils, crayons etc.
Thank you very much!

GAMBIAid is a partner of stifte-stiften.de

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.

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Sandra Ramharter brought several big boxes with clothing and shoes. She's very dedicated and supports us in many areas.
Thank you very much!

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Central National Europe purchased 612 custom-made Christmas cards.

With this money we are able to cover our expenses for our new storage, which unfortunately is not free anymore.

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We received a parcel with craft and school supplies from EET Austria. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any sender's name.

Thank you very much!

We are the Austrian partner of "Stifte stiften" Germany.
http://stifte-stiften.de/gambia-stifte-ueberwinden-grenzen/

http://stifte-stiften.de/reiseexperten-schicken-stifte-geschaeftsreise/

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We received 300 ball pens from the travel agency Thomas Cook.

Thank you very much!

We are the Austrian partner of "Stifte stiften" Germany.
http://stifte-stiften.de/gambia-stifte-ueberwinden-grenzen/

http://stifte-stiften.de/reiseexperten-schicken-stifte-geschaeftsreise/

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Central National Europe purchased 765 custom-made Christmas cards. I designed them according to their corporate identity (colors, logo etc.).

With this money we are able to cover our expenses for much-needed items like printer cartidges, first aid materials, lighting systems, transportation costs etc.

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Today, we received a box full of crayons from Brigitte Taschner for the kids in Gambia.

Thank you very much!

We are the Austrian partner of "Stifte stiften" Germany.
http://stifte-stiften.de/gambia-stifte-ueberwinden-grenzen/

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One of our association members is currently in Gambia in order to take some donations in kind along (medicine, clothing and other materials)  and to push some of our projects:

Our privately financed building project has to be continued.

We have to find a  company for the construction of the tower carrying the solar panels of the water pump.

Principal Momodou Kanyi has also received the construction plans in order to contact possible companies and to discuss everything with the elders, the chief(s)/mayors and the villagers of Wassu. He also got two urgently needed printer cartidges.

At the moment Momodou is recovering from a difficult stomach surgery. He lost 18 kg and is barely recognizable. We hope, he'll get well soon.

We'd also like to thank our sponsor Brussels Airlines for granting a Humanitarian Fare Ticket!

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Today we received a donation of

EUR 1620.00

from a complete stranger, who believes in our project.

Thank you so much, Anita H. from Switzerland!

♥

This means, one maintenance-free solar waterpump is fully funded!

Next steps are getting in touch with the producer of the water pumps, funding the tower structure and tanks, and finding a sponsor for a container.

 I'll keep you in the loop.

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This year we organized a little market selling home-grown, partly exotic plants.

We had various plants from banana, pineapple, ginger to sunchoke, bloody dock, tomatoes etc.

Altogether we raised EUR 222.00!

As you can see on my photos below, the exotic plants such as banana and pineapple can yield fruit in Austria as well.

Just to remind you, what we are collecting donations for:

https://www.gambiaid.com/english/donate/

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Pumpmakers has recently assembled one of their waterpumps in Ndoki in Cameroon.

This is what it could look like in Wassu, Gambia as well.

Please support us with a donation!

Photos by Pumpmakers.com

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Last weekend we received three wheel chairs and equipment for bed-ridden people from Pauline Ostermuenchner and various clothing + shoes (includig some thick clothing ans shoes for Juma, in case it is possible for him to be treated in Europe) from the Punzet family.

Thank you very much!

While loading the car, we had a little stowaway that boarded, when we were not looking. Fortunately I heard a tiny noise coming from underneath all the things, when I found this young cat getting ready for a nap on a bag.

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Ibrahim Bah had suffered from meningitis when he was 10 years old. The disease affected his eyes and ears. He is still attending a normal school and has always been among the best 5 students in his class.
His commitment should be supported and rewarded.

To faciliate his studying we sent him a second hand laptop sponsored by netit.
And as you can see on the photos, he is already using it at school.
He and his family would like to thank the generous donor.

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We received 2 europallets (22 boxes) briefcases/199 pieces and two cardboard boxes with: worldmaps (rolls), 42 worldmaps (loose), 36 pen sets and 15 model trucks from FMS.

Thank you very much!

(Photos coming soon)

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We received 7 workstations, screens, a server etc. from CNE.

Thank you very much!

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In our last container we sent 85 IKEA solar powered desk lamps.

The children use them every evening for studying  and they help the families a lot in their everyday life.

Because of these lamps, each family could safe 50 Dalasi (about 1 Euro) a week, that they'd spent for candles before. Over a period of now 1 1/2 years, that's quite a lot of money for them.
Plus, these lamps reduced the fire hazard.

They say, that the desk lamps made their lives a lot easier.

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Thank you very much Pumpmakers for supporting GAMBIAid with a donation and adding our project to your homepage: https://pumpmakers.com/de/

This company is producing the maintenance free solar water pumps we're currently trying to raise the funds for - for the water supply of Wassu, Gambia.

>>Based on the latest technology as well as a sustainable and patented concept, Dietmar Stuck, an experienced Austrian well-builder, founder & CEO of Pumpmakers, developed the world’s first DIY Solar Pump in 2010 together with a team of engineers and constructors.

His goal is clear: “Pumpmakers aims at providing millions of people all over the world with access to safe, clean drinking water - and work. Our DIY concept offers a unique opportunity to all those wanting to start their own business. More importantly, it fosters self-sufficiency as it provide s people with the water they need for farming, for their livestock, and for growing their own crops, vegetables and fruit.

Our concepts therefore helps reduce worldwide water shortages and poverty.”<<

Watch the video below to learn how these pumps are making a difference!

Please support our project with a donation as well by clicking on one of the donation links to the right.

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4 banana boxes full of donated school materials by "Stifte stiften" for our next container have just arrived in our storage. Thank you very much!!!

Please keep collecting, the donations are going to make many children happy!

Austrian donors: Please feel free to send your collected items directly to us (not via Germany). Do not hesitate to contact us.

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IKEA Vösendorf made GAMBIAid officially a part of their social commitment program:  http://www.ikea.com/at/de/store/voesendorf/people_planet_voesendorf#soziales

(bottom of the page)

Thank you very much for your continuous support!

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Our partner "Stifte stiften" in Germany wrote a great and very detailed article about Gambia and our work there:

http://www.stifte-stiften.de/gambia-stifte-ueberwinden-grenzen/

"Stifte stiften" is a campaign by 1-2-3 Kinderfonds foundation. Children, adults, authorities and companies donate second-hand and new school materials for children in Africa.

"Stifte stiften" has already provided school materials for our container in 2015.

Thank you very much for the support!

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The parcel containing the printer cartidges etc. has finally arrived in Wassu, where it was already eagerly awaited. The final exams are imminent and the old toners were empty already.

Principal Momodou Kanyi (right) is thanking the generous donors.

PS: On the photo to the right, you can see the principal's office with one of the donated chairs, screens, keyboards, printers and some of the Mondi copy paper.

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Today I went to pick up some more donations from IKEA:

25 packets of MÅLA colored pencils, total value EUR 100,00.

The pencils are water-soluble, so with a wet brush the kids can blend colors in their drawing for creative results.

Each packet contains 10 natural solid pine wood pencils and a sharpener.

Thank you very much again for the support!

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The Niani Upper and Senior Secondary School finished 9th (out of 50 schools) in the tournament.

Five students even qualified to represent the school at the national competition next month in Banjul.

Congrats!

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The Niani Upper and Senior Secondary School is currently on the region's sports week. The athletes will be traveling to Bansang SSS (Bansang Senior Secondary School) for the inter schools sports competition for a period of four days. Wish them good luck!

Talented athletes in the secondary school system are expected to seek qualification to take part in the 2016 National Interschool Athletics Championship in various zones starting this weekend.

The Gambia Secondary School Athletics Association (GSSAA) will begin countrywide athletics heats with schools in North Bank and Lower River Regions at the Farafenni Mini-stadium this morning.

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GAMBIAid has now also teamed up with Labdoo!

Here is GAMBIAid’s link at Labdoo: https://www.labdoo.org/edoovillage?e=24205

Our “Labdoo Hub” is situated in Vienna: https://www.labdoo.org/hub?h=449

LABDOO is a humanitarian social network joined by people around the world who want to make our planet a better place by providing those in underdeveloped regions (both in the developing and the developed world) a chance at a better education. The goal of the social network is to send unused laptops, ebook readers, tablet-PCs and any device that can be loaded with education software to needy schools around the world using colaboration and without incurring any economic or environmental costs.

To set the ground, at Labdoo we call these unused computer devices dootronics, as in labdoo electronics. A dootronic is therefore any laptop, tablet, ebook or device in general that can be loaded with education software and sustainably transported to a needy school.

The world retires every year hundreds of millions of dootronics that are still in perfect condition. Simply by sanitizing and loading them with learning software, they can become a very powerful tool to unlock education around the world.

How is it possible to collect unused learning devices around the world and sustainably send them where needed without damaging the Planet? Namely, through the combination of two basic building blocks: (1) technology/information sharing and (2) massive global goodwill collaboration. To achieve sustainable organic growth and prevent damaging the planet, we use a collaborative grassroots social networking system. This allows Labdoo to globally unlock resources which are found in excess capacity (such as unused laptops, travelers, know-how, goodwill, etc.). Labdoo and its approach to help bring education around the globe has been acknowledged by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as "promoting a valuable and sustainable contribution to the development of educational learning in foreign countries".

How does Labdoo work and how can I make a contribution towards helping spread education? Through five simple steps:

• STEP 1. Tag your unused dootronics. Do you have unused laptops or devices that can be repurposed for education? or do you know a friend, a relative, an organization or a company who has them? then the first step is to tag the devices (the dootronics) you collect so that they can be efficiently organized inside the global inventory. To tag a dootronic, log into your Labdoo account (create your own account first if you have not done so yet) and from the menu located at the top of this page click on the option "Dootronics" and then the sub-option "Tag". In this step, the dootronic is marked with status S0 (tagged) or S1 (donated).
• STEP 2. Sanitize your dootronics. Once tagged, the dootronic needs to be sanitized and loaded with the education software. You have two options here: (1) you can do this process on your own by following the steps decribed in the sanitation manual; (2) alternatively, you can locate your closest Labdoo hub where you can bring the dootronic so that other labdooers in the hub can carry out the sanitation process for you. In this step, the dootronic is marked with status S2 (sanitized) or S3 (assigned to a school).
• STEP 3. Identify a dootrip. Once the dootronic is sanitized, we need to identify a CO2-neutral traveling resource that can bring it to a school. We call this type of transportation resource dootrip (as in Labdoo trip). Here again you have two options: (1) if you are traveling to a location near to a needy school, then register your own dootrip by clicking on "Dootrips" and then "Create" from the menu located at the top of this page and use your own trip to bring the laptop to a destination school; (2) alternatively, you can also bring the dootronic to your closest Labdoo hub where other labdooers can help find a dootrip resource to transport it to a school. In this step, the dootronic is marked with status T1 (in transit).
• STEP 4. Track your dootronics towards 'mission accomplished'. You can track the progress your dootronic makes towards reaching a school by selecting from the menu at the top of this page the option "Dootronic" and then the sub-option "My dootronics" (make sure you are logged into your account.) Click on the specific dootronic, you will be able to see information such as its current status, its geolocalization or its associated destination school. Play around, you will see that you have many different ways to track and contribute to the progress of your dootronic to complete its mission, including options such as uploading pictures, linking a dootronic to a dootrip, reviewing its historical records, and ensuring its status and parameters are most up to date, among many others. In this step, the dootronic is marked with status S4 (delivered).
• STEP 5. Recycle broken dootronics. The final destination of all devices is a recycling center, so that we can preserve the environment and eleminate electronic waste. If you detect that a deployed device stops functioning, you can change its status and request a dootrip to rescue it and properly recycle it. In this step, the dootronic is marked with status S5 (broken) or S6 (recycled).

To find out more, please follow the link: https://www.labdoo.org/content/faq

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Gambia soon will be proclaimed a kingdom ;o)

IKEA donated 135 stuffed toy kings for the children (total value almost EUR 1,000.00), plus 30 packets of chalk (EUR 60.00).

I went to pick up the donations this afternoon.

The car jam-packed, I was expecting a police escort for this royal transport.

Thank you very much to IKEA, especially to Nina Höfinger and Daniela Luther, for supporting us again!

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Yesterday, we packed a parcel with various badly needed printer cartidges for the schools and a camera for photo-updates by Principal Momodou Kanyi. The container will be leaving today and should arrive at Banjul harbor in about one month.

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Central National Europe purchased 550 custom-made Christmas cards. I designed them according to their corporate identity (colors, logo etc.).

With this money we are able to cover our expenses for much-needed items like printer cartidges, first aid materials, lighting systems, transportation costs etc.

Thank you very much also to the print shop Gugler for producing them at a NGO-price again and the support.

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Today we received two spare printer cartidges for the printer, RICOH has already donated in July 2015. The capacity of each is 11,000 pages.

Thanks a lot!

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The Raiffeisen Regionalbank Gänserndorf is supporting GAMBIAid with a donation account.

Ms Hofer, from the bank branch Schönkirchen-Reyersdorf, took the time to make a tailor-made offer to meet GAMBIAid's particular needs. We'd been looking for a bank that is as reliable and steady as possible, respecting their own employees and wouldn't push us to sign any contract, but taking the time for counseling. Plus, we are receiving 100 free pre-printed payment forms annually.

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Dehn Austria is promoting our project to offer at least a certain level of protection for buildings (and of course people) in Gambia.

Mr Andreas Kaltenbrunner, director of  Dehn Austria, was even kind enough to take the donated equipment all the way from Enns to Vienna.

We received about 20 kg round wires, 50 kg strips, earthing spikes, wall conductor holders, equipotential bonding bars and surge arresters.

Now we're able to equip at least 1 building (depending on the size) with lighting protection.

About Dehn:

• Fourth-generation family-owned company since 1910
• 1,600 employees worldwide, 1,300 of them in Germany
• 150 employees in our Product/Market Management and R&D/Construction Department
• 150 apprentices
•  4,000 devices and components
• 18 sales offices in Germany
• Sales in more than 70 countries as well as 18 subsidiaries and own offices worldwide

 Thank you very much for your support!

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