The Travel Foundation

Children benefit in The Gambia

As part of the Travel Foundation's work in The Gambia, we've been supporting the development and running of a children’s centre in Jufureh village.

The children's centre has been providing extra curricular activities for the children, when they are not in school, and has been extremely popular - even oversubscribed at times! The aim of the centre is to reduce hassle to tourists by children, and to provide the children with educational activities.

Recently, the children were presented with new equipment, including books and stationary. The equipment was purchased with money raised by the sale of crafts that the children had made to tourists, and also tourist donations to the centre.

A little more about the project...

The villages of Jufureh and Albreda feature are part of the most popular excursion in The Gambia, made famous my Alex Hayleys book, 'Roots'. 

Historically, the villagers did not receive an entrance fee from visitors. Consequently, the desire to generate income led to tourists feeling hassled and complaints were common.

A new ticketing scheme, and the training of sixteen local people as guides, has brought economic support to the local community, and created a more enjoyable experience for visitors.

Read more about this project here.