The Lord Lieutenant, Mrs Mary Fagan has become patron of a project to raise funds for a remote school in the Gambia. Soma school lacks the basic facilities that our children take for granted. Currently the 34 staff deliver lessons to 1,450 children in classes of between 50 and 60 in extremely difficult conditions.
Classrooms are inadequate and there is nowhere for the teachers to prepare lessons.
There is no kitchen or food store on the site. There is one tap, and toilet facilities are pit latrines. The school lacks electricity. Often the children walk several miles to school and women of the town provide refreshments for them. Since becoming involved in the project the Lord Lieutenant has been impressed by the generosity of the pupils and parents from schools across the County, and by the contributions from individuals who have heard about the project.