The Gambia is predominantly a subsistence agriculture country. The tourist sector, which has recently rebounded after a decline due to political instability in the mid-1990s, earns most of the country s foreign income. Despite these difficulties, the government is clearly concerned with social provision in a country where both population density and growth are high and life expectancy is one of the lowest in the world. As a result, the government has initiated a Strategy for Poverty Alleviation, to enhance the productivity of poor people by improving access to and the performance of social services, building capacities at local level and promoting participatory communication. Education volunteers help to improve the quality of education at planning, training and classroom level.
Volunteers teach core curriculum subjects at junior and senior secondary schools.
Girls education is targeted where possible, including the current placement of a volunteer in the Girls Education Unit. VSO technical teachers teach in both mainstream schools and in vocational centres, in order to enhance the skills and employment prospects of young people. Volunteers also work where they can support education at national level, including management systems, policy and curriculum development. Current placements include a computer specialist and a careers adviser working with a technical training institute, a systems information manager working with the Education Department and two curriculum developers. VSO wants to increase its support of special education, placing teachers and trainers at special needs schools and at the national level in an advisory capacity, building on the success of current placements, which include a special needs teacher trainer working with the Education Department.