The only good thing about The Gambia being one of the poorest countries in world is that, by UK standards, the running costs of the school are relatively low.  For example, a teacher  in The Gambia earns £63 per month.

We have such a large spending power in the UK, many Gambians use all of their income to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, some cannot even manage this consistently.

To give you some idea of comparative wages,  the minimum wage in The Gambia is £4.37 per WEEK, someone on the minimum wage in the UK would earn more in two DAYS than a Gambian would in a YEAR.

Could you become a Baranku Benefactor by donating £10 (or more) a month?

This will ensure the school can pay the teachers, they can’t do this at the moment. It will also pay for essentials like toilet paper, pencils and exercise books, staff buy these at the moment.

Most parents cannot afford to make a contribution to the school, those that can make a regular payment.

The Gambian government only fund primary education for children aged over 7, and so the school doesn't receive any funding from their government.

To fully fund the school we need to raise £5,500 per annum, which, including some gift aid, equates to 40 people donating £10 per month, or 20 people donating £20 per month. This will ensure the school can pay three teachers, at the moment the two teachers are not paid and they look after three classes.   This also includes a Teaching Assistant to provide 1:1 support when this is required.  This will also ensure the school has cleaning products, chalk, toilet paper, books, pens, pencils, etc. It covers any small repair work that is needed to the building and taxes resulting from the building and the employment of staff.

For us in the UK, £10 is not a huge amount, but your £10, invested in Baranku School, will make a massive difference to the lives of the children who will be able to access education, it will also benefit the local community and the country as a whole.