Posts filed under ‘News’
August – December 2009
Workshops NOT Talkshops!
August 2009
Diana and Saidou returned to the UK determined to raise funds to give the children’s ward a Big Smile makeover! On the 23rd August the Big Smile held an African Night fundraising event at the Lions Hall in Lancing and managed to sell 50 tickets for the cultural show including Gambian drumming and dancing as well as Gambian cuisine.
The event raised £504 of which half went towards the building of The Big Smile nursery school and the other half went towards the makeover of the Essau Clinic’s children’s ward. 2 further car boot sales generated the rest of the funds needed to paint the Essau Clinic Children’s Ward and purchase new mosquito nets and visitors chairs as well as covering the cost for the shipping of the bedding.
“I count my coppers get them changed at the bank and buy stationery supplies. I phone the airline and ask them for extra baggage allowance for free and they normally give me another 5kgs. I also now send the parcels by sea freight because the usual 20kg extra luggage allowance just won’t cut it!” Diana Saine
September 2009
The Big Smile gain support services from the George Alexander Group and join the Nations Unity Campaign to facilitate the presence of The Gambia for the first time at the annual Homeless World Cup through their street soccer project in partnership with the Late Lamin Saine Football Academy supported by Mbanyick Njie the Permanent Secretary for Youth & Sports. The ambition is to be recognised by The Homeless World Cup Foundation in time for the tournament in Rio de Janeiro 2010.
Saidou already knew the Group Director, George Parolalista from playing football for a Brighton-based ethnic unity team called Kopano FC which is run by Wayne James who originally introduced the Big Smile to George Alexander Group. Saidou is a former international goalkeeper and a local hero in the Gambia, he has made it his goal to ensure The Gambia is represented at the Homeless World Cup every year.
The Big Smile team were now growing in numbers and two new members arranged to travel with Diana, Saidou, Tony and Sandy on their next trip scheduled for January 2010. The new members were Yvonne Prosser, a sales professional working for Mars and a member of the Lancing & Sompting Lions Club and Carol Bailey, Yvonne’s best friend, who is assistant to the CEO of Inspire Leisure.
October 2009
Diana and Saidou were also approached by the father of a girl with congenital glycoma who had heard of The Big Smile project and the couple were able to influence the Lancing & Sompting Lions to underwrite the cost of the travel and accommodation in the UK which was paid for by the Chichester Lions Club.
George Alexander Group begin providing Diana and Saidou with opportunities to build their network across regional and international communities and start to map out Diana’s vision for the project in the future.
George facilitates the partnering and skills/resource sharing between The Big Smile Project and IT Skills 4 Rural Kenya, both causes begin meeting regularly and supporting each other’s aims, sharing contacts and resources.
November 2009
George Alexander Group introduce Diana & Saidou to the Global Voice campaign to establish a radio broadcast studio in The Gambia with an education outreach program for children and adults in basic learning, IT skills and media broadcasting.
Also in November, bedding provided by Bellerbys College in Brighton as well as toys and some basic medical equipment were shipped to the Essau Clinic.
December 2009
Jan Rust, head of the George Alexander Group Creative Division and Creative Director of Myidentity is appointed to create Big Smile brand identity. The Group also helped Diana and Saidou purchase the web domain for Big Smile, created a blog site and The Big Smile facebook group to begin work on mapping out the history of the project.
The facebook group targets doers like Diana and people who proactively encourage the efforts The Big Smile Project are making. Within the first 24hours of launching the group page, people such as Katryna Thomas Shell immediately got in touch to offer children’s clothes and toys.
Group Director, George Parolalista donated costs for the logo design as a Christmas present to the Big Smile. He also registered the Big Smile Project with a Creative Industries funding scheme run by Brighton Business Forum. He advised Diana to consider linking creative people and businesses from Brighton with the craftspeople from The Gambia by publishing their goods on a Big Smile Online Shop where they can post pictures and explain a little about who they are and how they make the products on display, thus empowering them to explore international markets with a little support from the city’s creative sector.
The Group also introduced The Big Smile Project to a global learning event run by the BCP and the URBACT Network of Social Enterprises. In attendance were international delegates from Social Enterprises from across Europe, local social enterprises, voluntary and community groups as well as public sector representatives and local and regional businesses.
The support from George Alexander Group has shown Diana how businesses and communities can work together for positive change as she was very much used to operating alone with her family and the Lions Club. Diana was able to gain fresh knowledge and meet lots of new contacts including The Body Shop’ s Head of Values & External Marketing who discussed the exciting possibility of funding the Big Smile Online Shop and the Big Smile Nursery School.
By now news came in that the Hospital Ward was painted ready for the final touches which would be applied when Diana & Saidou returned to The Gambia with the Big Smile team in January 2010.
“The efforts of The Big Smile Project team just weren’t being tracked or recorded at all – very much unsung heroes. We felt their work needed to be documented and communicated and it was clear to me that this small family mission had the potential to be a nationally recognised movement. We are really impressed by people with a compulsion rather than just a desire to make something happen and Big Smile shows just what is possible when such people come together.” George Alexander Group Charity Division
January to June 2009
To Infinity & Beyond!
Diana and Saidou travelled to The Gambia with 40kgs of clothes, gifts, educational materials, cottons, threads and anything else they could fit into their luggage allowance! They also shipped out over 60 children’s toys kindly donated by Donna Marshall and daughter Millie for the children of Barra.
The shoebox donations were building up nicely and with people donating : Soap, Deodorant, Flannels, Disposable Razors, Make up, Small Toys & Games, Books, Pencils, Pens, Felt Tips, Cotton T-Shirts, Baseball Caps, Plasters, Antiseptic Cream, Boiled Sweets (no chocolate please), Hair Clips/Slides/Bobbles, Underwear, Fashion Jewellery, Tooth Brushes and Toothpaste.
During their trip, Diana & Saidou distributed 10 shoe boxes to Hardem and his family in Brufut, Ansou from Serekunda, Alieu from Mayamba and Haddy & Fanna from Kanuma to name a few.
On their return to the UK, the couple continued to ship more and more items out to The Gambia virtually every month. Plans to build a Big Smile shop were also beginning to take shape.
June 2009
Diana and Saidou facillitated the ‘twinning’ of Ardingly & Kebbles Lodge Tenants Association with the town of Barra in the North Bank division of The Gambia. They met the chief and the head of the women’s association of Barra and the permanent secretary for youth and sports for The Gambia.
The Ardingly & Kebbles Lodge Tenants Association have now arranged to fund the repair of a water pump in Barra.
This was the first time Diana and Saidou had visited the Essau Clinic also located in the North Bank Division. The couple felt the children’s ward in particular could do with a makeover as the bedding and moskito nets were just not up to the job. Walls needed painting and visitors had no chairs so they tended to sit on the patient’s bed!
To be continued…
2008
First up, best dressed!
A few car boot sales later, Diana returned to The Gambia in March to see the family and help Saidou apply for his VISA. The documents came through in April and Saidou started work almost immediately with Brighton & Hove City Council where he has worked to this day without taking a day off sick, but even Saint Saidou couldn’t beat the snow!
The couple continued collecting all types of clothing they could get their hands on – everything from underwear and hats to jewellery and wellington boots! It wasn’t just clothing they collected, there were cameras, calculators, makeup, mobile phones, hair toggles and even decorative trays and footballs! Before they knew it, Diana and Saidou had accumulated a mountain of goods in the house they shared with their parents, Sandy and Tony.
In June 2008 Diana and Saidou travelled back out to the Standrard Chartered Orphanage in Kanifing and the Kaa Koli Kemo nursey school with funds to help with fees and supplies.
On their return – the couple saw a huge increase in the amount of gifts and donations being received with added support from the Lancing & Sompting Lions (www.lions.org.uk). Lions Clubs are an international network of men and women who work together to answer the needs that challenge communities across the world.
On the 7th August 2008, the very first Big Smile shipment was made to The Gambia using Redcoat Express.
Adama is now the manager of the BIG SMILE SHOP in Latrikunda Sabiji in Serekunda which is in Kombo St Mary’s in the South of The Gambia.
In 2008 however, Adama, who is a single parent mother of 3 children, would walk some 4 – 5 kilometers visiting each compound to sell the clothes and items shipped. Adama, would do this 6 days per week and generate an income to support her family. She proved to be a marketing whizz and originally asked for support to set up a market stall but Diana and Saidou decided to make plans to open a shop instead.
In December Big Smile received an extremely generous donation of around 60 children’s toys from Donna Marshall and her daughter Millie from Lancing. Diana met Donna during a train journey to work and they became good friends after realising they both travelled on the same train to and from work for years!
Please join our Facebook Group!
2007
February 2007
Love Is…
“Got sun burn, food poisoning and nearly died from an anti-histamine overdose!” Diana Saine on her Valentines experience! Diana returned to The Gambia in February 2007 for 2 weeks to make sure she’d be there for Valentine’s Day and to celebrate Gambian Independence Day (18th Feb) with her fiancé. The Gambia gained independence from Great Britain in 1965 with 35 chiefs celebrating the end of 300 years of colonial rule alongside the Duke and Duchess of Kent.
Following a cultural history trip with Saidou to Dakar, capital of Senegal and the Senegalese island of Goree where Diana met his sister, Ramu, for the first time, they travelled back to The Gambia to hand over £300 to the Kaa Koli Kemo school in Sukuta on behalf of Diana’s mum, Sandy, who had raised the money through a series of car boot sales.
June 2007
Saidou and Diana were married on the 9th of June following a funny mix up with the dates. Having made travel arrangements with their families for a ceremony on the 10th, they discovered on the 8th that the registry could only marry them on the 9th… Diana’s parents arrived late evening on the 8th which for most people would be a total disaster but the couple just found it hilarious – GMT = Gambian Maybe Time!
Saidou followed Diana to the UK in October 2007 and was particularly curious to understand what a car boot sale was all about. Below is the family guide to raising funds through Car Boot Sales!
BIG SMILE GUIDE TO CAR BOOT SALES!
Car Boot Sales are a profitable way to de-clutter the house. The Big Smile Project is happy to support and advise anyone wishing to raise funds for The Gambia on how to get started.
If your house is full of unwanted trinkets, toys and toot and you want to see the money raised make a real impact on the people that we reach then a car boot sale could be a fun way to spend a Saturday morning! To find your local car boot sale event, go to your local newspaper or council.
Pack the night before! Put your items in boxes so you can quickly pack your car in the morning. Take a collapsible table (wallpaper pasting tables are the best) and ground sheets on which to lay the items; make sure this is last in the boot so when you get there you can get them out first. Look at the weather forecast the night before to help you prepare efficiently.
NEVER put prices on things, you’re likely to lower the prices as the day goes on anyway! Try to research the going rate for your stuff and set in your mind what the minimum amount you will accept is. It doesn’t make sense to turn up, have a wander and then set your stall out – arrive early and get the early birds!
If you are selling clothes, people strangely pay more money for them when they are displayed on a clothes rail than if stuffed in a box! Invest in a money belt! Keep your funds with you at all times.
There are professional car-booters that arrive early and they sell and buy, so be prepared for negotiation on your best items early on in the day and try not to let things go for too cheap.
Always move things around if some items aren’t selling – it makes other things more prominent and it also pays to try and match up items that may go together – like towels for example.
A useful tip is to create a sign stating EVERYTHING MUST GO! If you’d like some BIG SMILE point-of-sale material to display at your stall then please contact us on info@bigsmileproject.org
Let everyone know how you get on by joining our Facebook Group
November 2006
Love Much!
Diana returned to The Gambia for another week, this time to spend more time with Saidou. The love affair with The Gambia was now taking on a new dimension for her.
One of Saidou’s friends, Alieu, a local tailor from Mayamba in the North Bank Division of The Gambia had named his new born son after him. Saidou was very keen to introduce Diana to his friends and family and armed with some ‘smellies’ for the ladies and some cash for gifts, Diana was also keen to make a good impression.
Saidou embodies everything about The Gambian people that Diana fell in love with, he had very little money with him on their journey to the North Bank but he didn’t think twice about handing it out to the beggars on the ferry.
“I could not believe how charitable he was, here was I sitting there holding my purse tight to my body, scared I would lose what I had despite having more at the hotel. I asked him why he had given all his money away and Saidou said he was with me and he knew I had a good heart so he would be okay. The beggar needed the money more than he did. Saint Saidou was born in my mind.” Diana Saine.
On their way, Diana bought the new born a little outfit and also some oil and rice for Saidou’s family. Later that evening she sat with Saidou’s family to eat what is now her favourite meal, Beef Domoda
After being introduced to most of the locals in the area, Diana and Saidou took a taxi to see Alieu’s baby son “little Saidou”. Alieu and his wife Awa were very friendly and Saidou did the interpreting for Diana as they spoke mostly in Woolof. They gave them the present for baby Saidou and ate fruit together. On their way back Saidou and Diana popped in to see Saidou’s sister, Isatou, who was the house keeper at their villa in Kololi. Isatou had also recently given birth to a beautiful baby girl.
Diana’s birthday is in November and ‘Saint Saidou’ organised a wonderful beach party for her with his friends and family. It was to be a dream holiday for Diana – the icing on the cake came when Saidou proposed at their villa (Balmoral Apartments in Kololi) after saving Diana from a big spider! A saint and a hero down on one knee… she said yes of course!
Join our Facebook Group and get involved!
June 2005
Smile is the longest word by a distance!
Diana and her family returned to The Gambia for 2 weeks this time with plans to approach the educational authority in Banjul to ask about specifications for the construction of a nursery school to ensure their new project in Sukuta would be built to proper standards and comply with regulations. The land was donated by Saikou ‘Lovely’ Jammeh and The Big Smile Nursery was beginning to take its first real steps.
“You get red tape everywhere you go and The Gambia is no different… we spent a couple of days trekking around Banjul just to find out how we could go about the project, we spoke to one person about this, someone else about that… in the end we managed to figure it out and we’re looking forward to moving things along.” Diana Saine.
The Gambia education authority based in Banjul advised that the school should provide for ages 3 to 7 (years 1 – 4) and each year should have its own classroom. It also dictates that teachers would have to go to a teacher training school in the summer holidays in order to achieve certification.
Diana and her family re-visited the Kaa Koli Kemo nursery school once again and spent two days delivering English lessons including naming shapes, colours, some maths exercises and of course lots of singing! The customary farewell involved distribution of sweets once again and this time a surprise consisting of around 40 inflatable beach balls donated by Alliance & Leicester.
The family managed to squeeze in a couple of days holiday time before making their way to the Standard Chartered Orphanage in Kanafing to deliver more goodies. Whilst waiting for the headmistress’s office the family could hear a girl sobbing uncontrollably and they questioned Mrs Gomez about her. It transpired that the little girl – who attended the orphanage for meals and shelter – had an Aunt and Uncle who could not pay the 800 Dalasi fees for the school she attended in Bakau (South Bank division of The Gambia). This meant she was going to have to redo the whole year again. Diana and her father immediately came up with the money (£20) but money does not necessarily fix all. The young girl, who is called Fatou was still worried because she had missed the first compulsory exam and this meant that the family had to visit the Greater Banjul Middle School to see her headmaster. The family handed over more books and equipment for outdoor sports to Mrs Gomez before they left and then set out to try and resolve Fatou’s dilemma.
Diana’s father, Tony, is a force to be reckoned with and had a hard time negotiating with the Nigerian headmaster who had no intentions of reviewing the situation. Tony explained that the family would pay the fees on the condition Fatou would be allowed to sit the exam she missed and continue with the others. The headmaster was not easily persuaded but in the end he agreed and the family went to the school’s Bursar and paid the fees.
Fatou was very pleased and went on to take her exams. Two days before the end of the family holiday they had a visit from Fatou’s cousin who happened to work at the hotel they were staying at by coincidence. Fatou’s cousin (also called Fatou) brought a bag full of mangos as a gift to the family and announced that the young girl had passed her exams and was going on to the next year. The family still keep in touch with young Fatou via her cousin whenever they visit The Gambia.
Diana and her family returned back to the UK with serious plans to increase fundraising activities now that they had a school to build!
June 2004
Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do!
During 2004 Diana and her family had set about fundraising through car boot sales, a shuffle board and various collections at Southern Water that funded the provision of desks, chairs and blackboards as well as the construction of a toilet block for the Kaa Koli Keemo School near Sukuta which they had visited in 2003.
“We raised enough money to have black boards, tables and chairs made in The Gambia, thus providing local work. We also paid for the two classrooms to be re-plastered and painted.”
The money was raised by asking people known to Diana and her family in the UK to sponsor individual children for £25.00 per year. This proved highly successful and funded the teacher’s wages for that year.
They also delivered footballs, skipping ropes, pencils, exercise books and approximately 100 story books for the children’s library at the Standard Chartered Bank Orphanage in Kanifing.
“We also brought clothes and presents for our growing list of friends in the Gambia – our extended family – this included socks, shirts, pants, pens, 2nd hand mobile phones, toiletries – you name it we brought it. We also covered the occasional school fee and cost of medicines of sick relatives whenever we could.”
June 2003
Know where you are going but do not forget where you have been.
Diana decided to return with her family in June 2003 with pencils, pens and paper for a local nursery school introduced to her by Saikou ‘Lovely’ Jammeh. The Kaa Koli Kemo Nursery School is located near Sukuta and is a two-roomed building in a family compound – not officially a school by government standards.
The day started with songs, including the Gambian National Anthem and ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’! Diana taught the children how to use the pencils, colouring pens and colouring in books that she supplied and also what the colours were called in English. At the end of the day Diana and her family distributed sweets as a farewell.
It was from this point on that Diana’s compulsion for buying pencils began. “We learnt a valuable lesson on this trip – crayons melt in extreme heat!” Diana now ships pencils she regularly buys from the pound shops every month.
Schooling is not free in the Gambia, you have to pay for each child and buy them uniforms and pencils and paper to go to school. In order to pay for the equipment, Diana had saved all her coppers for almost a year which totaled £75.00 which was then spent in the £1 and 99p shops.
Big Smile Shopping Tip: Asda 12 x HB Pencils for 20p! Why Pay More? Store Locator
Kebba Saine (no relation) a hotel worker, became friends with Diana and her family in 2002 when they first visited The Gambia on holiday. In June 2003, Kebba introduced the family to his Aunt Mrs Gomez, a well respected woman in the Gambia who runs the Standard Chartered Bank Orphanage in Kanifing. Following a tour of the orphanage Diana noted that although they had funds for food and the building was lovely, light and airy, their library had very few books and the children lacked play and sporting equipment so it was decided that the family would return the following year with books, skipping ropes, footballs and any other items to help.
The Gambian National Anthem
For The Gambia, our homeland
We strive and work and pray,
That all may live in unity,
Freedom and peace each day.
Let justice guide our actions
Towards the common good,
And join our diverse peoples
To prove man’s brotherhood.
We pledge our firm allegiance,
Our promise we renew;
Keep us, great God of nations,
To The Gambia ever true.
June 2002
A journey of 1000 miles starts with one step
The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, bordered to the north, east, and south by Senegal, and has a small coast on the Atlantic Ocean in the west. Its borders roughly correspond to the path of the Gambia River, the nation’s namesake, which flows through the country’s center and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its size is almost 10,500 km² with an estimated population of 1,700,000. On 18 February 1965, Gambia was granted independence from the United Kingdom and joined The Commonwealth. Banjul is Gambia’s capital, but the largest conurbation is Serrekunda.
The Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was key to the establishment of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese and later by the British. Since gaining independence in 1965, The Gambia has enjoyed relative stability, with the exception of a brief period of military rule in 1994. An agriculturally rich country, its economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and tourism. About a third of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Diana Saine, founder of The Big Smile Project first visited The Gambia in June 2002 on holiday with her family. Following a Creek Tour by boat along the River Gambia she visited Lamin Lodge where she met the local mangrove oyster gatherers – ladies that collect the oysters from the mangroves every morning, a very tricky and laborious if not painful process often resulting in torn clothes. These women would then cook the oysters and sell them – whilst also caring for their families needs on a day to day basis. At the end of every day the women would burn the shells which would be ground down to a powder to be used in cement and paint/whitewash.
One of the many personal connections made by Diana during her holiday was Saikou Jammeh, the driver who first met them at the airport. Nicknamed ‘Lovely’ not just because he was lovely, but because whilst driving for the Thomas Cook Off-Road Safaris, he would say ‘lovely’ instead of ‘sorry’ whenever he went over a bump in the road. The passengers would then join in every time they went over a bump calling out LOVELY!!!
Saikou invited Diana and her family to his home to have dinner with his family on his day off. Whilst there, Diana was taken across the road to a school where she met the head mistress who outlined the needs of the children during a tour of the classrooms. Diana immediately made a donation to help those most in need as it emerged that all the children had to pay school fees to attend class.
In a recent interview for Brighton & Hove Community Radio Diana said “There is no oil gold or diamonds, they have peace and stability and great hospitality. If you are walking past a compound around lunchtime do not be surprised if complete strangers ask you to join them for something to eat. It is a very friendly country where most people know, or know of each other and are very caring and nurturing.”
Big Smile Project 
