They came. They saw. They ...

Kyle, Leanne and Jenny spent several days in Gogo and worked on the village school while they were there.

Have a look at the amazing transformation of the school building!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJPAxSgozm0  (48 secs)

Conquerors of The Ben!

Andrew, Laura, Chris, Andy, Jennifer and Kyle at the summit of Ben Nevis

As of 21.45GMT this evening, a total of £745/$1,150 has been donated through Paypal to the Aid4Gogo project. Other gifts have been given personally. Wow, thank you so much! Will let you know when we get a final figure. 

Ben Nevis update

Despite difficult conditions yesterday, a group of climbers successfully reached the top of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain. It rained throughout the day and three people had to be rescued by the emergency services from the mountain, but, thankfully, all the Aid4Gogo climbers returned safely to Fort William.

So far, 21 people have donated through Paypal, giving a total of £560/$840 which will be used to restore educational facilities in Gogo, Ivory Coast.

Thank you all so much!

Pictures to follow. 

Ben Nevis deja vu fundraiser

A fund raising event to help with the work in Gogo has been organised. They organisers write on their Facebook page:

We plan to climb Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the UK) on the 11/09/10. Some of us will attempt to do this twice on the same day. This is a charity fundraiser and the best way to help is by donating through the website below. All proceeds will go straight to Aid4Gogo (http://www.aid4gogo.blogspot.com/). The only primary school in Gogo, Ivory Coast, West Africa was badly damaged during the civil war which started 8 years ago.There are currently 115 children in the village who would benefit from this facility. 100% of all donations will be used to purchase materials to help restore the village school.

Check it out!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=103655199688474

Petit à petit

Slow but steady progress is being made in repairing the school in Gogo, Ivory Coast. All the desks that were needed, over forty in all, have been obtained for the school children and work has started on putting in windows and doors to secure the classrooms.

All being well, in a week or so, a carpenter will be going to the village to replace some of the rusted tin and rotting wood on the school roof. After that we would like to get the walls skimmed and new cement floors poured throughout the building.

Last month the education authorities in Ivory Coast sent another two qualified teachers to the village to help the one teacher who was already there. The villagers were thrilled about that.

Thank you so much for your contributions that have made all the repairs to the school possible.

April Update

Gogo School - click picture for larger image

We have been able to get enough desks for all the school children, and the blackboards in two of the classrooms have been repaired.

The next step is to replace the rusted tin on the roof and to put in windows to protect the children from the sun and the rain. We want to get this done before the rainy season starts in May/June.

After that, while the children are off for their summer break, we plan to get new floors laid in the classrooms, holes in the walls plastered and doors on the classrooms. We are using local labour and supplies to do all the work at the school so this helps to bring a little bit of employment to the area.

Progress in Gogo - Priority Number 1: Fixing up the School

With the money raised by the various sponsored events and contributions during 2009 we have started to help the people of Gogo to recover from the recent civil war in Ivory Coast.

Almost two dozens school desks have been provided for the children attending the school in Gogo. We have ordered another 15 desks, which should provide enough desks for all 136 students.
The next priority is to get the windows fixed up to protect the children from the sun and rain. After that we would like to replace the doors and parts of the rusting tin roof.
When the building is secure we would like to plaster the walls, put down new floors and get the building painted.
Gogo villagers enjoying the benefits of safe, clean water. We helped to put on the new pump.

Thank you for your help in giving the people of Gogo a fresh start.