Sixteen students and four staff members of Portlaoise College departed for Banjul as part of the school’s Gambia Partnership Project at the end of February.
The students, over the past year, fundraised a substantial amount of money from bake sales, a Christmas Market and auction, student vs-teacher matches, a sponsored walk and other individual events.
Thanks to the generosity of the community, the students were able to provide life-saving medicines, cleaning products and saline solutions to the local medical centre and maternity hospital in Brikama.
They also spent months preparing lessons, which they put into practice working in a local nursery school and primary school in Brikama, while also delivering much needed educational resources.
Oliver Brown-Quail, the pied-drummer of Portlaoise, enraptured the Gambian scholastic public with his bodhran skills.
All of the students put their practical and artistic skills to work as they decorated and painted a mural for the nursery school students to enjoy.
The students who were selected following a rigorous interview process really enjoyed the experience.
They were: Jannet Cierocka, Erin Harrison, Alesha Dennehy, Katelyn Thompson, Katelyn Lawlor, Carla Hiluta, Amber Kelly, Katie Carlin, Rebekah Momo, Roisin Hogan, Natasha Hynes, Mikayela Hyland, Oliver Brown-Quail, Fionn McEvoy-Mullally, Aidan Donaghy and Brandon Dohen.
Check out some great pictures below:
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