🎉 A Day of Surprises, Sunsets & School Spirit in Busumbala

What an emotional day! Our journey across The Gambia brought us face-to-face with freshly painted classrooms, big building plans, surprise gifts, forgotten keys, and the kind of sunset you wish you could bottle and take home.

🖌️ A Fresh Coat of Hope

Our first stop was BFiG Busumbala Nursery School, where the classrooms have had a full makeover inside and out. The paint glowed in the sunshine, looking smart, clean and ready for the next chapter. The transformation felt symbolic — bright colours, bright futures.

We were itching to get inside… but there was one small hiccup.

🔑 The Mystery of the Missing Keys

School Manager ‘Uncle’ Lamin Barrow had everything organised perfectly — except the keys! With a few laughs and good-natured teasing, we stood outside the gleaming doors like tourists admiring a treasure we couldn’t quite open.

Luckily, we could still explore the school grounds.

🏫 Next Stop: Makumbaya Village

After our Busumbala adventure, we travelled to Makumbaya Lower Basic School, home to the library built by the charity back in 2011 — before Building Futures in The Gambia was even officially a charity.

🌱 A Reunion & a Heart-Warming Exchange

We then visited Swanny, a long-time friend of trustee Mark Chidler. Back in the day, Swanny worked with Mark when Newman University Birmingham brought teaching students to The Gambia as part of their Geography and Citizenship programme.

🎁 Mark very kindly gifted Swanny a 50kg bag of rice, a gesture so appreciated that Swanny decided to give something back.
🌱 He presented three banana plants to Lamin — gifts destined for Lamin’s home village, Sankandi. A gift of food became a gift of future harvests. A simple, powerful exchange of kindness across generations.

🌅 Sunset, Seafood & Sentiment

To end the day, we sat by the coast eating delicious fish cooked in foil, with a sunset so dramatic it could have been staged for a film. After the laughter, the history and the reminders of why we do what we do, the sun dipped behind the ocean like a quiet full-stop at the end of a perfect chapter.