Three new wells!

During the first week of May 2017 the Friends in Action - Northern Ireland well-drilling team visited Gogo and drilled three wells for the villagers. The people were absolutely thrilled to have access to abundant safe, clean water after years of struggling to obtain water for their daily needs.

Thank you for all your help in making this happen. Not only will this cut down on the amount of labour it takes for the ladies and girls to get water, but we anticipate an improvement in the over-all health of the community because of this important project.

A huge thank you to Friends in Action for travelling from Burkina Faso over some very difficult terrain with all their equipment and for providing two of the three wells free of charge.

Click picture for larger images

Wells for Gogo

Several years ago many of you gave generously to help a community in northern Ivory Coast to recover from the ravages of a long civil war. 

The money raised was used primarily to repair and refurbish the village elementary school. This encouraged local government officials to send five new school teachers, and also to build a new set of schoolrooms. There are now around 250 children attending the school. Several students have now finished Elementary/Primary school and have moved into secondary education in neighbouring towns. 

Thank you for the part you played in helping to make this happen!

A new and pressing need has arisen and we are again asking for your support.

Due to its strategic location, our village has become quite important in the region, and that has brought about an increasing population which has been putting a serious strain on the local water supply. 

During this year’s dry season (Oct '15-April '16), water became very difficult to obtain. The open well near our house dried up, and the over-used foot pump in the market area broke down leaving people, including ourselves, scrambling, especially for safe drinking water.

Clean, readily available drinking water goes a long way in preventing disease, and maintaining and improving the health and welfare of an isolated village community.

We have arranged for a well drilling crew from Friends in Action International (formerly Friends of New Tribes Mission) to come to our village in March, 2017 to drill two wells for the people. They have generously offered to do one for free, but we need to raise some finances to put towards the second one. Each well costs just less than £5000 to drill.

If you would like to participate in this vital project, or if you would like more information, please contact us at: wells4gogo@gmail.com. 

Thank you so much,

Paul and Marina

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.

Thanks so much!

After the sponsored walk along the Newry towpath and the marathon in Edinburgh earlier in the year, as well as other gifts, a total of just over £1,400 pounds has been raised to help restore the school and medical facilities in the village of Gogo in Ivory Coast.

Some money has already been sent out to Africa to make a start at providing much-needed school desks for the children.

Thank you, everyone, for your generosity so far.