The school is called Project Ingemann. A danish farmer by the name of Ingemann Dahlstrup started it all by building a school for his own money and found sponsors. After his death other sponsors continued his project.
We pay about 100$ a year for letting a child go to school – uniform, books and so on. There is even a small amount for the family. The whole 100$ is payed to the family, and they control that the child really go to school. The group that goes to Gambia with the money pay for flight and hotel themselves.
It was so satisfying to meet the children and see, that they do well. Our eldest “child” Fatou has now graduated from school, and studies to become a nurse, and we continue the sponsorship.
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I found it very difficult to take images in Gambia. It’s a muslim country, and most hardcore muslims believe, that their soul is stolen when they are getting pictured. Another reason can be, that they are fed up with tourists.
To give you an example – we visited a fishmarket by the sea. Every time I just lifted my camera, several women yelled warnings to people around them, so my candid photography took a break on that holiday.
The trip had a purpose by visiting the school and meeting the children, so maybe my motivation was a problem too. Below you can see some of the images I succeded to take.
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