"You have to bend it while it's young..."
Published October 9, 2026
The old saying, “You have to bend it early to make a good hook,” doesn’t quite apply to what’s happening in our schools in The Gambia, but we’re seeing a welcome development. Before, we had to come from Norway and take care of almost everything, or hire professionals in The Gambia to provide services. We no longer need to do that.
Our local leaders and some teachers have been happy to receive training in repairing chairs, desks, and other furniture in recent years. They have also been provided with good tools—often brought from Norway—and we are now seeing the results of this training. Recently, a small group at the school in Brikama, led by Landing Sorra, set to work replacing the seat panels on 24 broken chairs. The photos show what they accomplished.
