About us — The Gambia
All our work happens in The Gambia — mainland Africa's smallest country, a narrow strip of land along the Gambia River, surrounded by Senegal on every side except the Atlantic coast.
1.8 m
Inhabitants
45 km
At its widest
14
Ethnic groups
93%
Muslim
The Gambia is a small West African country that follows the Gambia River from the Atlantic coast inland. It is rarely more than thirty kilometres from the northern border to the southern one — and just 45 kilometres at its widest.
The climate is subtropical, with a rainy season from July to October and a dry season the rest of the year. During the rains, low-lying areas like Ebo Town regularly flood, and the risk of malaria rises.
Around 1.8 million people from fourteen ethnic groups live in The Gambia; the Mandinka are the largest at roughly 42 per cent. English is the official language, and 93 per cent of the population is Muslim.
The economy rests on tourism and peanut exports. Poverty is widespread — which is exactly why free schooling and health care matter so much. When Butterfly Friends started in Ebo Town, around 80 per cent of the adults in the area could neither read nor write.
