The whole venture started in 2001 with Anne McMath going on holiday to the Gambia and noticing that there were a lot of children on the streets every day because their parents could not afford to send them to school. She started sponsoring a couple of children at local schools and encouraged friends to sponsor a few more. This grew until we decided that we should open a school ourselves and help lots of children instead of just one or two.

Founded by Anne McMath, the school is called The Don McMath Foundation, and is named after Anne’s late husband, Don, a teacher in Sussex until his death in 1991.

We believe it is the first and only completely free school in The Gambia; we provide the schooling, the books, the accompanying equipment, and a uniform.

The school is now complete and consists of 3 nursery classes that cater for the 5 to 7 year olds. 6 primary classes to take children aged 8 to 13 or 14. 3 Upper Basic classes for children up to about 17. Pupils need to pass exams to join Upper Basic. We have a total capacity for about 360 children.