As the UK director of GTS and chairperson of GES 2004/05 it gives me immense pleasure to report on the state of the organisation over the past 12 months.

However, no honest Organisation is without its faults and there are a number of areas where improvements could be made, some improvements are restricted by financial restraints others may be limited by staffing and training issues.

Progress is directly linked to the availability of funding, when GTS started in l997 the aim was a self funding charity and while GTS concentrated on employment creation and individual educational sponsorships, this was possible, but with the implementation of our education projects it rapidly became obvious that for these projects to develop and be sustainable additional income would be required. The future of GES success will be dependent on sustainable funding and that will largely depend on the quality of the projects as well as the reporting back to national fundraisers and sponsors.

I will report on the following projects in full at the meeting:

Projects (Existing)

Essau Nursery
London Corner Nursery
Bakoteh Nursery
Youna Multi Purpose Hall
Bakoteh Community Library
Brufut Museum
Gap and Working
Holiday Accommodation
GES Gambia staffing
Sponsorships
GES website.

Planned/GTS recommended
Curriculum Development
Bakoteh Nursery Expansion
Teacher Training Workshops
NGO Gambia Status
Publicity and Marketing
Fund Raising - Plymouth - Dakar rally

The Treasurer's Financial Report will also be available at the meeting. We do hope you can join us - agenda, minutes and full details of venue are also posted on both web pages for www.ges.org.uk and www.GambiaTouristSupport.com . Attendance welcomed by members, supporters and members of the public aged 18 or over.