GTS Construction projects

The GTS foundations were probably laid back in the 70's with the ROOTS TV serial sensation now available as a DVD and just as good as it was nearly 30 years ago (Warner Bros ZI 37456) Actually our first son was called Toby - Kunta Kinte's American name.

It was a sort of coming home in 1997 when as a family we visited Gambia and decided to do something as a sort of repayment for our luck, our wonderful and healthy children and the opportunities we had had.

Sadly, many visitors to Gambia who very genuinely want to help, have had similar experiences to us. They are lied to, cheated & stolen from - by the nicest, most pleasant, but opportunist young men and sometimes women, that you could ever meet anywhere in the world.

The archive below gives some indication of how young Gambian opportunists operate - our advise is be VERY CAREFUL, channel money into Gambia to help the genuinely needy through proper channels NOT via plausible, disarmingly charming youngsters, who hang around every tourist location.

Despite our many and varied experiences we are still operating in Gambia and we are still building. We have constructed the GTS Bar & Restaurant, we have constructed GTS Kololi (where we offer GTS and GETS members very reasonably priced accommodation), we have re-constructed the GTS Nursery at Bakoteh & built toilets there, a library & computer lab at Bakoteh Proper School, we have administered the construction of a massive multi-purpose hall at the school at Younna, built a toilet block at the school at Essau, started a large building project at Sangyang, but then pulled out when we discovered problems with local accountability and diverted those funds to building another school for The Kingfisher Trust.

With our purchase of the compound in Kololi (GTS Kololi) we do finally after 9 years have a base for GTS, we are still committed to providing employment through business ventures and to supporting & developing education.

GETS grew out of GTS and is a UK based charity Reg No 1110998, it has taken over the control of educational development and sponsorship management and left GTS with developing employment opportunities through tourism.

GTS started with the aim of being self funding and to a point it has been successful, our major employment project is the GTS Bar & Restaurant, (12/14 staff) but the lack of tourists during the summer months (May - October when it is simply more profitable for the tour operators to fly other routes) has forced us to close for 4/5 months each year. Unlike many similar businesses we have managed to remain open year on year by introducing plenty of UK capital for the first few years of operations. In 2005 we had our first self funding year and 2006 - despite only being open from January - May, will also just break even.

The GTS Kololi accommodation still operates at a massive deficit and is not expected to break even operationally for at least another 4 years, but it provides employment for 2/3 staff all year round and this is expected to grow as more members use GTS Kololi as their holiday base. (In 2006/7 the cost of a single en-suite room is £75 p/week and a two bedroomed house with sun roof is £150 p/week)

HOWEVER, the continued presence of GTS in Gambia - gives GETS ( the UK charity ) a massive advantage in being able to operate with minimal administration overheads. Buildings & mains services are provided by GTS, GTS employs the secretarial staff, cleaners and security staff, so GETS only has to pay for the employment of the operational staff & the educational staff.

With the help of many members world wide, GETS raises the funds to provide education for 800 students and the employment for more than 20 Gambians.

Stable organisations needs a base and we hoped that the base bought with our money by Lamin would be developed quickly to create revenue for further projects and employment in the Brufut area.

Most of the perimeter wall was built, ready for the GTS container to arrive in November 2000, some substantial building has gone on round the container, where we expected to open a members centre and restaurant in November 2001, but problems with Lamin pulling out of the partnership agreement still wait to be resolved.

Plans had to change. With no centre in Brufut we had to caste our net wider. GTS has already helped a couple of small businesses with loans to get them started and a much bigger opportunity presented itself in the form of a local restaurant in Kololi. An agreement for GTS to support and manage the business was signed and building work started in March to make essential alterations to the structure of the premises.

Dardeema will have to replace the centre in Brufut until the legal issues with Lamin are resolved

GTS also has a number of children being sponsored that really need more care than money alone can provide. Orphans need a caring and supportive home and we hope to provide one in Brufut.

A second compound in Brufut was bought and that is currently having buildings erected to provide accommodation for the team that will construct the first GTS timeshare lodge. Weeks will be available to members, spare weeks will be let. Accommodation for our gap students & working holidays will start this November.

Having been dispossed of the original Brufut compound our second trust worthy Gambian choose to take a leaf out of Lamin's book and keep B2 for himself, he took the opportunism even further, promising my parents to sign the compound back to us - taking money to fund what he termed Gambia's first music school. Neither the music school became a reality nor the signing over to us of B2 - This young opportunist made his way to the UK married and is, I am told now a UK prison warder.

We hope to resume the project at the main Brufut compound in January, when the existing buildings will be completed and the restaurant building will be built above using the container as its structural base. It will now be used as a meeting room as our committment to Dardeema's come first. These buildings will house our first Gambian family of children and also our library.

Lamin moved to the UK where he has married and it has been difficult to serve court papers on him as I am unwilling to do so in the UK, the case remains pending. Taking legal action is expensive and is not a route I would recommend - Better to have nothing to do with the chancers and bumsters who have a great deal of interest in helping themselves BUT very little interest in helping their country or their countrymen and women.

In August 2001, GTS signed an agreement with Mustapha Njie of TAF, to be selling agents for the new TAF houses at Yundum and Brufut, the commission will feed the charity account and hopefully provide a service to members wanting to buy a place of their own in Gambia.

GTS, has given up wasting its time attempting to receive our commission from the sales of several TAF houses, and no longer acts in any way as agents or promoters of TAF properties, though we are still happy to advise members about properrty purchase and building in Gambia.

Building work in Gambia has taught us about well digging, about material supplies, about labour and about standards, there is little we would not undertake in the way of building work.