We found this story so inspirational, we had to meet May and offer GTS support, where other UK charities have surprisingly turned her down.

You probably won't have heard of May Rooney, a 26 year old ex Leeds University student from Barnet, Near London.

GTS members Esther and Harold Shortt sent us a local newspaper cutting about May in July 2000

May visited The Gambia on holiday after completing a degree in graphic design and bookmaking at Leeds University.

As a result of the numerous children asking for pens and paper she came up with the idea of setting up a hand made paper mill, using the water from rice cooking to provide the starch to bond the paper and to stop the ink from spreading and paper recycled from waste that just lies around.

The project has the advantage of improving the visual environment, increasing the availability of paper without further imports and providing much needed employment as well as encouraging new artistic direction.

May came back to the UK and worked for a year to fund the purchase of a 160 sq. metre plot of land in Faji Kunda near Serra Kunda. She has now built a small house and factory there, to recycle paper. January 2001 she is installing the paper making equipment and hopes to start producing paper in early 2001.

May had no job in The Gambia and survived by teaching the village children in exchange for food.

In December 2000, GTS took May a small hand operated guillotine and two water tanks. May also agreed to work with GTS as our sponsorship co-ordinator, she could only manage one day a week away from her own project but every Wednesday she is now at our centre in Kololi, where you can meet her and arrange to visit her project.

The project in Faji Kunda has become a charitable mission, rather similar to GTS, so we are delighted that May is now working to ensure that members money ONLY goes to really genuinely needy causes.

May refuses to take any wages, but we insist that she has a proper (European type meal) on days she works, this I fund from my own annual pay rise, so no GTS UK membership money is being used for wages or expenses.

If you can help GTS support May, please contact us.

Red is Mays helper, bodyguard, messenger and friend, he is a charmingly reliable little boy, called red because he loves red clothes.