Pageant

Who we are

Pageant passionately believes that education is a major force for improving the lives of poor people in developing countries.

Kids at a Gambian school

The Gambia is a small poor country in West Africa. Though it has a well-developed tourist industry, back from the beach and up-river many people live on very low incomes. The Gambian state provides free primary education, but secondary schools charge tuition fees, and all students must provide their own uniform, books, writing materials etc. Around 40% of Gambian children never go to school because their families are too poor to pay and many more drop out after Primary school. Our sponsorship scheme enables many poor children to complete their education. Gambian schools often lack basic facilities, so Pageant helps by sending out donated furniture and educational items, and by funding building improvements.

Pageant is a small UK-registered Charity, providing urgently needed help for education in The Gambia. We rely on donations both of money and equipment. 100% of every donation goes to fund our projects, as our members' annual subscriptions are used to pay for our running costs. If you would like to help us across all our work in The Gambia, then please use the donate button on this page. If you would like to make a more targetted donation, have a look at the appeals listed below,

[Pageant Loans] - Our scheme gives 9000 Dalasis (approximately £150) to a group of six women, usually in a rural village, and each woman is lent 1500 Dalasis to start a small business. The loan schemes are administered locally and when the loans get repaid, the money is recycled to start another scheme with a new group of women.

[Emergency Sponsorship] - Our Sponsorship Scheme enables sponsors to fund individual Gambian students right through their education. Sometimes a sponsor might not be able to to continue their donations, or there could be some other sudden emergency. In these cases Pageant's Emergency Sponsorship Fund can keep a student in school until permanent sponsorship can be arranged.

[Science Teacher's Workshops] - Pageant runs annual Microscopy and Science Workshops for Gambian teachers, to show them how to give practical science lessons in schools which often lack facilities such as mains electricity and running water. Teachers also take specially designed practical teaching kits back to their schools.

[Carol's Fundraising] - Carol Grace has been running half marathons since 2015, raising considerable amounts of money for projects at Humanity Nursery School in The Gambia. Please make a donation to sponsor her in her latest race.

[Ethical Gifts] – with our Ethical Gift Scheme, you can buy essential items for poor families in The Gambia. Our gifts include mosquito nets, sacks of rice, school essentials and things for use in vegetable gardens.

Pageant is a small UK-registered Charity, providing urgently needed help for education in The Gambia. We rely on donations both of money and equipment. 100% of every donation goes to fund our projects, as our members' annual subscriptions are used to pay for our running costs. If you would like to help us across all our work in The Gambia, then please use the donate button on this page. If you would like to make a more targetted donation, have a look at the appeals listed below:

Pageant Loans Our scheme gives 10,800 Dalasis (about £180), to a group of six women. Each woman is lent 1800 Dalasis to start a small business. When the loans get repaid, the money is recycled locally to start another scheme with a new group of women.

Emergency Sponsorship Our Sponsorship Scheme enables sponsors to fund individual Gambian students right through their education. We also have an Emergency Sponsorship Fund to keep students in school if a sponsor cannot continue their support, or there is some other sudden emergency.

Science Teachers' Workshops Pageant runs annual Microscopy and Science Workshops for Gambian teachers, showing them how to give practical science lessons in schools which often lack mains electricity and running water.

Carol's Fundraising Carol Grace has run half marathons since 2015, raising lots of money for projects at Humanity Nursery School in The Gambia.

Ethical Gifts With our Ethical Gift Scheme, you can buy essential items for poor families in The Gambia.