Power Up Gambia Blog

My name is Camille Delavaux; I’m a senior at my highschool and President of my school’s chapter of the National French Honor Society. I heard about Power Up Gambia through my friend, Lucy, and her family.  When the Honor Society began searching for a service project to coordinate, we thought of several clubs at our school and the organizations our parents were part of.  Then, I thought back to the hundreds of pictures Lucy had enthusiastically shared with me and my family one night at her house and the endless times she had shared with me experiences from her visit to the Gambia.  I presented the idea to my club, and I found the members more than willing to help. 

As I kept thinking about it, I told myself that we shouldn’t just sell candy, have bake sales, or hold a raffle; we should spread what we knew about this great project.  I asked my friends, my parents, and my teachers how to keep Power Up Gambia’s mission strong throughout the fundraising.  After talking with my mom one day, I remembered Lucy showing me beautiful beaded lizards made by a women’s group she had met with.  I remembered making similar beaded animals and everyone wanting one. I realized that many people would be interested in buying a lizard, especially if they knew about the cause and whom it had been hand-made by.

I knew that transporting the beaded lizards from The Gambia to the States wouldn't be easy; I couldn’t just order 300 of them, but I decided to give it a try.  I e-mailed Kathryn, explaining what our group wanted to do to contribute to Power Up Gambia. Out of half-chance a doctor was going to be coming back from The Gambia and so I found myself with 80 lizards from Africa, each a little different.  I was really psyched about what I’d just started (although admittedly relatively small). I also typed up the story behind the lizards to attach with them as we sold them. We were very glad to have been able to contribute to Power Up Gambia's fundraising efforts, along with raising awareness of the issue and their cause.

Finally, we had the chance to receive Kathryn and Lucy, who talked about their experiences in The Gambia. Our event was open to all who were interested and more than only club members showed up! This helped reinforce the understanding of how Power Up Gambia helps those afflicted by poor access to healthcare in The Gambia.  We, as a group, are excited for the future; we hope to stay in contact with Power Up Gambia and continue supporting their mission.  Thank you!