Raising money for Empower projects

Empower the Gambia is a charity organisation setup to benefit communities living in Gambia through education, training and empowerment.
The charity sponsors children so that they can attend schools in rural communities by providing uniforms and materials. Many of these children are orphans and without support they would not be able to attend school.
In addition, the charity helps to support local communities. Over the years this has included setting up libraries, solar power systems, water supplies and facilities in schools, as well as setting up sustainable projects such as Poultry Farms and Gardens (farms) to generate income and provide food.
When I visited in January of 2025 we met a community in Tandayto. A group of women in the village had been gifted land and wanted to use it for farming. This would make a huge impact to the community by providing jobs for 100+ people and benefit a community of over 2000 people.
Through funding from empower we were able to install a large fence (100m x 100m) and 2 wells, enabling the garden to water readily available.  It was great to go out and see the result of this first hand in March 2026.  The wells are brilliant and the fence is strong and secure, and the garden is now being prepared to sow seeds.  We've also just paid for 100 fruit trees, many of which will be planted around the fence to provide shelter from the wind and sun, and also generate another source of food and income.

This is just one example of a number of projects Empower has helped with, and this year is no different.  Our priorities for the remainder of 2026 include....

1. Building a new ceiling at the Sarakunda Women's centre (~£400): We previously had the roof fixed as a result of damage caused by bats, and now a new ceiling is required.  The centre is used to run events such as the first aid training and gardening training that we conducted in March, and it is also used for classes such as sewing classes.
2. Egg incubators at the Poultry business in Sarakunda (~£150): Empower helped set-up the Poultry centre some years ago and this is now a successful business with many chickens.  However, they currently have to buy the chicks.  An egg incubator will enable them to hatch their own chicks, saving money and enabling them to increase the income of the business.
3. Painting of the Sarakunda maternity ward (~£250): The maternity ward supports a number of local villages and they deliver around 30 babies per month.  Empower has helped previously by fixing the water supply, and providing lighting and moses baskets.  However, the centre is in desperate need of a paint job to freshen it up, and make it a better place to stay for women and their newborns.

It would be fantastic to be able to raise the money required for these projects, and my employer (M&G) will kindly match any fundraising up to £500.
Thank you for reading. Nick