The group was received by the newspaper’s managing editor, Sheriff Bojang. They were taken on a conducted tour of the office facilities, during which they were furnished with brief information on paper’s background, mission, and vision, and how each of the units works to produce the daily paper.
During discussions with the visitors, Mr Bojang shared his life and work experiences as a journalist in The Gambia and a student in London, with the members of the group. The group leader, Lecturer Mandy Edwards, described the cross campus trip as an “educational visit for the students and the lecturers to learn about the different ways of life; to see the agriculture, the educational system, see how they are working. We will all return to the UK with a completely different view of life here”.
Jonathan Walsh, a student and a theatre director said: “It has been incredible. It has been very, very different. The difference between the UK and The Gambia is just incredible. You can see it straight away not just in temperature, but the way that you live out here is completely different and actually it really opens your eyes and you say to yourself, ‘it does not matter what you have; it is what you make of what you have, and that is really great to see.”
Mr Walsh added that there are a lot of people who wanted to come along on the trip “but we
only got place for 31. This is a way of learning what you cannot get from books. This is the kind of thing you have to experience to really understand how amazing it is. So I think it is something that everyone wants to do. As regards the fact that I am a theatrical director, I would love to come back to The Gambia and kind of work with Gambian people and the community. It really inspires…”
Dr Harry Mycock, a lecturer in horticulture studies, described their cross campus trip to The Gambia as “very interesting”, while commending The Standard newspaper for its continuous efforts in helping improve the standard of Gambian journalism. “You are doing a great job with the newspaper and anyone who is bringing issues forward to the public and telling them about what is really happening in the country is great news for everyone. So I am pleased to see you back in action.”
Michelle Lemm, also a lecturer, said: “We enjoyed our visit. We had a really good time. We enjoy interacting with the locals as well.”
Author: Alagie Manneh
]]>
