About Us
Background
65% of Gambia’s population are under the age of 25. Unemployment is high and many have left the country via treacherous routes to reach Europe for a better life. Many encountered deaths and exploitation. Others are forced to engage in sex tourism, making underage children vulnerable. Skills and training are urgently needed to tackle the poverty cycle.
The Daigo Partnership was formed in 2019 bringing together UWE Bristol and Daughters of Africa Foundation (DOAF) in a dynamic new partnership providing a platform for education and skills for African communities, personal and professional development for UWE Bristol students.
”…..a catalyst for social change” 2030 UWE strategy
In June (6-23) 2019 and January (3-17) 2020, 42 UWE Bristol students across faculties undertook 2-week team projects in Gambia with the aim of:
• Enabling multidisciplinary practice and clear understanding of collaborations across the university and partners in Gambia
• Enabling them to connect their specialism to enterprise in African communities and directly share skills and knowledge with local young people in a sustainable way.
• Broadening their knowledge of global realities and fostering international mobility
“….our practice-led approach, with a commitment to delivering excellence” UWE 2030 Strategy
Students delivered workshops and training to a range of participants, including archiving to the staff at the National Museum, First Aid and Health to trainee nursing associates, schools, Sports Rehabilitation to coaches and physiotherapists and training local builders using local eco materials and building an outdoor canteen for the Centre for Street and Trafficked Children.
Fashion design for trainee tailors, environmental learning and publication skills for secondary school students and business learning for community workers.
Youth leaders volunteered from a range of Gambian organisations alongside UWE students in order gain new skills, enabling learning sustainability within the projects.
“…maximise the employability and enterprise of our students and to prepare them for the far-reaching possibilities and challenges of the future.”
Daigo Project works with the university’s aims and priorities of forming strategic links that enable Ready and Able graduates,
recognised as ambitious, collaborative, innovative, inclusive
and enterprising. Preparing able staff and students’ academic activities to make a global impact in the sustainable economy and society as a whole.
Mian Ng, UWE Lead
Pauline Bailey
