About Bob
Learn about this jovial Brummie and what drives him to
help the people of Gambia. Includes clips of Bob's
television appearances, and testimonials from people who
know (and love) him.
On 31 October 2007, two cars and four volunteer drivers
will be leaving Birmingham city centre and driving
4,000miles to Banjul in Gambia
to raise funds for the
Bob Powell’s Gambia Schools and Health Project (which
has already raised millions of pounds and regularly sends
over medical supplies and equipment to the people of
Gambia). Each step of the way will be documented and
posted onto Bob’s website; online diary
here. The Birmingham Mail will also be
covering this event, and we expect more media coverage
when the Mayor of Birmingham hands over a letter to the
drivers to give to the Mayor of Banjul.
Come and wave us off
in Victoria Square outside
the Council House in Birmingham City Centre on 30 October
at 1pm, and get to write a message on the cars.
To complete this epic journey and to raise funds,
sponsorship is needed, both from individuals and from
companies associated with this event. This is where we
hope you may be able to contribute. In return for any
sponsorship or donations, your company logo will be
displayed on each of the cars as they travel through
seven countries and you will be named here on the
charity website,
which is picked up by several media sources.
Donations from individuals are very welcome (see
details below).
Gary Payne, Bob Powell and John Taylor with the cars
The
Nissan Quest and Cherokee Jeep, which have been purchased
by the drivers and not by the charity, will be driven by
Gary Payne,
John
Taylor,
Bob
Powell
and
Steve
O'Connell.
They will also be accompanied by
Sulayman Badjie, son of the Vice President of
Gambia and Director of the
Jammeh
Foundation. The
first leg of their journey will take them across to
France and then down through Spain to
Gibraltar. From there they will drive over to
Morocco and through Mauritania, down to
Dakar in Senegal and ending up in Banjul in the
Gambia. The trip will take approximately 10 days and
cover a total of 4,000 miles. The men will be sleeping in
the cars, tents and any accommodation they find along the way.
Once they reach their destination, the cars will be used
to distribute the medical and school supplies regularly
sent over by Bob Powell’s charity to the surrounding
villages. One car will remain with the charity, the other
will be donated to the Secretary General of the Gambian
British Legion. This will let the people know that they
have not been forgotten and that someone still cares.
Sponsorship money raised will be used to set up the Bob
Powell’s School and Health Project Scholarship to pay for
Gambian children who cannot otherwise afford an education. Every
single penny donated goes straight to the scholarship
fund, there are NO administration costs, all
charity work is undertaken by volunteers.
Sponsorship form: (download)
(online).
We would be most grateful for any financial assistance or
donations you may be able to offer. If you wish to
be involved in this quite extraordinary journey, please
contact Bob Powell. Many thanks to all those people
and organisations who have already been extraordinary
generous - too many to name, but all our
sponsors are over
there on the left ... we thank you.
Sulayman Badjie
Chairman of Bob Powell's Gambia Schools and Health Project
in Gambia
Bob Powell's charity bank details: You can walk into any bank and
simply make a donation
Lloyds TSB
"Bob Powell's Gambia Schools & Health
Project"
Account Number: 21841268
Sort Code: 77-85-67
Scale of Journey
This is just a rough map and route specs until I
can put together something fabulously technical.
* Birmingham to Plymouth (243
miles)
* Ferry from Plymouth to
Santandar, Spain (24 hrs)
* Stopover Alicante
* Alicante to Gibraltar (600 miles)
* Ferry from Gibraltar Drive to
Rabat, Morocco (173 miles)
-
stopover
* Drive to Marakech (205 miles)
* Drive to Abadir (172 miles)
* Drive to Laayoune (433 miles) -
rest
* Drive to Dakhla (338 miles)
* Drive to Nouabhibou (288
miles)
* Into Sahara (110 miles) - camp
overnight
* Drive to Nouamghar (120
miles)
* Drive down coast Part Way
Drive to Nouakchott (93 miles)
* Drive to Zebraloar (189 miles) -
camp overnight
* Customs escort through
Senegal (338 miles)
* Drive down to Gambia (40
miles)
A distance of 4,000 miles over approximately 10 days.
What Bob's
charity has done - at a glance
As
well as organising fund raising events and regularly
sending over medication and equipment (his garage is
always bursting at the seams with items to be shipped to
Gambia), Bob’s charity has achieved many things over the
years.
Paid for a water well to
be built at Brufut village.
Keeps the Brufut clinic
stocked with medical supplies.
Sent over uniforms,
football kits and boots for local schools.
Shipped over desperately
needed equipment, including hospital beds, bedside
cabinets, medical supplies, catering equipment, a heart
machine, examination tables, resuscitation units and
filing cabinets (all donated to the charity).
Keeps the Gungar Medical
Centre in Gambia stocked up with medical supplies.
Supplied and installed
computers at St Josephs School and St Teresa’s School
(with volunteers Paul Hartwell and Liam Yardley).
Sent supplies and
equipment to the Gambian Ex Servicemen Legion (and
personally paid for one ex serviceman to have cataract
surgery).
Sent 40 reconditioned
computers to a school in Walsall after they lost their
star rating.
Organised, trained and
paid for lifeguards on the beach so that tourists can
enjoy the sea without worry – they have already rescued
two people who had got into difficulty.
Organised first aid
training for hotel and tourist staff.
Organised and paid for a
nurse to be stationed at the Sunny Gambie Hotel during the
holiday season.
Organised and paid for a
midwife to be stationed at a village clinic that Bob
helped set up.
Paid for a bakers oven to
be installed at an outlying village and provided bicycles
for delivering bread to surrounding villages so that
villagers could become self sufficient.
Sent over an ambulance to
an village (donated by the Red Cross), which has saved and
treated hundreds of people who otherwise have no
access to hospitals.
Provided beach hotels
with smoke alarms.
Previous Events
Unfortunately, due to
the sheer number of past fund raising events organised for
the charity, they can't all be listed here, but if there
are any in particular you'd like to see (or any that
you've been involved with) please get in touch with the
webmaster for
inclusion.
Birmingham Mail
Friday 27 April 2007
Droitwich Spa News, March 2007
Bob
Powell's Gambia Health and Schools Project Ongoing is a registered Gambian
charity incorporated under the Companies Act 1955: No.981/2003
Scale of Journey
Bob
Powell's Gambia Health and Schools Project Ongoing is a registered Gambian
charity incorporated under the Companies Act 1955: No.981/2003