Swan Lodge's sponsored llama walk helps school project
By Jill Dando News
Residents from a Salvation Army Lifehouse, which supports people who are homeless, have shown their kindness and community spirit by fundraising to support schooling in The Gambia.
Staff and residents at Swan Lodge in Sunderland took part in a sponsored llama walk and charity football matches to raise money for Support Worker Gemma Stoker to visit the West African country with the Gunjar Project, which modernises schools and provides donations to a community in The Gambia.
Gemma said: “The residents of Swan Lodge took it upon themselves to help fundraise money for me to be able to volunteer in Gambia. They did sponsored walks, including one with llamas! A sponsored wax, charity football matches and hosted a talk with football legend Julio Arca, who used to play for Sunderland AFC and has been helping our residents train and improve their fitness.
“Residents were throwing all sorts of ideas out there of how they were going to raise money, at one point they were going to space hopper from Swan Lodge to Tesco! Their ideas were amazing and I thought it was so nice that they were willing to help me help other people struggling in a different country.
“It’s overwhelming as our residents are struggling themselves, but they are willing to help others, it just shows what kind of people they are. Those who are at difficult time in their lives have been so selfless and have gone above and beyond to support me in making a difference in another part of the world.
“The second I got back into work after the trip, they were asking me all about it and wanted to see the video I’d made.”
Gemma visited the village in 2015 and 2019 as part of a youth project and returned last month.
Project Gambia 2025 was made up 25 volunteers who completed decorating projects at two schools, helping to redecorate a large outdoor area and paint learning resources on the walls.
They also worked at the Women’s Garden, which provides support to help women grow produce, ran first aid and water safety workshops and ran Saturday and Sunday school alongside leisure activities with local youngsters.
Gemma continued: “The first time I went there 10 years ago I was overwhelmed. It was very emotional, especially hearing stories of what people have had to go through. A lot of them have nothing, but they really help each other out. There’s a real strong sense of community.
“Returning this time, the experience was totally different, seeing how much they’ve achieved by doing this project over the last 10 years, but I think also because of my experience working at Swan Lodge. I was more aware of things, particularly homelessness. There were lots of people sleeping rough in the village and they don’t have the support there. It made me more grateful for the help we are able to offer to our residents here at Swan Lodge.”
Swan Lodge is a Salvation Army run Lifehouse based in High Street, Sunderland, which provides supported accommodation for up to 65 people who are homeless.
For more information search for them on Facebook.
