Gambian Deaf Children Charity Weekend – Amerton Railway

Gambian Deaf Children Charity Weekend

Amerton Railway

The Amerton Charity Weekend is on 12/13 July 2013. Trains will run each day from 11.30am – 4.30pm and all proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to support the ‘Gambian Deaf Children Support Project’ (GDCSP).
On both days the ‘Gambia Express’ will be hauled by the 117 year old locomotive ‘Isabel’ and for this weekend only passengers can have ‘two rides for the price of one’!

Malcolm Garner, driver of ‘Isabel,’ is the founder and Chairman of the charity which has now been working to support the education of deaf children in Gambia for nearly 10 years. Some of their achievements to date and photos and details of the work done by the GDCSP in Gambia will be on display on the platform and they can also be viewed at http://www.gambiandeafchildren.com.
Also running on both days will be a second train pulled by ‘Paddy’, an interesting vertical boilered locomotive built by a member of the railway in 2010. One ticket will buy two trips around the line and you will be able to do this on two different trains!
Deaf pupils in Gambia are mainly taught using Sign Language and on Sunday 13th, as a very special highlight, we will have two performances (at 1.30pm and 3.00pm) by a Signing Choir! This is made up of pupils from De Ferrers Academy in Burton on Trent who have learned British Sign Language (as used by a number of deaf pupils attending the school) and will perform well known songs, not by singing them, but using British Sign Language!

The Choir is the brainchild of Steve Tucker (father of another Amerton Railway volunteer) who is a Sign Language Interpreter for the pupils at De Ferrers.
Sign Language is a key part of the educational provision for deaf children in Gambia so it will be good to demonstrate how effective and attractive this can be as a means of communication. Please come and support these pupils who have so generously given their time to support the work with deaf children in this part of Africa.
The Amerton Railway Charity Weekends have so far raised more than £7000 for the work of the GDCSP and last year was the best with just over £1000 raised over a single weekend! It would be nice to better that this time!
For further details and any other information please contact Malcolm Garner direct on 07811 333373 or at malcolm.garner@yahoo.co.uk.