WHAT was meant to be a romantic honeymoon turned into a life-changing experience and a fundraising mission for an Egremont couple.

Also celebrating their 10th anniversary, Colin and Sharon Fox’s holiday in The Gambia saw the country become a “second home” as the sights of poverty and generosity fueled a dream to make a difference.

“This was our first holiday as a couple and the kids were left at home,” said 37-year-old Sharon. “We went over there expecting a relaxing holiday but we could have never prepared for what it was really like.”

“You hear stories and see things on TV about what some African countries can be like but you don’t see or hear what it’s really like,” added Colin, 48. “These people have very little but what they do have they share generously – they need help.”

The sights the pair witnessed have now led them to setting up their own charity in a bid to supply the people in The Gambia with the tools to improve their lives. Their charity ‘Siiboo’ a Mandinka tribal word meaning ‘dream’ will provide them with a platform to fundraise and achieve their goal of taking a 20 sq ft container of essentials back to the country when they return in March with their two sons Jake, 14 and Alex, 17.

The couple, who live on Nelson Street, “couldn’t believe their eyes” when they were taken into the Market Place and a local school in the area of Banjul saying it was like “another world”.

“Most people who were staying in our hotel never went further than the beach or the pool but we were keen to explore and see the culture,” Colin said. “Going into the villages, it was just incredible. Barely anyone had their own possessions, if there was a football or a bike it would belong to an entire street and they would take turns keeping it at their houses. I say houses but they lived in corrugated iron huts but they were the kindest people we’d ever met.”

Before flying out, Sharon and Colin had asked for donations of old football shirts on Facebook to take with them and sacrificed some of their luggage to take school supplies and sweets to give out when they arrived.

Sharon said: “When we handed out the things we’d taken it was as if we’d transformed their lives. It was such a small thing to us but it made a huge difference to them.”

They then visited a school in Bakendik on the north bank of the River Gambia and described it as “almost completely bare”.

“If you didn’t have a school uniform you weren’t allowed to attend the lessons,” said Colin. “The teacher had a blackboard and chalk and the supplies for the children were so limited. It really had a huge impact on us and it was then we knew we wanted to do something that wouldn’t just help them now but in the long term.”

On their return to Egremont, Sharon, who works at West Lakes Academy, and Colin a store manager at Nisa in Cleator Moor, set about registering their charity and working on three separate appeals. The ‘backpack appeal’ will see school children receive a bag containing school supplies, a toy and a toothbrush. The ‘big fish’ appeal will provide families with fishing equipment to not only feed themselves but to make a living by selling what they catch. And finally a ‘schools helping schools’ appeal to get local schools to donate textbooks, and unwanted equipment to schools across The Gambia.

“These people are doing all they can for themselves but lots of things just aren’t acceptable in the way they live. Schoolchildren sometimes don’t have shoes and may be working in unsafe and unhygienic conditions from as young as six years old,” said Sharon. “Despite this, they’re always happy, always smiling and incredibly, extend their hand to anyone to share what they do have despite it being very little.”

“Children in England have iPads and Playstations, yet still get bored,” said Colin. “In contrast, we’d see children kicking a ball on the beach for eight hours straight having the time of their lives. They appreciate everything they have one hundred per cent and we want to help them kick-start their lives.”

Now officially registered as a charity, their fundraising mission starts. “We’ve written to schools in Egremont and depending on the support we get back we’ll write to more throughout Copeland,” said Colin. “The container will cost £2000 to ship to The Gambia so we’re planning fundraisers to help us achieve that goal. Stores such as The Lad Barber and Pelleymounters in Egremont are designated drop-off points for anything anyone would like to donate and if anyone would like any ideas for things to donate there’s loads of stuff on the charity’s website.”

Visit the website at www.siiboo.org.uk