As well as dramatically increasing the validity of my thesis and the degree to which I was able to support Concern Universal in their work, this trip presented me with the opportunity to gain an extraordinary insight into the communities and lives of rural Gambian people and the challenges they face in their everyday lives. Despite living in acute poverty, everyone I interviewed and stayed with offered me their hospitality with a kindness and generosity that left me in considerable awe. I would like to thank the Arkleton Trust for making this trip possible, both on behalf of Concern Universal for whom I hope I was able to carryout valuable research work and also for myself. My visit to The Gambia enabled me to write a thesis with a much greater level of insight than would otherwise have been possible as well as taking me on an amazing personal journey.