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ALL THESE years I've known Baby Father author Patrick Augustus and I never knew he was the ‘black Bob Geldof’! So it came as something of a surprise to learn that for the last five years he has been funding a school in Gambia for children whose parents can't afford to send them to school. Five years!

Patrick and I have been bredrin since we were teenagers. Ask him about when my hair was pink… On second thoughts, don’t ask. I was going through my Anarchy in the UK phase. We've remained 'heartical bredrin’ ever since. We talk on the phone every week, sometimes every other day.

Nevertheless, I shouldn't have been surprised. This is the kind of thing Patrick would do, with humility, without bigging himself up to each and everybody.

Going to Gambia five years ago with our recently departed queen of lovers rock, Louisa Mark, Patrick took over a failing school and opened it up to poor local children by offering free education.

Along the way he funded some other community projects, including one for a man whose car garage business operated under a zinc roof held up by scrap wood. Within a few weeks of Patrick's gift the man had built a concrete garage and was offering the Gambian equivalent of an AA breakdown recovery service. Amazing success in such a short time, and all Patrick did was give him a digital camera and print up a few business cards.

When it comes to the school, it only costs Patrick £50 a month to employ two retired teachers. And for that 37 children are currently being taught! He also dips into his pocket to find money to buy uniforms for his pupils.

"I thought of doing it as a charity," Patrick says. "But when I realised that half of charity money usually disappears into administration, I just thought 'Chuh, I'll do it myself."

Now if Patrick had friends in high society, his good works, assisted by the Baby Father Alliance, would be more known. More importantly, if Patrick can run a school in Gambia giving poor children free education (there are normally costs) for just £50 a month, what are the rest of us waiting for? If £50 a month is all it takes, we should all be setting up schools there, or at least supporting the likes of Patrick. Look what a difference it has made to all those children.

Published: 30 November 2009
Issue: 1400

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