Friday, February 14, 2014

Gambia-HELP on Thursday donated school materials worth of US$3,000 to Banjulinding Lower Basic School in the Kombo North District, West Coast Region.The materials included 14 bicycles, 13 cartons of reading materials, 6 boxes of art sets and a box of shoes, among others.The materials were geared towards easing the learning constraints of the students, as well as their transportation, as 60 per cent of the students live in the neighbouring villages and have to walk to school to attend lessons.In an interview with The Point, Gambia-HELP Director Shelby Tarutis said the project is promoting education and developing lives, adding that they have been in the country for seventeen years working primarily in the rural areas supporting sustainable projects for women and children.Director Tarutis, who was a Peace Corps Volunteer in The Gambia in the 1980s, posted in Dankunku in the Central River Region, and worked in their primary school and the health clinic, said she became inspired when she fell in love with The Gambia and her people.She said from there, she devoted her life helping with sustainable project developments for the communities, while advising students to excel in their studies to better their lives and families in the future.

The school headmaster, Momodou A.L. Sonko, extended gratitude and appreciation for the gesture, saying the school was established in 1994, and currently has a total enrollment of 2,020 students.

He assured the donors of a proper use of the items, saying that 60 per cent of the students are from the surrounding communities.

Sunkari Jammeh-Darboe, on behalf of the village mothers’ club, thanked the donors for enhancing their children with the learning materials, which, she said, would greatly ease the educational burden on parents.

Author: Adama K. Jallow