A Quick Update on the New School Year
November 17, 2013
It is seven weeks into the new school year in The Gambia and across the country, and especially in the villages around Fula Bantang, children and students whose families couldn't afford to send them to school, have hope today .
Thanks to the the renewal of nearly all of last year's sponsors, the generosity of 19 new donors, some World Bank subsidies to school costs at the lower grades, and the care in budgeting by our team of Gambian educators, we were able to give full or partial scholarships to 204 Gambian students this year, from nursery school through college.
Of these, 141 are girls, and most if not all would not be in school without this assistance.
The number of donors committed to sponsoring one or more students rose to 61, and for the first time a majority of these were returned Peace Corps volunteers, their friends, and extended families.
This year's students are attending 46 different schools, although more than 50 are enrolled at St. Therese's in Fula Bantang, where we have done so much work, and where the school population continues to grow through our support. There are another 40 graduates of St. Therese's attending the three senior secondary schools in the region and in the capital. And another 4 graduates of St. Therese's are now at GTTI, Gambia College, or the University of The Gambia, along with one promising teacher from St. Therese's now in his second year at Gambia [Teacher's] College.
One student we support at the University of The Gambia was even invited to spend the fall semester studying at St. Mary's College in Maryland thus freeing up funds to support another five students in high school.
Meanwhile, the Gambian dalasi continues to weaken, and the economy is in a deep rut, but these 204 students still have hope for a better future.
Two of our partners are just returning from a visit to Fula Bantang, and I will be going back in January as well, so we'll be sending photos and stories in coming months.
This is all such great news for the children and students who received support, and it would have been completely impossible if not for the dedication of Father Moses Drammeh, Kebba Sanyang, Dawda Faye, Lamin Cham, Matthew Gomez, Rafael Jawo, and the other Gambian educators who volunteer their time to coordinate the program. And of course for the support of Dr. Emil Kujabi, the Catholic Education Secretary who oversees the best network of public schools in the country. So much smart, hard work goes into coordinating this program, and I know is not easy to meet with families, decide which students are most in need and most promising, make sure the fees are paid, keep meticulous records, etc. etc. But it is getting done.
And of course, none of this would happen without the generosity of our donors. We are such a small organization, and every one is absolutely necessary. We treat our small budget as precious, and my wife and I cover all the overhead, so every other donated dollar goes directly to support the students.
We decided to take a risk this year, and used our fall donations and pledges to support as many deserving and promising students who could not start school without our help as our funds allowed. That means that over the next few months, as we receive new appeals from students who started school but whose parents can't pay for the second or third term, we won't have a reserve to respond to them. So we are counting on finding a few more generous souls who can sign up to donate as little as $12.50 per month to make sure another Gambian student gets to stay in school when their funds run out. It takes literally less than two minutes: www.gambiarising.org/donate
If you can help, or if you know someone who can, it will make all the difference; it will literally change one girl or boy's life.
Thank you so much.
It is seven weeks into the new school year in The Gambia and across the country, and especially in the villages around Fula Bantang, children and students whose families couldn't afford to send them to school, have hope today .
Thanks to the the renewal of nearly all of last year's sponsors, the generosity of 19 new donors, some World Bank subsidies to school costs at the lower grades, and the care in budgeting by our team of Gambian educators, we were able to give full or partial scholarships to 204 Gambian students this year, from nursery school through college.
Of these, 141 are girls, and most if not all would not be in school without this assistance.
The number of donors committed to sponsoring one or more students rose to 61, and for the first time a majority of these were returned Peace Corps volunteers, their friends, and extended families.
This year's students are attending 46 different schools, although more than 50 are enrolled at St. Therese's in Fula Bantang, where we have done so much work, and where the school population continues to grow through our support. There are another 40 graduates of St. Therese's attending the three senior secondary schools in the region and in the capital. And another 4 graduates of St. Therese's are now at GTTI, Gambia College, or the University of The Gambia, along with one promising teacher from St. Therese's now in his second year at Gambia [Teacher's] College.
One student we support at the University of The Gambia was even invited to spend the fall semester studying at St. Mary's College in Maryland thus freeing up funds to support another five students in high school.
Meanwhile, the Gambian dalasi continues to weaken, and the economy is in a deep rut, but these 204 students still have hope for a better future.
Two of our partners are just returning from a visit to Fula Bantang, and I will be going back in January as well, so we'll be sending photos and stories in coming months.
This is all such great news for the children and students who received support, and it would have been completely impossible if not for the dedication of Father Moses Drammeh, Kebba Sanyang, Dawda Faye, Lamin Cham, Matthew Gomez, Rafael Jawo, and the other Gambian educators who volunteer their time to coordinate the program. And of course for the support of Dr. Emil Kujabi, the Catholic Education Secretary who oversees the best network of public schools in the country. So much smart, hard work goes into coordinating this program, and I know is not easy to meet with families, decide which students are most in need and most promising, make sure the fees are paid, keep meticulous records, etc. etc. But it is getting done.
And of course, none of this would happen without the generosity of our donors. We are such a small organization, and every one is absolutely necessary. We treat our small budget as precious, and my wife and I cover all the overhead, so every other donated dollar goes directly to support the students.
We decided to take a risk this year, and used our fall donations and pledges to support as many deserving and promising students who could not start school without our help as our funds allowed. That means that over the next few months, as we receive new appeals from students who started school but whose parents can't pay for the second or third term, we won't have a reserve to respond to them. So we are counting on finding a few more generous souls who can sign up to donate as little as $12.50 per month to make sure another Gambian student gets to stay in school when their funds run out. It takes literally less than two minutes: www.gambiarising.org/donate
If you can help, or if you know someone who can, it will make all the difference; it will literally change one girl or boy's life.
Thank you so much.