Back from The Gambia
February 4, 2013
I just returned from a productive and inspiring two weeks in The Gambia. We took a number of big steps in developing an on-the-ground organization of Gambian volunteers, to supplement Father Jean's and my oversight. I was also able to meet and video short interviews with 74 of the students that are being supported through the generosity of GambiaRising donors.
I am going to try to keep my updates shorter this year, so I will not try to make a full report today. But I do want to introduce you to a few remarkable young students.
On my second day in country, I met with Maimouna Baldeh. Three years ago, Maimouna was an "unqualified" (non-degreed) teacher at St. Therese's in Fula Bantang. The school had no electricity, and she had never used a computer. With the support of a GambiaRising donor, Maimouna enrolled in a college prep program, then studied one term at the Management Development Institute in Kanfing. She has now transferred to the University of The Gambia, where I met with her after she had completed her first day of classes. You can see our conversation at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZm8DuOCLQE
We then headed up country, to Fula Bantang and the towns around it where students are attending senior secondary school. St. Therese's graduated 46 twelfth graders last year; 45 of them went on to senior secondary school this year; an extraordinary statistic for The Gambia. Eleven of those were students supported by GambiaRising donors. 100% of them are in 10th grade this year. One of them is Mariama Touray, who is boarding at Armitage school in Janjanbureh. This new crop of 10th graders really impressed Joanna LaHaie, the Peace Corps volunteer stationed at Armitage; "They're so confident this year," she noted. I suspect it may have something to do with being part of a cohort of peers from their school; the students are giving each other confidence. Here is a short interview with Mariama: http://youtu.be/6v8Tsm3FLYs
Back at St. Therese's, I met a new student to our program, Bubacarr Jallow. Most students are understandably formal and reserved in front of the camera. So I was surprised and delighted when after introducing himself as I had asked him to do, he then said, "And you?"
Bubacarr was in 8th grade, but seemed mature for that grade. "How old are you?" I asked. "17, he replied." I recalled that I had been in 12th grade when I was 17 so I later asked Principal Kebba Sanyang what Bubacarr's story was. "His family is very poor and his father knew that he could not afford to send him to school, so he did not. He sat at home. But as the boy grew, he started insisting that he go to school.
"Finally when he was 9, he convinced his father to register him. He managed to get him through 6th grade, but at the end of 7th grade, his father was not able to pay his fees, so he was about to be sent out. We allowed him to complete the year hoping that that he will be accepted into GambiaRising's program."
As you can hear in this short interview, Bubacarr is a clear-headed young man with a plan, who with a little help from a GambiaRising's donor, is going to change the course of his family's history. http://youtu.be/mAUqOvu9pzw
The generosity of GambiaRising's donors is allowing us to support 160 students like these all over The Gambia. Father Jean has another five he hopes we can help soon.
Thank you so much for your generosity and support; as always, please forward this note to anyone you think might be interested in supporting a student.
I just returned from a productive and inspiring two weeks in The Gambia. We took a number of big steps in developing an on-the-ground organization of Gambian volunteers, to supplement Father Jean's and my oversight. I was also able to meet and video short interviews with 74 of the students that are being supported through the generosity of GambiaRising donors.
I am going to try to keep my updates shorter this year, so I will not try to make a full report today. But I do want to introduce you to a few remarkable young students.
On my second day in country, I met with Maimouna Baldeh. Three years ago, Maimouna was an "unqualified" (non-degreed) teacher at St. Therese's in Fula Bantang. The school had no electricity, and she had never used a computer. With the support of a GambiaRising donor, Maimouna enrolled in a college prep program, then studied one term at the Management Development Institute in Kanfing. She has now transferred to the University of The Gambia, where I met with her after she had completed her first day of classes. You can see our conversation at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZm8DuOCLQE
We then headed up country, to Fula Bantang and the towns around it where students are attending senior secondary school. St. Therese's graduated 46 twelfth graders last year; 45 of them went on to senior secondary school this year; an extraordinary statistic for The Gambia. Eleven of those were students supported by GambiaRising donors. 100% of them are in 10th grade this year. One of them is Mariama Touray, who is boarding at Armitage school in Janjanbureh. This new crop of 10th graders really impressed Joanna LaHaie, the Peace Corps volunteer stationed at Armitage; "They're so confident this year," she noted. I suspect it may have something to do with being part of a cohort of peers from their school; the students are giving each other confidence. Here is a short interview with Mariama: http://youtu.be/6v8Tsm3FLYs
Back at St. Therese's, I met a new student to our program, Bubacarr Jallow. Most students are understandably formal and reserved in front of the camera. So I was surprised and delighted when after introducing himself as I had asked him to do, he then said, "And you?"
Bubacarr was in 8th grade, but seemed mature for that grade. "How old are you?" I asked. "17, he replied." I recalled that I had been in 12th grade when I was 17 so I later asked Principal Kebba Sanyang what Bubacarr's story was. "His family is very poor and his father knew that he could not afford to send him to school, so he did not. He sat at home. But as the boy grew, he started insisting that he go to school.
"Finally when he was 9, he convinced his father to register him. He managed to get him through 6th grade, but at the end of 7th grade, his father was not able to pay his fees, so he was about to be sent out. We allowed him to complete the year hoping that that he will be accepted into GambiaRising's program."
As you can hear in this short interview, Bubacarr is a clear-headed young man with a plan, who with a little help from a GambiaRising's donor, is going to change the course of his family's history. http://youtu.be/mAUqOvu9pzw
The generosity of GambiaRising's donors is allowing us to support 160 students like these all over The Gambia. Father Jean has another five he hopes we can help soon.
Thank you so much for your generosity and support; as always, please forward this note to anyone you think might be interested in supporting a student.