No Father's Day
June 16, 2012
The situation for women in The Gambia is far from ideal. Especially without education. Because, like most of the world, west Africa is a male-centric culture.
So the father's needs are the family's priority.
But what happens when the father dies?
The life expectancy of the average Gambian is 59 years; that's 154th on the U.N.'s list of 194 countries. (The United States is only 38th, with an average life expectancy of 78 years.)
The good news is that in 1970, life expectancy in The Gambia was only 38 years.
So the trend is good. And believe it or not, when people live longer, they actually have fewer children. One theory is that they expect their children to live, so they have fewer. Just ask the Japanese; they have the longest life expectancy in the world, and their population is declining.
Since many Gambians live to be quite old, the low averages speak more to the fact that so many die before their natural life span is over. You rarely hear a Gambian say how a family member died, unless it was from malaria; most deaths are undiagnosed. But when a Gambian father dies, the family suffers, and one of the first places that is felt is kids dropping out of school.
So this Father's Day, I want to introduce you to twenty-one of our students who either have no father or whose father is unknown to them, and who are in school today only with the support of GambiaRising's donors. Half of these have been sponsored by a specific GambiaRising donor, and the others are being supported from our general fund. I am certain that there are more in our program without fathers, but these are the ones I have detailed information on, and photos of.
For these young people, the support GambiaRising donors has given them has been literally life-changing.
So here's an idea for this Father's Day. Instead of buying that lovely new tie (or perhaps getting one), give or ask for the gift of life-changing education for a Gambian student who has no father. I can guarantee you this: it is a gift that will keep on giving.
Father Jean, Lamin, our Trustees, and I are volunteering our time, and Marilyn and I are paying the administrative and overhead costs, so 100% of your donation will go directly to support a student.
Don't forget our new monthly donation program; now donors can spread the support of a student over 12 months. So to support a student in grades K-6 is only $12,50 per month; senior secondary school (high school, which includes room and board) is only $25 per month. The full menu is at the bottom of this page: http://www.gambiarising.org/donate.html. If you are not in a position to help out now, considering forwarding this to someone who might.
Thanks so much.
And Happy Father's Day!
Mike McConnell
Managing Trustee
GambiaRising Charitable Trust
We have videos of ten fatherless students up on our GambiaScholars YouTube channel; if you want to view them, here are the links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLI66Z0r4ls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JrTLcmGtKc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n_1zoANuZY
http://youtu.be/4EWfElt1Gy8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cq-NYM5g1M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GW8EUWkI5E
http://youtu.be/c5sEJPT2hCY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIocvF2ZLCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4aMqEe-eHA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHHJA83R8JM
The situation for women in The Gambia is far from ideal. Especially without education. Because, like most of the world, west Africa is a male-centric culture.
So the father's needs are the family's priority.
But what happens when the father dies?
The life expectancy of the average Gambian is 59 years; that's 154th on the U.N.'s list of 194 countries. (The United States is only 38th, with an average life expectancy of 78 years.)
The good news is that in 1970, life expectancy in The Gambia was only 38 years.
So the trend is good. And believe it or not, when people live longer, they actually have fewer children. One theory is that they expect their children to live, so they have fewer. Just ask the Japanese; they have the longest life expectancy in the world, and their population is declining.
Since many Gambians live to be quite old, the low averages speak more to the fact that so many die before their natural life span is over. You rarely hear a Gambian say how a family member died, unless it was from malaria; most deaths are undiagnosed. But when a Gambian father dies, the family suffers, and one of the first places that is felt is kids dropping out of school.
So this Father's Day, I want to introduce you to twenty-one of our students who either have no father or whose father is unknown to them, and who are in school today only with the support of GambiaRising's donors. Half of these have been sponsored by a specific GambiaRising donor, and the others are being supported from our general fund. I am certain that there are more in our program without fathers, but these are the ones I have detailed information on, and photos of.
For these young people, the support GambiaRising donors has given them has been literally life-changing.
So here's an idea for this Father's Day. Instead of buying that lovely new tie (or perhaps getting one), give or ask for the gift of life-changing education for a Gambian student who has no father. I can guarantee you this: it is a gift that will keep on giving.
Father Jean, Lamin, our Trustees, and I are volunteering our time, and Marilyn and I are paying the administrative and overhead costs, so 100% of your donation will go directly to support a student.
Don't forget our new monthly donation program; now donors can spread the support of a student over 12 months. So to support a student in grades K-6 is only $12,50 per month; senior secondary school (high school, which includes room and board) is only $25 per month. The full menu is at the bottom of this page: http://www.gambiarising.org/donate.html. If you are not in a position to help out now, considering forwarding this to someone who might.
Thanks so much.
And Happy Father's Day!
Mike McConnell
Managing Trustee
GambiaRising Charitable Trust
We have videos of ten fatherless students up on our GambiaScholars YouTube channel; if you want to view them, here are the links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLI66Z0r4ls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JrTLcmGtKc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n_1zoANuZY
http://youtu.be/4EWfElt1Gy8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cq-NYM5g1M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GW8EUWkI5E
http://youtu.be/c5sEJPT2hCY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIocvF2ZLCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4aMqEe-eHA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHHJA83R8JM