St. Therese's graduates at Armitage Sr. Secondary School
Armitage is the best high school in upcountry The Gambia. GambiaRising is supporting 48 student from St. Therese's at Armitage. 33 of these are girls. It is likely that none of these students would be in school today without the support of GambiaRising's donors.
Jankey J. at graduation
Jankey’s father was sent to jail when she was 11. Her stepmother was paying her school fees until she lost her job. None of her relatives were willing or able to help.
A GambiaRising sponsor paid her fees so she could stay in school for her senior year and graduate with her classmates.
To see a short video of her at graduation, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2FG3BGklnE
A GambiaRising sponsor paid her fees so she could stay in school for her senior year and graduate with her classmates.
To see a short video of her at graduation, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2FG3BGklnE
Basiru C.
Basiru was sleeping on the floor of a friend's house when we met him in 2008. His father, an imam, had kicked him out of the house and stopped paying his tuition because he wanted him to be working to help support the family. After graduating from Charles Fowlis Sr. Secondary School, GambiaRising sponsors have supported him to study accounting at the Management Development Institute in Kanifing, where he was a star student and achieved his ACCA degree (the equivalent of an American CPA). Now working as a free-lance accountant, Basiru is now helping support his grateful father (and mother). And he is paying for his younger sister's education! To see a video of Basiru talking about his studies at MDI, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kH4buI6svI
Oumou J.
Oumou moved from the chaos of Guinea Conakry to The Gambia where her brother, who had previously emigrated to The Gambia, was putting her through senior secondary school. When her brother died in 2008, she could not pay the exam fees to complete 11th grade and was expelled from school. Through a GambiaRising sponsor, the fees were paid, she was allowed to take the exams. Oumou graduated in June, 2010 from Charles Fowlis Senior Secondary Schoolm then studied marketing at the Gambia Technical and Training Institute in Kanifing. She is now an independent shopkeeper and businesswoman. To see a short early interview with Oumou, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQdPbLcwE44&feature=related
Samba G.
Samba's father died and he was living with his uncle's extended family of 27 people. His uncle is a farmer and also sells wood by the road in Fula Bantang. When his uncle was unable to pay his school fees, Samba was was able to complete 8th grade by working as a shepherd in the summer months. Introduced to us by a Peace Corps volunteer living in the area (pictured here), Samba was first sponsored in 2008 to attend Armitage Sr. Secondary School in Janjanbureh, where he graduated in the spring of 2011. He is now a sdenor at the University of The Gambia, majoring in Nursing.
You can view short videos of Samba on YouTube.
He talks about his family at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fEWdptKi0o
He talks about his studies at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJwFfd7WjOQ
He talks about his future at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cn3o3q0f0g
He talks about going to college here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSce00VeOqU
You can view short videos of Samba on YouTube.
He talks about his family at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fEWdptKi0o
He talks about his studies at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJwFfd7WjOQ
He talks about his future at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cn3o3q0f0g
He talks about going to college here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSce00VeOqU
Students at Fullabantang Basic Cycle School
Fula Bantang is a village in the eastern part of The Gambia, in the Central River Region. Many of the students sponsored by the GambiaRising program study for their first nine years at Fula Gantang's Basic Cycle School, St. Therese's.
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Girls walking home from school
This photo, taken by a Peace Corps volunteer, is from a village on the north bank of the River Gambia. These rural villages, whose residents are subsistence farmers, have community wells, no electricity, but schools are available for all, at least through 6th grade.
Schoolgirls under a baobob tree
These schoolgirls are from a small village on the south bank, near the village of Mayork. They are fortunate in that the Mayork senior secondary school is within less than an hour's walk of their village.
PHOTOS of THE GAMBIA
In 2008 and 2009, Peace Corps volunteers in The Gambia held a photo contest among themselves. The results were remarkable for their quality and variety. The finalist photos can be see at:
2009 finalists: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32992564@N03/sets/72157623084177746/
2008 finalists: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32992564@N03/sets/72157623084245744/
Zach Rosen was a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia from 2008-10. A talented photographer, he has posted some of his photos online at:
http://zacharyrosen.com/gambian-portraits#0 and
http://zacharyrosen.com/gallery#0
2009 finalists: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32992564@N03/sets/72157623084177746/
2008 finalists: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32992564@N03/sets/72157623084245744/
Zach Rosen was a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia from 2008-10. A talented photographer, he has posted some of his photos online at:
http://zacharyrosen.com/gambian-portraits#0 and
http://zacharyrosen.com/gallery#0