By: Ansu Fatty
Orphan Care Gambia, a UK Charity operating in the country has recently launches its newest educational project meant to transform scavengers to school pupils. The project that was launched at Bakoteh Lower Basic School is hoped to address the continuous presence of children bend on scavenging at the Bakoteh Dump Site.
This is not the first time Orphan Care has been intervening in the education sector of the country, it has constructed a an Islamic School (Madarasa) at Old Yundum in West Coast Region of the country that currently enrolled more than three hundred students pupils as well as creating employment for more than six teachers.
“We have just launched a new education project meant to address the loitering of young children at the Bakoteh dumpsite. This decision has been reach with our partners in UK upon realizing that a good number of kids have resort to collecting used materials at the dumpsite in order to support their families. We find this disturbing and as a result we decided to start a pilot project so as to sponsor some of these children,” said Momodou Jarjue, Coordinator Orphan Care Gambia.
According to him, the Orphanage has identify five children attending Bakoteh Lower Basic School who have been granted full sponsorship package that will go alongside with the provision of feeding for their families, noting that this will allow the children to focus on their education thus avoiding the dumpsite in pursue of the survival.
“We have identify five children who are regulars at the dumpsite with fully funded sponsorship that will also include provision of feeding to their families. We decided to include feeding in their package so that there will be no excuse for not attending school because some of these kids are not regular at the school due to the low income earning of their parent forcing them to becoming scavengers at the dumpsite.
Jarjue said the project will be expanded to target many more kids who scavenge at the dumpsite as soon as more funding is acquire by their donors, adding that closed to thirteen thousand dalasis is earmarked for this pilot project this years.
He said Sarjo Camara, Saikou Camara, Fatoumata Ngoss, Isatou Bah and Momodou Lamarana Jallow all pupils of Bakoteh Lower Basic School have been the lucky ones to have benefit from this pilot project, adding that project will not relent on course until the Bakoteh Dumpsite is totally free from children scavengers.
Jarjue revealed that a committee has been established that includes staff of the dumpsite, authorities at the Bakoteh Lower Basic as well as officials of the Orphan Care Gambia, adding to the idea is to monitor these children from resorting back to scavenging as well as ensuring that they regularly attend classes at the school.
Saikou Sanneh, Head Master Bakoteh Lower Basic School hailed the gesture describing it as timely one of a kind geared towards addressing the educational needs of the less privilege, adding that the school authorities will endeavor to monitor these kids so that they can regularly attend school.
He called on philanthropist and donors to emulate the footsteps of Orphan Care in improving the education sector of the country, while calling on the parents of the beneficiary to live up to expectation by ensuring that their kids attended school daily that will allow the charity to create more sponsorship to the needy.
