By: Fatou Krubally
A two-day training session aimed at empowering children with disabilities through education, technology, and play opened yesterday at Ocean Bay Hotel in Bakau.
The training is part of the 30-month European Union-funded project Disability Inclusive Pathways. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) partnered with national disability organizations to conduct the training session.
Speaking at the opening of the training, Saidina Alieu Jarjou program manager CRS described the initiative as a crucial step in strengthening frontline workers to better identify and support children with disabilities. “Over the years, persons with disabilities have been marginalized,” Jarjou said. “This training seeks to enhance your capacity to identify children with disabilities in schools and communities, and to ensure timely interventions through stronger referral pathways.”
He explained that the training builds on a 2024 assessment at GNRC, which highlighted both strengths and gaps in human resources and capacity. “We really appreciate the work GNRC is doing, but we also want to enhance their capacity so they can better serve children living with disabilities,” he added.
The project will initially target 12 schools across three regions: one in Kanifing Municipality, six in West Coast Region, and five in the North Bank Region. Jarjou noted that while CRS’s ambition is to train every teacher and health worker in the country, budget constraints mean only selected personnel can benefit directly, with the expectation they will pass on knowledge to colleagues.
Longini Bazili Mutale, a certified prosthetist and orthotist consultant at GNRC, underscored the importance of the initiative. “By tomorrow, we should be equipped with the knowledge and skills to go into communities and provide the necessary support to children with physical disabilities, so they can grow to become productive members of their families and the nation,” he said.
The Disability Inclusive Pathways project aims to enhance the enrollment and retention of children with disabilities in schools, while promoting a more inclusive society.
As CRS and its partners roll out training across regions, the initiative marks a decisive effort to bridge long-standing gaps in disability inclusion, with the promise of transforming opportunities for some of The Gambia’s most marginalized children.
The initiative brings together the Gambia Federation of the Disabled (GFD), the National Organization for Disabled and Orphans (NODO), Special Olympics The Gambia, and the Gambia National Rehabilitation Centre (GNRC).
