Back in School

GambiaRising's program is simple: give young Gambians whose families are too poor to afford the low costs of schooling a chance to start and to stay in school.

Which will give them a chance for a better life. 

Since we base our support on need, nearly 2/3 of those we support are girls and young women.  

We have no offices, no vehicles, and our Gambian Coordinators work tirelessly but without expecting pay for doing so, which means we can commit that all donations will go directly to support students.  Simply put, we aim to do the most good we can with every dollar donated.

Aminata and Anna

I'm no more a fan of the Department of Motor Vehicles than anyone else, but I do know this: it is worse not to have one.  In The Gambia, if you can pay for a driver's license, you can have one.  And the roads are not great; in the towns, there are often no shoulders, and for every cautious driver there seem to be two others passing on the right, stopping to take on or let off passengers, or too often, a truck sitting only partly off the road, broken down.  According to the WHO, 3.2% of all deaths in Africa are from road accidents.  And countless more are seriously injured.

Aminata recently heard about GambiaRising and came with Anna to talk to our Community Coordinator at his home. He heard their sad story, and told them he was sorry, we had no extra funds right now but he would let them know as soon as we were able to. He knew that girls of "marrying age" are always our top priority, so they went to the top of his waiting list. 

We have to worry about two things each year: will our current donors renew their support?  If they do, then we'll be able to take care of all our current students.  And then, will new donors join us? And/or will any current donors increase their donations?  Unlike most non-profits, our focus is mostly on consistency of giving than on constantly asking for more from those who have already helped.  But when a monthly donor increased her monthly donation a few weeks ago, we immediately saw that we would be able to promise scholarships to both Aminata and Anna.  Our Coordinator had cloth on hand for their uniforms, so one of our volunteer tailors made their uniforms, he gave them their books, and just like that, their lives changed.  Aminata is 19 years old; Anna is 20.  That's quite a bit older than the others in their 9th grade class at Banjulunding Upper Basic School, but they don't care. They know that education is the key to a better future.  And they are thrilled to have that chance.

The "Junglers"

In recent months, all of The Gambia has been paying rapt attention to the publicly-aired hearings of the Gambian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chartered to reveal the multitude of crimes conducted by former strongman President Yahya Jammeh.  What is not covered in these hearings is the fate of the families left grieving and without income when the heads of those families disappear.  Ndongo Mboob was one such.  In recent public testimony, a soldier described how a darkened-window vehicle brought Ndongo to President Jammeh's rural farm, with instructions from Jammeh that he should be shot and dumped into a well.  It had long been assumed that Ndongo had been killed, but now everyone knew the details.

So when Alieu Gaye, one of our Coordinators, met Fatou Sonko, Ndongo Mboob's widow, in a waiting room at Bwiam Hospital, he already knew her story. Their wait was also long enough for him to find out more about the family since Ndongo's disappearance. Fatou said they were managing to feed themselves, through charity from family and neighbors.  But her oldest daughter, Ceesay, desperately wanted to help her mom by bringing in some income to the family.  How?  By becoming a teacher.  Did he know anyone who could help?

There was one other problem: Fatou said there was also a 12-year old girl in the compound, her niece Binta.  Binta's mother was Fatou's sister; her father was mentally troubled and could not support his family. Then Binta's mom died. And Fatou said "Let her come live with me."  Which was fine, until Ndongo disappeared.  Although Ndongo's family found a way to support  his children, they were less happy about supporting Fatou's niece, who was not related to Ndongo except through the marriage. Fatou told our Coordinator that she expected Binta to drop out this year unless she could find help.  

Our Coordinator, Alieu Gaye, discussed this conversation with Kebba Sanyang, our Upcountry Program Coordinator.  Kebba came down to visit the family and meet Ceesay and Binta.  And then he let us know that he and Alieu both strongly hoped we could find the funds to help.  

Now it came down to our donors.  Would those who had donated last year, do so again this year?  Would new donors join us?  Would FaceBook fundraisers add enough extra to provide more funds?   The answer for Ceesay and Binta was "Yes".   

Not everyone on our waiting list has been so lucky.  We hate prioritizing that list.  If you are a girl 12 years or older and not in school, you will go to the top.  But every one on that list deserves an education.  If you have donated this year, or are donating monthly, THANK YOU SO MUCH.  Your support is what gives us the ability to use new donations to help girls like Aminata, Anna, Binta, and Ceesay.  

But if you have not donated this year, I plead with you: please help these young people.  I promise that no money you spend this year will do more good.  I promise we will use 100% of your donation directly to support students.  No one working on this program gets paid.  We have no overhead, no offices; we just help kids get an education.  Just $3 per month will support an elementary school child.  $12.50 per month will support a teen-aged girl in high school.  Soon it will be too late for most of these kids. If they don't go to school by January, they'll have to "sit" until next September. 

It is so simple.  And so powerful.  Please help.

Mike McConnell
Managing Trustee
GambiaRising
1500 Park Ave Apt PH503
Emeryville, CA  94608-3578

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