No images? Click here
Four years ago were dark times in The Gambia. Election season had begun. Strongman Yahya Jammeh was worried. So he cracked down. The United Democratic Party (UDP) held a protest march calling for fair elections. Its youth leader, Solo Sandeng, was arrested, then was beaten to death in custody. UDP Party leader Ousainou Darboe protested his arrest and was in turn arrested and held in prison through the election. Soon thereafter, most of the country's opposition parties united in a coalition that selected the UDP party's #2, Adama Barrow, as the unified opposition candidate. In an election that shocked the world, Barrow won the election, and, with encouragement from the Senegalese army and Nigerian air force, Jammeh fled the country after filling two cargo planes with the loot of his twenty-year reign.
Sandeng's murder was covered widely in local and international press.
So we were surprised to receive an email from his daughter Jainaba six weeks ago, saying "I was able to complete high school, and was able to come out with good grades and enroll in the University of The Gambia. After having started classes ..., I had to stop because my mother couldn't pay the bills."
We had just received some new donations, and luckily we were able to pay her arrears. And so Jainaba Sandeng was able to go back to school.
As you know, GambiaRising runs a tight ship. No salaries are paid, we budget carefully, and use nearly all our funds each year for that year's needs. We are, of course, very worried about this Fall. Can donations possibly increase during economic (and other) turmoil? Meanwhile a Bangladeshi imam arrived in The Gambia through Senegal a few days ago, preached at the Bundung mosque (where a good friend of mine worships), felt ill, then died on his way to the hospital. He had coronavirus. Can there be any doubt that the appeals to us for support from newly-orphaned young Gambians will increase this September?
If you are donating monthly, thank you so much; we begin every day reassured by the donations that came in overnight. If you donate annually, please think about how you will be able to do so again this summer. We are counting on you. If, like me, you are over 65, and mortality is on your mind more than usual these days, we have worked hard on organizational sustainability and succession planning. We have also begun setting up the Nebedaye Fund, a vehicle for GambiaRising to be included in your will. Even 1% of the estates of our loyal donors would totally transform the future of thousands of Gambian children - in perpetuity. (Contact me if you want to hear more.)
And if you are finding, like I am, that Amazon is the most reliable source of staples during a lengthy home quarantine, you can help Gambian students every time you shop. If you log in to Smile.Amazon.com to do your shopping, AmazonSmile will donate 1/2% of everything you buy to GambiaRising. It is so easy to set this up, just use this link: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-6775063. Then bookmark it and log in through Amazon Smile every time you shop, and your home shopping will begin making such a difference!
Stay safe. And thanks so much for giving these young Gambians a chance.
Mike McConnell
Managing Trustee
GambiaRising
www.gambiarising.org
Follow us on FaceBook
1500 Park Ave Apt PH503
Emeryville, CA 94608-3578
