I'll never forget reading a World Bank report showing that only 3% of the children from Gambian families in the bottom 20% in income were graduating from 12th grade.  In a nation of 2 million people, that meant that of the roughly 150,000 school-age Gambians in the bottom 20% economically, 145,500 of them were not going to complete school.  So GambiaRising will not run out of "opportunity" to make a crucial difference any time soon.

Of course it wasn't that simple.  It was worse.  Plenty of young Gambians not in the bottom 20% were also not completing school.  But we knew where we should focus.  

Until recently, more donors joined GambiaRising every year as returned Peace Corps volunteers and their families wanted to be part of what we were doing.  We had no shortage of work to do.  After a few years, students we had supported began to graduate.  Some of them did very well on their national exams.  Their expectations of what was possible in their lives had begun to change.  They asked the natural question: Will you support me to go to college? 

This completely changed the metrics of our program.  It takes $40 per year to support a student in grades 1 to 9.  At the University of The Gambia, the costs could be up to $1000 per year.  That may be a great bargain in the world of universities, but it meant that one scholarship would cost the same as 25 in the lower grades.  After long discussions among the Gambian team, we established a few guiding principles:

       - We would support only the top students in the country for "tertiary" study (after 12th grade), and we would also consider those scholarships to be for the benefit not only of the student and her/his family, but other Gambians as well.  A scholarship to become a teacher or a nurse would be benefit not only the student, but also everyone they would teach or treat in their lifetime.  For an accountant, the social benefit would be more narrow and the priority accordingly would be lower.  And since the cost to train a teacher at Gambia College is $300 per year for three years, less than a quarter the cost of a 4-year education at UTG, that's where our program is skewed: teachers, and also nurses and public health students.

       - We would still prioritize students in grades 1 to 12.  We try never to say no to a teen-age girl who has dropped out of school for financial reasons and asks for help to return.  But when our cash flow permits, we are also trying to help the country's future leaders get the college/university education they need to play a role in their country's development.

September is going to be a busy time for our Coordinators, with schools re-opening, so we started paying tuition for the new College students in mid-August.  We don't hand out cash.  Coordinators go to the bank, withdraw the funds, then pay the tuitions while at the bank, directly to the college or university.  Unfortunately, there is no batch processing; they have to pay each tuition one by one.  It can take all day. They then call the students and ask them to come to their home to pick up the receipts.  In a place where not every non-profit keeps their promises, getting these slips of paper that represent another year of schooling, and another step closer to a job as a teacher, or nurse, etc. is quite a joyful occasion. This is the chance of a lifetime for them, the chance they worked so hard to have.  Here's what it looks like:

In a few short years, they will be the teachers, nurses, and public health officers that The Gambia so greatly needs.  Like these students who are in practical training this year:

Gambian schools are opening September 12.  From Basse to Banjul, we are telling desperate mothers that we can't take new students until we have taken care of all those we have already promised to help.  OR until we find new donors.  So if you are currently a supporter and have donated already this year, thank you so much.  If you have not yet, we are counting on you to do so between now and year end.  If you have not donated recently, these young people need you more than ever. There is a direct and immediate consequence if you join us this year: one or more young Gambians will go back to school.  It's that simple. We have no other source of funds.  And we have no other expenses except funding scholarships.  $3 per month will fund a scholarship for grades 1 to 9.  $10 per month will fund a scholarship for senior secondary school.  And the cost to attend Gambia College to become a teacher is $40 per month.

Let's come through for these young people, so full of hope.

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