Only 7% of the students supported by GambiaRising donors are attending college or university. But the higher costs of those programs absorb 50% of our donations.  So we prioritize scholarships for those whose education will have ripple effects and will help the greatest number of other people, such as teaching and medicine. Here is one example:

Ensa Jatta became a teacher with support from GambiaRising. When he was posted to Sare Bayo in the Upper River Region (North) last year, he was shocked at how many of the children were not going to school. They had dropped out or they had never started. Could we possibly help?  We can only add students to our program when new donors join us or others increse their giving, but thanks to a successful fundraising summer, we were able to buy uniforms and books for 50 students.

Imagine how these mothers and grandmothers felt when they knew their children will now have a chance to get the education they never had.  In too many places, school is seen as a luxury, but the people who know best the consequences of not having had that chance are the women whose choices have been constricted by that.

Here's a detail from a progress report from Ensa that warmed our hearts: "The ECD [nursery school] is also coming up - kids are forcing their parents to enroll them in school. Today we received one who the parents confessed that the child was crying throughout, so the parents couldn’t do anything but to bring the child to school. He is enrolled today."

The GambiaRising Coordinator who worked with Ensa at Gambia College was Ebrima Sanneh and he has been working with Ensa as he sets up our new program in Sare Bayo. As you can see from the photos, Ensa has local village and school leaders involved.  But when children started going to school, even more desperate families came to him.  And as funds allowed, we we able to help another 15 students go back to school in and around Sare Bayo during the school year.

Then a few months ago, Ensa got in touch with Ebrima again; so many children were still out of school and word kept spreading. Leaders of the nearby Sare Fodigeh Lower Basic School had come to talk to Ensa about 30 children there who had never been to school. Mothers and grandmothers were also coming to him: could we fund any more scholarships?  As the end of the school year approaches, we start to budget for the September school year. It is always a scary time of year, because our program is so small compared to the number of children out of school.  So we asked Ensa to prepare one budget for the 65 "continuing" students we had already committed to, and a second budget for the most urgent new cases. He came back with hand-drawn "spreadsheet" budgets that included 39 new students. Ensa said all of them would love to start school right away, but our books were closed for this school year, but we said we would find a way to fund them in September.

Then Ebrima had a brilliant idea: with funds donated already for the new school year, he was purchasing books in bulk during the off season to save money. Could we ALSO buy the September uniforms for these new 39 students EARLY?  I.e., could they start school in early June?  And then use the same uniforms in September?  The costs would be the same.  We agreed.  While he was at it, Ensa asked if he could also make the 7th grade uniforms for the Sare Bayo 6th graders.  He knew that this is always a leading moment of dropping out, as new uniforms are needed and the walks to a new school will be longer for 7th grade. (You can see the different colored uniforms in the first photo below). And what better way of getting a family to commit to allowing their child to go on to 7th grade than by outfitting them in advance?

As we had hoped, investing in agents of change can have immediate impact. But the other crucial thing is... we need to find the funds to support them.  There are 104 girls and boys in and around Sare Bayo who will now have better lives because of Ensa's hard work, Ebrima's coaching, and not least because new donors joined us during the school year, and several also increased their donations.  We have no source of funds except our 200+ donors.  To them we say thank you on behalf of these and all the young Gambians whose lives will forever have more possibilities because of their kindness and support.  And to those who have not donated recently, I hope you will find a way to join us this year, and give more young Gambians the chance that every child deserves: the chance to go to school.

Mike McConnell
Managing Trustee
GambiaRising
www.gambiarising.org
 
1500 Park Avenue #503
Emeryville, CA  94608