Every Spring, Notre Dame University holds the Shaheen Three-Minute Thesis Competition in which students from each of Notre Dame's graduate schools take turns presenting their graduate theses and dissertations.  When she was orphaned and living with relatives in Janjanbureh, Mariama Dampha attended Armitage Sr. Secondary School and the University of The Gambia with support from GambiaRising donors. On her own initiative, she then won a full scholarship to study at Notre Dame's Keogh School of Global Affairs, where she is only weeks away from receiving her Master's Degree.  Her thesis subject: Perceived Social Support and Access to Postpartum and Newborn Care in Northern Ghana.  Mariama spent the summer in northern Ghana researching her thesis, but the passion with which she approached the subject no doubt came from the memory of losing her mother and then her newborn baby sister eighteen years ago due to lack of adequate postpartum care in her rual village (more of Mariama's story is re-published below).  Realizing that west African women become part of their husband's family and often lose the social support network they grew up with, she intends to bring attention to the importance of building social support networks for pregnant women and new mothers, and have that become part of the public health agenda.  She aims for no less to change the conditions that tore apart her family, and we're betting she is already making a difference.

We've written to celebrate Mariama's journey several times over the years, because it is so remarkable.  Here's an excerpt:

When Sanna Dampha's third wife gave birth to her first child (Mariama) in October, 1997 in the Upper River Region village of Sahadatou, no one could have dreamed that one day, that girl would be joining the prestigious Master's of Global Affairs program at the University of Notre Dame.  Especially after her parents divorced when she was in 2nd grade, and she and her siblings had to move to live with her grandparents in her mother's home village of Cha Kunda.  Life was in turmoil and Mariama was asked to repeat 2nd grade. Things were not going well for the family and they were not about to get better.  

It was a long way from Cha Kunda to the University of The Gambia in 2020, where Mariama Dampha graduated with honors with a degree in Public and Environmental Health, and then after serving as a Public Health Officer in a North Bank village, on to Dulles Airport, where she landed a few weeks ago, on her way to Notre Dame.  Over several weeks this August, Mariama had a chance to re-unite with and visit both of the Peace Corps volunteers who had known her in The Gambia, and to spend a little time in northern California, while meeting supporters in Philadelphia, Seattle, and Chicago along the way.

When talking with those she met, Mariama focused on her future.  I have known her for more than eight years, and over time she has shared more and more of her story with me, so I was aware pf the parts of that story that she wasn't discussing.  The fact that her mother was pregnant at the time of her divorce and having complications, and had to travel 2 hours from Cha Kunda to Bansang Hospital by cow cart.  That she suffered from malnutrition and anemia and took her two brothers with her to provide O+ blood if needed.  That after the birth of her child (her 5th), one day she couldn't find her brothers when she started bleeding and went alone, and by the time the brothers reached the hospital a few hours later, it was too late.  That the girl child died at age 2, and that her other sister only lived to age 4.  That when the aunt that she was closest to was married, Mariama then moved to Janjanbureh to live with her.  That she stayed in touch with her father, and that in his last phone call to her, she told him she was first in her 8th grade class, and how proud he was, and that the next day he too died suddenly.  And that when she got sad, she would go to a quiet place and do math problems, which calmed her because they had answers.  I knew that she was President of the Math Club at Armitage Senior Secondary School, and had the highest West Africa test scores of any girl from Armitage in recent memory.  When she was admitted to the  University of The Gambia, I assumed she would study math; and when she told me that she was going to major in Public Health I told her I was surprised.  "Really?  Think about my family's history," she replied. 

Mariama didn't talk about these things, but anyone meeting her couldn't help but see that she is an exceptionally brave and very special young woman.

And she is on her way to a bright future only because 1) a Peace Corps volunteer introduced her to GambiaRising and worked with us behind the scenes to be sure she got a chance to stay in school, and 2) new donors joined us so we could expand our program to include additional students, studying at more expensive institutions.

Every day we get appeals from young Gambians hoping to go back to school or to stay in school after something has disrupted their family's ability to keep them there.  Our Gambian Coordinators visit their homes and verify their situation, and If they've graduated from 12th grade, we can also see their West Africa Senior School Exam results.  Mariama may be the most brilliant, committed, and eloquent young woman to come out of the Gambian school system recently, but there are definitely some nearly as great.  And too many of the top 2% of graduating 12th graders have no chance of going to college if we can't help them.  There is simply no place else for them to turn.  

So that's where we'll turn our attention now: trying hard to ensure that the next Mariama doesn't fall through the cracks.

So let's celebrate Mariama, whom a small band of good-hearted people we call GambiaRising pooled its resources to give the opportunity that she has today.  She made the most of that opportunity, but without the support of our donors, there is no chance that she would have come this far.  

The photos below are just scratching the surface of her first few weeks in the States.  If you'd also like to hear a short conversation with her just before she left to fly out of the Bay area, I uploaded it to YouTube and will included it at the bottom.

THANK YOU for being part of Mariama's journey.

Thank you for being part of GambiaRising.

If you haven't joined us this year, schools are opening in a few weeks.  We need you more than ever. 
          $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.

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