Coordinator Ebrima Sanneh got the letter from Oumie Cham last October.  She explained that a teacher at Masroor Senior Secondary School had seen her crying after school and asked why. She explained that her older sister had already dropped out of school to get married and that she was about to do the same.

When the teacher heard her story, he gave Oumie the phone number of one of our Coordinators.  “Call this person; they help students like you.”  Oumie explained that she did not have a phone, but she could write a letter.

The letter was three pages long and it broke the heart of every one of us who read it.  Her parents had divorced when she was 1 year old and her sister was 3. Their father refused any responsibility for them.  They moved in with their grandmother’s extended family and within a year, their mother had re-married – to a man who did not want her children from a previous marriage in his home.  So their grandmother became their sole guardian. The compound contained an extended family and one by one their cousins began going to school.  But Oumie and her sister did not; everyone was scraping by and there was no money to educate these girls whose parents did not want them. 

(Actually, they did go to the school, and watched class through the windows, but they did not have books or uniforms and were not enrolled; so they were sent home.) 

Finally, an uncle graduated from 12^th grade and got a job and with his help and the grandmother's, they were able to start at Sinchu Baliya Lower Basic School, only two years late. Since they were in the afternoon shift they could also help their grandmother sell in the market before and after school.  By sixth grade, Oumie had become the school’s Head Girl and set a record for the highest test results in the national exams for their school – straight A’s. By ninth grade she was selected as Head Girl of Sinchu Baliya Upper Basic School and again got high marks in the national exams. So high that she was admitted to the prestigious Masroor Senior Secondary School.  In 2022, she was selected as Assistant Head Girl of Masroor, but by then her grandmother began having mental problems, wandering away from the compound from time to time so the sisters had to skip school to look for her, and unable to provide support for their schooling any longer.  First her sister dropped out and was married.  Then Oumie realized it was the end of the line for her.  That was when the teacher found her crying after school.

We knew we had to help Oumie.  When our Coordinator met Oumie to tell her that we would be able to help her, he made this short video: 

Challenge No. 1 for us every year is finding funds to help new students; like Oumie was last year.  Challenge No. 2 is to find funds to help those of our 12^th graders who do so well on the national exams that it is clear we need to find a way to help them continue to study. So when Oumie told us that she had done well on her exams and had been admitted to the University of The Gambia, we felt a mixture of pride and dread – pride that she continued to excel, and dread because UTG is more than ten times as expensive as Masroor. 

“We will see what we can do,” we told Oumie.  “Oh, don’t worry about the tuition;" she replied. "I just won a national debate contest and the prize is tuition at UTG."  

We commonly include a transportation allowance when we support a college student.  Since the University is only providing tuition assistance, she will still need that,  But among the activities that stretched our budget further than ever this year, Oumie's efforts will surely be among the most creative.  She continues to amaze. 

Schools have re-opened and last year's students are back in school.  So our attention now turns to those who we were not helping last year, but whose circumstances have changed, or, like Oumie, who only just heard about GambiaRising. If you are not donating or haven't donated yet this year, please try to do so as soon as you can.  Your gift will be put to use right away, to bring hope and give opportunity to other young Gambians with no place else to turn.

And to those whose support has made such a difference in so many young Gambians' lives, thank you.  And thank you for being part of GambiaRising.

Mike McConnell
Managing Trustee
GambiaRising
www.gambiarising.org
www.facebook.com/gambiarising

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