It is year end, and there is so much for our Coordinators to do.  We are emptying our bank account weekly to be sure that funds we receive are put to work in The Gambia addressing emergencies and keeping all the promises we have made to students.  Uniforms and books only need to be supplied once a year, but helping new students, especially new college and university students, is concentrated on September and January.  How many of our waiting list of 350 students we will be able to help will depend on our year-end donations, and we are so grateful to everyone who has already donated.

To stretch our funds and grant more scholarships in September, we pay half the tuition for our ongoing nursing and university students when classes begin and pay the second half in late December and early January.  And as new funds come in, we also accept as many new ones as possible.  In both cases, we don’t give the funds to the students; we pay the tuition directly to the college and university through their online banking systems. But we do like to see our students, and we also want them to have paper receipts showing that their tuition has been paid. So it’s always a nice occasion in the weeks around year's end when we are able to meet them and give them their receipts, the emblems of the brighter future ahead for them if they keep up their hard work.

It is not possible to over-state how much a difference the chance to go to college or university will be in these young Gambians' lives.  They had so much promise; they did not have the means to fulfill that promise without some help.

Which leads to the other subject of this note:  the remarkable journey of Fatou Kineh Ndow reached another milestone on Friday.  

When we first met Fatou Kineh in 2012, she was already studying mathematics at the University of The Gambia.  Her mother had borrowed money from the Disabled Persons Association to make her tuition down payment. Could we help her continue?  We were supporting just over 150 students at the time, only 15 of whom were in college or university. But we knew we had to say yes.  We paid Fatou Kineh's tuition, paid off her mother's loan, and wished her the best. 

Then not long after came more good news: Fatou Kineh had secured a full scholarship to study for her Master's Degree at Ohio University.  During her time in Ohio is when some of you may have met her, as she did a quick tour with stops in Washington, DC; Cherry Hill, New Jersey; New York City; Mount Washington, Mass.; Boston; the San Francisco Bay area; and Seattle to meet and thank donors.

Fatou Kineh thrived; she received her Master's Degree in Mathematics and then brought more good news: she had received an offer from the University of Iowa to study for her PhD. 

(We wrote another note to our donors about this:  https://gambiarising.cmail20.com/t/t-e-oktdkht-kiijlutih-h/.)

And on Friday, December 20th, 2024 more than 12 years since we first met her, Fatou Kineh received her PhD in Mathematics in a ceremony at the University of Iowa.

Each of these students is carving their own path.  We are proud of each of them.  And we are grateful to our donors, who recognize the amazing impact that their gifts can make in the lives of young Gambians.

Let's keep doing it in the New Year to come.  And if you aren't part of this today, please join us as soon as you can.  There is so much more work to be done.

Mike McConnell
Managing Trustee
GambiaRising
www.gambiarising.org/donate

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