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Our mission is simple: to give young Gambians what they need to stay in school through 12th grade if their families cannot afford to do so. (And for the very best of the best, possibly a chance to study even further.)
The need is far greater than we can meet, so we stretch our donated funds as far as we can. We use no donated funds for overhead of any kind. No one is paid; they work from their homes in their spare time. Aside from college tuition, most of our budget goes to paying for books and uniforms. Everyone understands that every dalasi we can save is a dalasi freed up to help another student.
When we begin helping a student who has been out of school, we usually give them two uniforms. Then one new uniform each year after that. But when they go to 7th grade or 10th grade, students go to a different school and need completely different uniforms. Because of the extra cost, that is also when the highest risk of dropping out occurs. So we want to be ready.
School starts in September. So in July and August, Gambian tailors get busy. Cloth prices go up. So if we want to get the best prices on cloth for uniforms, when should we shop? How about February and March? And if we want to ask tailors to make uniforms for us either for no charge or for discounted rates, we can't ask them in August, when they will be busy with paying customers.
So in the middle of February, Coordinator Ebrima Sanneh and his brother Omar (a tailor) were shopping for cloth.
Omar had already visited some schools to measure students for their 7th grade uniforms.
And the work has begun.
Omar's tailoring business is going well; when he started working with us, he was an apprentice. Now he has his own shop and also is training an apprentice, who has also agreed to volunteer to sew uniforms. This brings to five the number of tailors in the Kombo who are sewing uniforms for our students at no charge.
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Meanwhile, in the Upper River Region capital of Basse, St. George's Technical Junior and Senior Secondary School has 759 students, many of whom are enrolled in technical/vocational programs, which teach practical skills such as cooking, sewing, woodworking, and metalworking. But teaching these skills without adequate equipment has severely hampered these programs. We also have a growing scholarship program in Basse, whose biggest cost is... uniforms.
Recently a San Francisco Bay-area teenager asked if we had ideas for a one-off project to help Gambian students, and we immediately knew what to propose: help the St. George's labs
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when a group of students from Lick-Wilmerding High School held a Walk-a-Thon of more than 15 miles from the Bay to Ocean Beach, to raise money for the St. George's technical/vocational program.
In Basse, the results are already dramatic: sewing machines have arrived (both foot-pedaled and hand cranked), along with three propane commercial stoves, and a power saw and other tools for the woodworking program. The woodworking students are now honing their skills by fixing broken desks.
And at the Home Science lab, the new teacher is not an academic; he is a local tailor. And among the projects they are working on are sewing uniforms for the school's needy students.
Experts will tell you that international development is complex, and we can't argue with that. Most development investments are wasteful at best, counter-productive at worst. But that does not mean that simple programs can't work; often they are the most effective. Find the leverage points in a society and in people's lives; help them in ways that does not create dependencies and empowers those helped to help themselves in the future. Observe, learn, correct, repeat.
For us, that means paying the small costs to keep young Gambians (mostly girls) in school. Supporting rural schools and vocational education. Directing most of our tertiary scholarships to Gambia College and training teachers and nurses. Spending the minimum on each student for them to get an education so we can help as many others as possible. (We call this "just enough, just in time.") And being a source of dependability in the lives of young Gambians whose prospects have been diminished by the death of one or both parents, or divorce, or other disruptions. So that as they go through school, they can know that they will have support all the way through 12th grade, and that school can become a source of certainty, and opportunity, in their lives.
The complement to this, and what makes it all possible, is the consistent, month-after-month and year-after-year support of our donors. If you are part of GambiaRising, we are so grateful to you for your trust and support. If you have not joined us recently, please do. Our waiting lists break our hearts. Just $3 per month can fully fund a scholarship in lower basic school. And $50 per month will fund a scholarship to Gambia College. Either will literally change a deserving young Gambian's life.
Mike McConnell
Managing Trustee
GambiaRising
www.gambiarising.org
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1500 Park Ave Apt PH503
Emeryville, CA 94608-3578
