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Three Generations in Ten Years
When we are short on funds, the appeals from teen-aged girls are the hardest to read.
After puberty, the traditional path for a Gambian girl is to get married and start having babies. And it's not up to her whether to do so, or to whom. To be sure, times are changing (as Gambians say "slowly, slowly"); it is now even against the law to marry before age 18, but that law is neither widely understood nor recognized, particularly upcountry.
When budgeting, we start with all the students we supported last year; we must keep them in school. Then we turn to the teen-aged girls and among them, those who haven't completed senior secondary school (grades 10 to 12). We are also increasingly trying to help the best and brightest of those who graduate from 12th grade to continue to study, especially if they want to be of service to others, such as by becoming a teacher or nurse. We think of these as scholarships that will help not only the student, but also so many other Gambians they will themselves help in the course of their career. That's a real multiplier effect.
After all these are taken care of, we review the appeals from younger girls (and sometimes their brothers). These are generally not too expensive to help. But when we get an appeal from a student who has made it through 12th grade without our help, but now can't find a way to go to college, or who has started college or is at the university and has since lost their support, those are really challenging, because they are many times more expensive.
I said earlier that the appeals from teen-aged girls are the hardest to receive. But that is only the case when we are strapped for cash. And this year, when the COVID crisis led to several donations larger than we expected, some of those same appeals became a joy to read. Because at a time of a girl's deep despair, we were able to tell them "We can help."
* * * * *
Oumie C. was an excellent student, and had high hopes for her life. But by the time she completed 12th grade, both her parents had died, and it seemed like she would never go to college. In 2018, things were looking up. A friend of the family paid her first year's tuition at Gambia College, so she could begin studying to become a teacher. Then he stopped. Oumie stayed in school; she got good grades. And she looked for support. But in her final year, the college said "No more classes, unless you pay for last year." That's when her search led her to the office of one of the schools we work in, and they referred her to Ebrima Sanneh, one of our Coordinators.
Ebrima sent us her story along with her test results. Studying after 12th grade is expensive so we set high criteria for whom we can support. She met every one. And thanks to a generous donor, we were able to say "yes". That meant paying not only the tuition for the year, but also the tuition for the previous year. And just like that, Oumie's life changed. Let her introduce herself to you:
Ebrima Sanneh has been working with GambiaRising ever since graduating from accounting school ten years ago. Peace Corps volunteers from 2008-9 will remember Ebrima as one of two hard-working interns at the Peace Corps office. I loved that internship program, but I sensed it would not outlive my tenure as Country Director, so when we started an informal scholarship program called GambiaRising, we included him as one of the first students we supported. Today Ebrima is putting his accounting skills to work keeping meticulous records from our largest community program, and he has introduced such innovations as bulk buying of books in the off-season, and recruiting volunteer tailors to help us. He is truly giving back.
OK. That's two generations. But in the title of this note, you said there were three.
Now that the new school year is underway, and new scholarships funded, and our budget spoken for, any new appeals have to be reviewed case by case to see if we have any new funds. Most Coordinators use WhatsApp these days to communicate with us, and Ebrima sent along this note last week ------>
We asked him, "Are we working in Kombo Kerewan school now? Who is our contact there?"
Ebrima replied, "A student teacher there noticed that Isatou did not start 10th grade this year when she should have, and went to find out why."
"Who was the student teacher and how did they know about us?"
"The teacher is Oumie C."
This life-changing work can only continue because of the support of those who care about The Gambia and its people or who knows someone who does. If you've donated this year or are donating monthly, you are making such a difference in so many young Gambians' lives. Thank you.
If you haven't yet joined us this year, please do so; I've never seen the need so great.
We want to say "Yes" to the next Isatou. And to the next Oumie.
Mike McConnell
Managing Trustee
GambiaRising
www.gambiarising.org
1500 Park Ave Apt PH503
Emeryville, CA 94608-3578
