By Amadou Jadama
The Bakau Islamic Foundation has over the weekend presented bags of rice and sugar to sixty less privileged people in the community, including the imams.
Speaking at the presentation, Nupha Touray, the president of the Foundation, said: “Everybody within the community would want to see the imams to attend his or her functions, including having the responsibility of leading the five daily prayers at the mosque. Now with all that, the imams left their families behind, paying their school fees and the medical bills.
That is why we as a foundation, however little it is, would take some from our little earning and share with different imams, the widows and the less privileged within the community. Our aim is to serve the good number of the less privileged within the community.”
He called on Gambians especially those in Diaspora to come to their aid, so that they can continue helping more people.
Sankung Jaiteh, the imam of Katchically, said: “We the imams should be empowered economically instead of offering us with white papers and candles. The imams in this country are not part of the payroll, and we are playing a very crucial role in the society.”
He said even though the majority of imams in the country are poor, they are still breadwinners of their families. “Therefore, the imams need to be supported financially, and they must be respected as well.”
Imam Ebrima Sidibeh, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, thanked the Bakau Islamic Foundation for their generosity, and urged his fellow imams to empower the foundation. Bakau Islamic Foundation was established in 2018 and aims to propagate Islamic religion, as well as to extend helping hands to the needy persons in the society.
