By Olimatou Corker
Amie Jarjue, a young Gambian based in the UK, has donated 3 incubators worth D4.8M to the Bwiam hospital through her Join Hands 2 Save A Baby Foundation.
The young lady, fondly called Mother Theresa of The Gambia, who had initiated a national fundraiser to buy essential food stuff for the needy families amid Covid-19, also renovated the hospital’s neonatal unit.
She also donated baby clothes and host of other medical equipment.
The renovation of the neonatal unit involved the replacement and upgrading of the electric wiring, lighting, wall tiling and complete redecoration.
The hospital room is now fully equipped with four baby incubators to provide urgently needed neonatal intensive care to Gambian babies.
Speaking to The Standard on the new development, Amie Jarjue said she was inspired to establish the ‘Join Hands 2 Save A Baby’ foundation in 2013 following a visit to her brother’s wife at the Brikama Health Centre.
“I realised that the maternity ward was below acceptable standards. I instantly related to the many amazing Gambian women who were sacrificing their lives each day giving birth in under-equipped maternity units. I shared their pain as I had lost many siblings through complications at birth and from other preventable diseases. So I had a strong empathy with the situation faced by patients and healthcare professionals in the maternity hospitals. Since then, I made it a duty to ensure that intensive care units around the country have the required materials to save lives,” she said.
Jarjue hopes the new intensive care unit in Bwiam will help in saving the lives of Gambian children.
“The entire Join Hands 2 Save A Baby members would like to thank MP Musa Amul Nyassi and FARD’s Lamin Tamba for giving so much time to coordinate, support and supervise this project on behalf of the charity and the nation. We look forward to working in partnership with FARD in future projects,” she added.
She expressed gratitude to Almamy Cham, the entire hospital staff, her foundation’s project coordinators Abdoulie Badjie and Sai Samba Gomez and all the members of the charity for their tireless efforts.
