By Olimatou Coker
ChildFund Gambia has recently handed over 1000 bicycles to the Ministry of Basic Secondary Education (MoBSE) to ease mobility in education for schoolgoing children at a ceremony held at its country office.
The gesture is under the Zero Out of School Children project (ZOOSC) which aims to enroll over 66,000 children who are currently out of school. The three-year project is currently under implementation and the bikes are aimed at addressing the travel challenges faced by many of the children targeted by the project.
Officials conveyed in Kanifing to receive the delivery, which aims to boost students, employment and enrollment in the basic cycle.
The donated bicycles are to be distributed to 134 school children across the country.
The key partners of education, above all, within its global program, educate a child, UNICEF, Ministry of basic and secondary education, ChildFund, and EFNET Gambia is a major bid to enroll and retain 66,764 out of school children and adolescents in quality primary education.
The goal of this project is to ensure that all children in the Gambia undergo quality primary school education towards the attainment of the Zero out of school children’s goal.
Nfamara Dabo, the director of program and sponsorship at ChildFund Gambia, highlighted that Childfund as a partner committed 3000 bicycles towards the project to support school children lacking means transport to school.
“A consignment of 500 bikes was handed over to MoBSE in December, 2023 followed today by another consignment. This time, a total of 1000 bicycles are going to be handed over to MoBSE and they are brand new bicycles, high quality bikes that will, no doubt, serve the intended purpose”.
He added that they received funding for an additional 700 bikes, the procurement of which has already commenced and they will also hand over those to MoBSE in the next few months.
Nuha Jatta, education specialist at UNICEF, spoke on the importance of the scheme, stating that the overall responsibility of the education sector is to ensure learning takes place effectively.
“Users of the bicycles should also be caring so that the bicycles can stay long and can be from one student to the next, because there is already maintenance that is going to support the bicycles”.
Kebba Omar Jarjursey, the National Coordinator of EFNET The Gambia, urged the students to pay attention to quality education because their partners have made it very accessible for them now.
Paul Mendy, a representative from MoBSE, thanked Childfund and partners for providing bicycles for the children, saying that the project will facilitate fair access to school.
“By doing this, you are not only providing access, you are also contributing to quality education. When a child reaches school on time, without even sweating, riding on his or her, then he or she will prepare to receive lessons from teachers,” he said.
