By Olimatou Coker
ChildFund The Gambia on Monday and Tuesday visited its aflatoun funded projects in LRR and NBR.
The aflatoun is a network of partner organizations, teachers, supporters and staff delivering high quality social and financial education to children and youth worldwide.
The project was introduced in the Gambia a decade ago by Childfund, and it is adopted by MoBSE and is currently implemented in all the schools across the country.
The project is also meant to provide the children with some of their needs like lunch, books, pens, pencils, school bags and others.
The tour gives opportunity to management staff of the organization to know how successful and impactful these projects are, which include education, healthcare, sponsorship, agriculture, household economic strengthening, climate change effects mitigation and youth development among others.
During the first day of the media tour with ChildFund officials, they visited a school in Dumbuto in LRR where children said they learned social and financial education including environmental sanitation, gardening and other income generation activities through the ChildFund aflatoun program.
Maimuna, aged 12, said she learned about gardening and how to make a good garden. “ I was also taught how to make soap and keep the environment clean, and we all know how to make the soap already,” she said.
She said the knowledge is so beneficial to her because when she grows up she will also teach her children how to make soap.
Pa Modou, aged 14, said the soap making is providing them with lunch in case their parents couldn’t give them money.
He thanked ChildFund for the support and the knowledge they always render to them.
Aminata Darboe, from the mothers club, a trainer to children in this soap making, said before you make this soap you as a person need to take a bath before touching it.
“I used to make them all sit down and explain it to them one by one, so they will know how to do it. Even in my absence they won’t wait for me”.
She said the soap is costs 10-20 dalasis and after selling it they normally use it to help the children on their needs.
She also urged ChildFund to help them with more products for the soap making.
Maimuna Colley, a teacher at Dumbuto Lower Basic School, outlined the challenges they face.
She said sometimes, not even because their parents don’t have money, but sometimes they will just come to the school and then the teacher will not allow them to go back. “So here the only thing they will do is to take money and buy whatever they are in need of”.
Biligis, aged 12, said the aflatoun project provides them good learning materials and also provides them with their needs whenever it’s necessary.
She thanked ChildFund for always standing by them.
Bintou Darboe, Aflatoun Coordinator in Kiang Massembeh, said the project helps them to support the children on learning needs.
Also speaking in Farafenni Proper LBS, Amadou Jallow, a teacher and Aflatoun coordinator in Farafenni Proper, said as part of their aflatoun project they invest in T-Shirts selling for students and teachers.
Yankuba Ngum, Coordinator of Aflatoun of Farafenni Mauritani LBS, said this a good project to the children because since they started this aflatoun club, they have been helping the children with stationery like books, pens and pencils.
“The initiative is creating a lot of improvement for us in the school here because the stationery the project is providing us in the school is preventing the children from going outside of the school to buy stationary which could be dangerous and time wasting”.
