By Olimatou Coker
Imam Essa Jabang, the Imam Ratib of Bakoteh, has said educating girls is a fundamental pillar.
He made these remarks on Tuesday during Childfund’s the Gambia day- long caravan in Bakoteh aimed at sensitising the community on the importance of enrolling children in school.
The caravan targets parents, especially those with children with disabilities who are in most cases deprived of pursuing their dreams.
The activity is part of the Zero Out of School Children (ZOOSC) project funded by Educate A Child and jointly implemented by Unicef Gambia, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, ChildFund, and Efanet.
It aims to enrol over 66,000 school dropouts, including those with disabilities, and retain those who are at risk of dropping out.
Addressing the gathering Imam Jabang, said they are very happy to welcome Childfund and its partners in their community to educate them more on the importance of education and that of a girl child.
“Enlightening the society on the importance of education most especially the girl child education is very welcoming,” he said.
Nfamara Dabo, the director of sponsorship and programmes at Childfund, said over 67,000 children who are supposed to be in school between the ages of 7-12 are not because of one reason or other. He said the project aims to get these children to school.
