By Omar Bah
The communities of Juffureh and Albreda have renewed their efforts in the fight to revive the settlement’s rich but fading cultural heritage as well as bring back the Roots homecoming festival.
To make all these happen, the communities have selected new members to the newly revived Juffureh-Albreda Youths Society (JAYS) who will spearhead the fight to help bring back the historical settlement to its right footing.
The new committee which includes; PS Finance, Lamin Camara and Westminster Foundation’s Madi Jobarteh, is tasked with the responsibility to lobby for the construction of the road that links Buniadu and Albreda and as well bring back the Roots Homecoming Festival.
Speaking at the Kunta Kinteh Hotel shortly after his appointment as the committee’s adviser, Madi Jobarteh said the government should recognise Juffureh, especially James Island as very integral parts in the country’s history.
“This committee will do all it can to bring back the Root Festival in a different format and make sure that it will be observed in a more meaningful way so that it will be more useful than it was under Jammeh’s time,” he noted.
Jobarteh said before all that “the settlement must have concrete evidence on how much they are contributing to the country’s GDP in terms of the tourists visiting there and then approach the national assembly and government to make their demands.”
Amadou Danso, a member of the Juffureh-Albreda Youths Society (JAYS), said the organisation is nonprofit registered with TANGO since in the 90s to tackle critical issues facing the settlements.
“The main task of the committee is to ensure that the Buniadu-Albreda road is constructed, Juffureh and Albreda are provided with adequate water supply, electricity and ensure that the Roots Homecoming Festival is back to us. We demand the government to construct our road before building the Banjul-Barra bridge,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Lamin Camera reassured the settlements of government’s unflinching support in their endeavors.
“President Barrow’s administration is very aware of the deteriorating conditions of your road and we will do something about it,” he asserted.
