(Press release)
Project Aid The Gambia (International NGO A57) would like to inform the general public that Jahaly-Madina Kindergarten in Jahaly, CRR, resumes operations from November 1st, 2017, after more than five months impasse, Project Aid The Gambia, a German/Gambian NGO running Jahaly Health Centre, announced Monday at their headquarters in Manjai Kunda.
As of now parents in the area of Jahaly and Madina are invited to enroll their children for the academic year 2017/2018.
The kindergarten had to close down on May 20th, 2017, after a joint resignation of all staff. Negotiations with the former staff now led to the reopening of the kindergarten under a new acting management, which is Bakary Jammeh, former staff member, and Mai Manneh. Mr. Jammeh and Mrs. Manneh are acting as equal Deputy
Headmaster/Headmistress for the next six months until a new Headmaster will be appointed amongst them by Project Aid The Gambia.
All kindergarten staff have signed new working contracts with Project Aid The Gambia. Since the grand opening of Jahaly-Madina Kindergarten in 2004, the non-local staff is granted free housing, 24/7 water supply and sun-powered electricity by the project, at the compound of neighbouring Jahaly Health Centre.
Projects Aid The Gambia had sought to hand over the kindergarten staff to the Ministry of Education while at the same time staying responsible for the maintenance of all buildings and kindergarten equipment as well as of learning and playing materials. As the Project could not reach an agreement with the Ministry, both the German and Gambian Board of the charity organization decided to resume operations as soon as possible.
“We are glad to have found a solution for the reopening of the kindergarten. The local parents pleaded with us several times to do so”, says Matthias Ketteler, chairman and founder of Project Aid The Gambia. “The children of Jahaly and Madina should no longer pay the price for the impasse.”
The Jahaly-Madina Kindergarten is able to take care of up to 480 children of the age of four to seven years. Project Aid The Gambia provides free school uniforms and a free meal for their students.
Signed: Matthias Ketteler
Chairman
Project Aid The Gambia
For additional information please contact Projet Aid The Gambia by email [email protected]
Background information on Project Aid The Gambia (International NGO A57)
Since 1986 “Project Aid The Gambia” (International NGO A57) has been running several projects in The Gambia.
The focus of the activities lies on the sister villages Jahaly and Madina of CRR, located at the South Bank in a 270 kilometer´s distance from the Kombo region. A small Gambian management team is organizing the projects on the ground. The German NGO, also called “Project Aid The Gambia” is funding the Gambian Project Aid. The organization in Germany has got about 50 members and about 320 friends and supporters, who are donating for the projects and doing fundraising events.
The administration costs of the German organization are extremely low, i.e. 2.07 % of the incoming donations in 2016. That means: from every single Euro that is being donated, about 98 Euro cents directly go to the people of Jahaly and Madina. The projects are:
“Jahaly Health Centre” in Jahaly (since 1991), “Jahaly/Madina Kindergarten” with nursery school (since 2004), four women´s gardening projects (since 2003), the construction of eco-friendly smoke-free ovens (since 2010), the plantation of Moringa trees (since 2012), the construction of the model clinic “Njaba Kunda Health Centre” (2011/12) in the village Njaba Kunda, NBR – located at the North Bank Road half the way between Kerewan and Farafenni – the support and surgery of Gambian kids (since 2012), who can’t be treated in The Gambia – a cooperation with the German NGO “Friedensdorf (Peace Village) International”. As a recent development, in February 2017 Project Aid The Gambia took over the management and administration of the “Health Centre Buniadu” in the village of Buniadu, NBR, 5 kilometer off Essau at the North Bank Road, in cooperation with the German NGO “Riverboat Doctors International”.
