By Talibeh Hydara
There was a time in this country when people witnessed extraordinary attempts by young people to have Gambian brands.
Young people with tech abilities have made helicopters, set up radio stations, telephones, televisions, etc., but that is where it all apparently ends as they subdued to the grips of poverty and the lack of support that comes with it.
Lamin Drammeh, a young Gambian who was one of the first to attempt a helicopter, said the best the former government did for him was to show him on television but no platform or help to harness his gift.
Ebrima said anything he makes first comes to him in a dream and would see every material needed to fix that particular thing.
“The helicopter I made propels and leaves the ground when powered. The only thing it doesn’t do is flying. I haven’t reached that stage yet because I don’t have the resources or the required nurturing,” he said, brimming with confidence that Gambian youths have the potential to renovate.
Ebrima lives in Brikama Darsilameh, a place he has been living since the unfortunate halt of his educational career.
“I dropped out of school in my seventh grade because of financial problems. Help hasn’t come since then but that doesn’t stop me from using my gift.
“My parents divorced when I was just a kid and it was my grandmother who raised me in Nuimi Berending. When I left school I joined a skills training centre where I learned a lot about solar, satellite, antenna, electricity; just technical things,” he added.
Young people of the Gambia have stepped up lately and much credit has been given to them in after an historic election in December last year. According to Ebrima, who is in his twenties, the government is not just aware of how gifted they are.
“There are people I know who can make a car and drive it or even a helicopter that will fly like any other helicopter we see in the air. But these things require the right equipment and training.
“There is even someone who built communication equipment. He wouldn’t use any SIM card in this device but can call any line and it would ring. If you want to call him, all you do is dial four zeros and hit it, it will ring,” he said, adding “there are dozens of people like me who the government should consider. People like us are given all the support they need in the advanced world in order to make more inventions.”
Ebrima is hugely gifted not only to make helicopters but other things that a lay man would think impossible.
“I’m working on a project and when I finish, people will be surprised. It’s a car that I want to make. But this car will be different from these ordinary cars you see plying on the road. Wherever this car is parked, no communication will work there; you will not have reception to make or receive calls,” he said.
Ebrima said he can even make a device capable of intercepting calls; something he said is quite expensive in the advanced world. He called on the Barrow government to fish out their kind for they too have a lot to offer to the nation.
“All we need is support. The first thing the government should do is find out where people like us are and bring us together. If we are together, we can do some remarkable work together.”
