By Awa Macalo
The University of the Gambia Students’ Union (UTGSU) has secured over one million dalasis from the organisation Migration and Sustainable Development in the Gambia (MSDG).
Ousman Jassey, President of the UTGSU, said the development was inspired by an undertaking the students union made sometime last year. The union provided scholarships to underprivileged students at the University.
“This attracted attention from individuals within and outside The Gambia, which resulted in contact with Professor Gibril Faal of London School of Economics, who brought up the idea of his organisation assisting the UTG Students’ Union by giving us funds to complement the packages.”
Jassey explained the reason behind the Unions involvement in the matter, saying it is because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which devasted many students learning processes.
Dr Habibatu Drammeh, director of students’ affairs, UTG, admired the foresight of the Union’s executive and applauded the initiative. “Many disadvantaged students of UTG who are extremely smart but cannot afford university education, this initiative will be beneficial [to them] and will complement the effort of UTG and the government at large in supporting its citizens.”
Representative of MSDG, Musa Sidibeh, said: “One of the mandates of the MSDG project is to look into opportunities that Gambian Diaspora can bring to assist or contribute to national development. This is done through our technical operations, workshops, and other means. One of our projects which starts from 2019 to 2020 is the diaspora technical scheme which is basically how the UTGSU was able to benefit.”
