Bright Futures for Children and Youth in The Gambia

By Cynthia Price, Director of Communications

Following lunch we travel to Somita Village. The children are dressed in plaid green uniforms and greet us with several songs. They present a drama about the value of education. A father does not want his daughter to attend school but the mother begs him to allow the girl to attend so that she can have a better life. He finally agrees. The daughter jumps up and down and says, “I am happy my father lets me go to school.”

We visit several of the classrooms. The rooms are clean, bright, and cheerful. The walls are decorated with appropriate educational information. In the classrooms for the younger children, the colors are listed on the walls as are the days of the week. Blocks of paper are filled in with a specific color, showing that the children are working on learning their colors.

Several villagers are at work in the kitchen. The children eat at school because they often have to travel great distances to get there. At school children learn to eat a balanced meal. Again, they can take that knowledge home and share it with their family.
After visiting several classroom we also visit the Somita Health Center. About 100 people are treated each month on an out-patient basis.

From there we travel to Sibanor Village. The rains continue. At this point we are no longer on paved roads, but rather dirt roads that are now mud from the rains. Potholes and culverts must be avoided and the rain creates a layer that is almost as slick as ice. The driver is attentive and gets us to each of our destinations safely and without incident.

At the Sibanor Village we hear from the younger children who sing a welcoming song, “Wherever You Come From.” The older youth share their experiences with Junior Achievement. In this village 32 youth are participating. Hatab, one of the youth, says, “We are learning about disciplined money habits that we hope will continue into adulthood.”

Several commented that while they don’t have much money, they used to spend all that they had. “Now, we’re learning how to save and to budget,” one youth said.

They are five months into the program and are identifying opportunities. Their goal is to operate three businesses within the community. They are considering a gas station, herding of animals, and even a manufacturing enterprise.

Anne tells the group, “When trying to think of a business, think of what the people will buy.”

We then learn about the Water Pyramid. Sibanor is the main village in this part of The Gambia and for years there was limited healthy drinking water. Women had to wait in line at the few working wells. Then a few years ago, Ding Ding Bantaba Child and family Support Association and CCF The Gambia succeeded in getting a water project grant funded by World Bank through a Dutch organization. The system uses boreholes and rainwater collection techniques that provide up to 5,000 liters of clean water per day. It also provides distilled waters, which the villages are working to market and sell, thereby providing additional funds to the village.

This is the last program we are scheduled to visit. Throughout our visits, we have been shown great hospitality. Anne and I are both amazed and inspired by the dancing and joy of the villagers. We saw first hand how sponsorships and donations are changing the lives of the children and youth, and, ultimately, the villages. We saw children learning about how to lead healthier lives. They shared the messages with us, and we know they are sharing the messages at home where they also are changing attitudes for the better.

We heard first hand the importance of education. The youth talked about their commitment to staying in school. They also shared about the importance of learning skills that they can use throughout their lives and the importance of saving the money they earn. It’s clear that many of these youths will grow up to be leaders of the future.

Although there are obstacles to overcome, the children and youth clearly have hope and brighter futures. As Anne noted, “CCF has created a revolution in the community.”

I know we’ll be hearing more from these children and youth. I look forward to that day.

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Listening to the Voices of Youth

By Cynthia Price, Director of Communications

We are now in The Gambia. A brief plane ride (less than 30 minutes gets us to this country that is carved out of the middle of Senegal.

Although it is the rainy season, we had encountered little rain in Senegal and virtually none in Dakar. However, it’s a different story here in The Gambia. The rains are definitely upon us. At times the rain beats down so hard it is difficult to hear.

We travel to Kaira Nyining Federation, which is a short drive from the CCF Gambia National Office. By the time we arrive, the rains have stopped. The mud, however, is everywhere and we step carefully.

The rains create a good backdrop, though, for the morning’s presentation. “It is very appropriate to have so much water today,” Anne says, “because water is life and the youth are the life of the community.”

We are in the federation’s building and in the front sit the community’s leaders. In the back are the youth. One day soon, those same youth will be sitting in the front as the leaders of the community. These youth are part of the Combo East Youth and Children Development Association.

Omar Cham, a youth who is active in the association, gives an overview of the highly successful program. He shares how CCF has assisted youth in a variety of capacities, including paying for school fees or building homes.

He notes, “As youth we believe in coming together to participate in support for our health. We don’t want to be school drop-outs. We have the opportunity to go to school, which is the key to life.”

He shares how many of the youth are involved in Junior Achievement, a program new to The Gambia, but one that is used in hundreds of schools in the United States. The youth also are exposed to information technology.

The youth also are participating in the first-ever youth and children cooperative credit union in the region. Currently there are 41 members. “We’re learning to save money,” Cham says. The credit union also gives them access to loans for their own economic empowerment and development.

Cham also talks about child protection and giving children a voice to speak out and reduce risk of violence and abuse. He said activities such as quizzes, debates and drama competitions help children improve their self-confidence and esteem.

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Listening to Community Grandmothers

By Cynthia Price, Director of Communications

We travel to Louly Ndia, a village with 1,147 inhabitants. We learn the history of the village health hut from the president of the health committee. He said the health hut initially was supported by a German woman. But until CCF assisted in coaching the communities, the program wasn’t working. Today it is a thriving program that offers a variety of services, including treatment for malaria and acute respiratory infections, assistance for childbirth, providing health and nutritional education and providing vaccinations.

We tour the health hut and then watch skits performed by the children. Similar to the morning’s program, the children again emphasize preventive measures against malaria and the need to visit the health hut and not rely on traditional forms of medicine. As they share their skit and songs they also share the message of how important bed nets are in the prevention of malaria. Without them, the children will get sick. “If we are sick, we can not go to school. We can not go to the field. So please get us a bed net.”

The messages are easy to understand and it’s clear that the children do understand them. As they learn the messages they share them with their parents and siblings – it’s an easy way to change attitudes at home.

CCF President Anne Goddard asks the children to raise their hand if they sleep under a net. Almost every hand shoots up.

Then there is a session with the community’s grandmothers. The grandmothers care for children and are considered wise. They also are used to being involved with helping birth children. Now parents rely more on the health nurses with the midwives’ assistance. Still there is conflict between the traditional and the modern ways. The session lays out the controversy including how some grandmothers say tradition is inherited and therefore, should not be lost. But the reliance on tradition often means illness or death since modern practices are not followed.

An animated conversation follows. It is clear that some grandmothers have embraced the modern ways but a few still don’t believe the new ways are better.

It’s a message of hope that transcends geographic boundaries. As Anne tells the group, “I think any child would be lucky to be born in this village with so many mothers, elders, and grandmothers who care. I will remember this day a long time, and when I am a grandmother I will tell my grandchildren what I learned in this village.”

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The Long Journey is Worth It!

By Cynthia Price, Director of Communications

What a day. We left at 7 a.m. for Mbour to visit the programs. What an incredible experience, but first getting there was equally amazing.

One road leads into and out of Dakar. It is crowded (an understatement). Every inch of road is filled with cars, buses overflowing with people hanging out the back door hopping on and off in traffic, mopeds darting in between cars, and pedestrians trying to sell their wares – fruit, phone cards, windshield wiper blades, you name it.

We finally make it away from the city and about 2 hours later we are in Mbour where CCF President Anne Goddard and the rest of our group (including CCF Senegal National Director Emile Namsemon and myself are greeted. First, though, she and I climb onto a horse-drawn cart and are carried to the village. We are immediately joined by others from the village and are surrounded by horses ridden by children who have put miniature flags in the bridles. One of the flags is Senegalese and one is American.

As we draw closer we are greeted by a popular folk-welcome with Bambara women and the Sereres women of Backeme and Ndiakhate. They dance and sing and play instruments. They are dressed in traditional colorful garb. One woman plays what appears to be a bowl with shells hanging from the rim, which makes a shaker noise – almost like a tambourine. And yet she can also beat on it to sound like a drum.

The village children line up to greet us and sing a song about human rights in which they sing “down with war” and “peace for all.” They also sing a song about malaria and how it is a bad disease. They sing in French, the national language of Senegal.

We visit the project’s library, which has a large selection of books in French, including Harry Potter. The books are arranged by age and general subject matter.

The vegetable garden of the Mbambara School not only teaches the children how to grow food, it also provides food for those children who live too far away to go home for lunch.

A visit to the health hut of Gawlombukha includes a presentation of the activities carried out in the hut and their impact. Details about how everyone has received vitamin A and how midwives now help more birthing mothers at the hut rather than at home are shared.

We visit the early learning center. Children enrolled in it are able to start school at age 6; those who don’t participate have to wait until they are 7 to begin regular schooling. Then we visit the classrooms, which each have about 50 students, and there are seven classrooms. The earlier the education begins, the greater the chances of success for the children.

The children of the early learning center present a skit about pregnancy and the importance of seeing a doctor at the health hut instead of relying on traditional medicine. They also sing about malaria and TB. They sing about the symptoms (fever, achy, tired) and solutions, including treated bed nets and anti-malarial pills.

As we depart we get a bit turned around. Once we are in the village we are not traveling on roads but rather on sandy lanes or paths surrounded by fields of millet or village huts. I see no landmarks but apparently they exist – at least for the villagers. Finally we stop for directions to the main road and are directed to turn at the mango tree. Now I know what a mango looks like but I have no idea what a mango tree looks like! I keep quiet only to discover that no one else in the car was sure either, so we ask once more and finally arrived at the main road.

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Learning About Micro-Finance

By Cynthia Price, Director of Communications

In the afternoon we learn about a micro-finance program that originally was begun by CCF, but is now operated independently, although CCF still serves a technical role. The Institution Mutualiste Communautaire d’Epargne et de Credit (IMCEC) is a credit union created to serve families living in the communities where CCF programs are engaged in sponsorship and child-focused development programs. Ousmane Thiongane is the executive director.

Along a busy commercial street, a tent is erected in front of the office. Under the tent more than 50 people are gathered, mostly women, several of whom will be given loans.

The loans enable the individuals to improve their lives because they are able to start a business and, ultimately, earn income. The program also includes a health insurance component, which provides peace of mind for the participants.

CCF President Anne Goddard hands out the checks to the individuals, immediately brightening the day of the recipients. "I hope the loans make your time, energy, and income better – for you, for your husband, and for your children," Anne says.

One woman is using the loan to start a shoe business. Another is opening a fabric shop. Fatou Thiam is excited to receive the loan. "I’ve always had to rely on myself." She used to sell fabrics but became ill and was no longer able to work. Now that she is healthy, the loan will help her to get started in business again.

"This makes my life better," she said.

She looks forward to the day when she no longer needs a loan. "That will be when I have a big cash flow," she said with a smile. For now, she can use the loan to buy fabric for her shop.

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Traveling to Senegal and The Gambia

By Cynthia Price, Director of Communications

My name is Cynthia Price and I am the new Director of Communications for CCF. One of my first assignments is to travel to Africa to see first hand CCF's programs. This is my first trip to Africa and I am looking forward to the experience. On this trip I am visiting two countries in West Africa – Senegal and The Gambia. I’m adjusting to the French language, the heat and humidity and the time zone difference. Everyone with whom I have met is friendly and helpful, which has made the trip easy. I arrived a few days in advance of CCF President Anne Goddard. On our first day together we met with the CCF Senegal National Office. Anne shared how she understands the challenges of operating a national office since she previously ran one.

We are both looking forward to traveling to the field to see CCF programs at work. As Anne notes, "I understand the challenges of children in poor areas. But there is a common theme in any culture – and that is that parents want their children to have a better life. "

She adds, "Childhood is a one-time opportunity. Children need the confidence that they can take charge of their lives. That gives us a big responsibility. They deserve the very best that we can do. Change has to come from the inside, from people who feel empowered and confident. If we can help nurture the next generation who feel empowered, that’s what excites me."

It’s a strong message and one that I will see repeated in the programs that we visit. The youth are empowered and are making a difference. But before we visit programs, we first meet with Madam Awaw Ndiaye of the Ministry of Family, National Solidarity, Women Entrepreneurship and Micro-Finance. What a title!

Somehow government buildings, no matter what city they are in, all look alike. The difference here is that the women walking through the hall are dressed traditionally and the bright colors of their clothing stand in strong contrast to the stark, institutional walls.

Mrs. Awa Ndiaye was appointed minister June 19, 2007. Before that she was the private secretary of Moustapha Niasse, former Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Abdou Diouf. She later joined the consulate of Senegal in the United States before being appointed as President Wade’s adviser in culture and education.

She cleared her calendar for the CCF visit and spent about an hour with our group. The minister talked about her mission, which is the protection of children. But it comes down to having the money and the means to do something. Considerable time was spent discussing children who live on the street. The minister emphasized the need for children centers or safe shelters. “The children are the main priority,” the minister said.

Many families do not have money to keep their children in school. The actual education may be free, but uniforms, books, and materials all cost the family, many of whom can’t afford those fees. This concerns the minister.

The conversation also turned to food security. The minister said it is an issue. “It is very difficult.” She said there is not money to address the problem. And the country does not have the rainfalls to guarantee crops. “We want to help people to have something to eat.” She said a few weeks ago the government bought $10 million worth of rice to distribute, “but the need is so great, it’s nothing.”

When asked about priorities, she said, “When you are in an undeveloped country everything is an issue.” Some of the priorities include the role of women, food security and child protection.
“Every day when I wake up I say, ‘What can I do?’ ”

The minister added, “One success story is not enough.” But Anne provided encouragement adding: “Small drops together make a difference.” In Senegal many of those small drops are adding up and CCF is now helping more than 100,000 children. All together these small successes will make a difference.

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