The
gifts to five communities include two D550,000 boreholes to Barajally and
Touba Kunda; two power tillers and a multipurpose milling machine for maize,
coos and rice for Wassu; and D150, 000 borehole maintenance projects for
Kuntaur Fula Kunda.
“These
are absolutely non-political interventions by our NGO,” CEO Modou Turo Darboe
said at the gathering of thousands of people from surrounding villages. Since
the morning on Saturday, 24 February, they spent the morning reciting the Quran
and seeking God’s blessings; the afternoon singing, drumming and dancing in
anticipation of the visit of the delegation from Vision Development Foundation
in Banjul.
Niani
District, Central River Region is well known for its farming activities,
especially rice. However, hundreds of hectares of rice fields were flooded last
year during heavy rains, making them dependent on food aid. Houses were
demolished and farmlands waterlogged. They now need a fresh start for the next
farming season and the prayers being sought were meant to, among many other
things, avoid a repetition of similar floods.
“Our
interventions are not political. We are non-government, pro-poor organisation
and we neither seek name, nor position or votes in return,” Mr. Darboe told,
adding this work has been on for 25 years.
One
of the speakers came to the podium with a light-brownish, 1.5 liters of water
reportedly from the well the villagers have been drinking for decades.
“UNICEF
visited us and said the water is not fit for consumption. We are vulnerable to
cholera and other diseases without your intervention,” said Koba Conteh of
Niani Touba village.
Their
problem is similar to most of the other five communities and the NGO came in a
big way: “We have sent in a fact-finding mission to assess what your needs are
and our interventions are guided by that report,” Mr. Darboe told them,
promising that the boreholes would be ready in two weeks.
The
two D550, 000 cheques were issued to an Indian company to begin works in
earnest. Other cash donations were made to the various mosques, the police in
Wassu, with a promise to build a first-class station to boost security in the
area; and the Village Development Committees of selected communities to use
funds in addressing community needs.
Saikou
Fofana, coordinator of the VDF reiterated the non-political nature of their
intervention and urged beneficiaries to make the best use of the aid packages.
“Our interventions are meant to help you sustain your livelihoods and minimize
difficulties you face in your various communities,” he added.