The ambassador of the republic of
Samples of the balls were presented to officials from the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and the Ministry of Youth and Sports at a ceremony held at the ROC embassy in Bakau.
Speaking at the handing-over ceremony, Ambassador Chen said the balls were donated to the Gambian students by a Taiwanese shipping company called Pacific Concord International Ltd.
The company, he said, has established a shipping business link with The Gambia and the manager of the company, Jessica Ho, who is in The Gambia to witness the donation.
“These balls are good for school football and sports development,” said Ambassador Chen.
The Taiwanese diplomat seeks the cooperation of the relevant stakeholders to ensure a well coordinated distribution of the balls.
Ebrima Sisawo, deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, thanked Ambassador Chen and the Pacific Concord Shipping company for the support.
“This intervention is a very good one, one thousand footballs is very significant for the development of football in schools,” he said, adding that the footballs will be put into good use and that the two ministries will work together to endure a fair distribution of the items across the country.
“We are very much aware of your support to the development of various sectors in the country and we thank you for the support,” he told Ambassador Chen.
Sisawo said the development of sports requires facilities and one such facility is football thus expressed their happiness over the donation.
Pa Suwareh Faye, acting director of sports, also convey greetings from the Minister of Youth and Sports to Ambassador Chen for the donation.
Mr Faye said his ministry is very much appreciative of the gesture, adding that they would ensure the items are put into good use by the beneficiaries.