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Congrats Lawol Welli!

Oct 13, 2010, 1:15 PM

We would like to commend Lawol Welli for sweeping the award for the most valuable enterprise at the JA Company of the year competition which took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 6 to 9 October 2010.

'Lawol Welli' JA Company from Kaira Nyining Federation in Kombo North represented The Gambia in the global annual celebration of the achievements of students from 12 African countries.

This is a great achievement for the country; it shows that when our young people are given the opportunity and necessary support they can always break records.

It is now becoming increasingly clear that when young people are empowered they can change the world.

The Junior Achievement project (JA) targets youth and out-of-school children from different communities and it is centred on training programmes that are geared towards enhancing the entrepreneurial sprits and skills of youth.

Lawol welli, we learnt, is involved in different income-generating activities which are said to be doing well.

The breaking of records in Kenya by the group is an indication that when supported the youth enterprises in the country can always make the nation proud.

Since over 50 per cent of the population is youth, this segment of the society should be given the required training and skills to enable them to contribute effectively to national development.

Many people feel that dropouts are good-for-nothing individuals in society, but they fail to realise that there is a silver lining in every dark cloud.

The competition that took place in Kenya is a clear demonstration that if our youths are given the opportunity they can display their talents anywhere.

Some have the notion that the only place where success lies is in the West, and therefore want to go there at all cost. They forget that with the right skills and the right entrepreneurial approach they can change their lives and the Gambian nation for the better.

Our thanks go to Child Fund the Gambia for providing the funds for the country to participate in the competition.

We therefore challenge all youth organizations to train their members to acquire skills that will make them self-employed through which they can earn their living to take care of themselves and their families.