D1.6m Jarjary Nursery School inaugurated

A D1.6 million nursery school project has been inaugurated for the community of Jarjary in Upper Baddibou District, North Bank Region.

The new school complex comprises a four classroom block, a medical centre, a kitchen, a modern toilet, and a "bantaba".  The purchase of uniforms was also sponsored by Morgan/Clark Foundation in the United Kingdom.

The project, according to Phil Morgan, founder of Morgan/Clark Foundation, came into being when he made a short visit to The Gambia in December 2009.

"My guide, Bakary Jammeh, representative of CMI Trading, UK, took me on a fishing trip during which he explained to me the plight of his people," he said. "The only mud-built nursery school in the village had been washed away by the heavy rains, and they were finding it very difficult to rebuild it."

He added: "The next day we made a short trip to the village, 150 kilometers from Banjul. After discussions with the elders, I committed myself to rebuild a modern nursery school for the community."

He said that when he returned to the UK, he discussed the matter with his partner in Morgan/Clark Ltd (an insurance company) and they decided to set up the Morgan/Clark Foundation and started looking for funds.

Their relatives and friends provided money for the project and construction started on 23 February 2010.

The names of the sponsors are given to the classrooms - Morgan Family, Hawkes Family, Archer International, Burnham Village, Gina's Bantaba (named after the wife of Phil Morgan, Elsie's Kitchen, Paul Lister Well for watering of their vegetable garden). The uniforms were done by Phil’s niece Victoria Morgan. Some of the sponsors graced the occasion together with the wife and three children of Mr Morgan.

Representing the Minister for Basic and Secondary Education, Fatou Lamin Faye, Ebrima Ceesay of the ministry apologised for the minister's absence due to her busy schedule.

Nursery school forms part of basic education, which is in line with the ministry's vision to provide education for all sectors in the country, he said.

Ceesay thanked the Morgan/Clark Foundation for their gesture in sponsoring the project for the villagers, who are eager to send their children to school.

He also praised them for complementing government’s effort in providing education for pre-age schoolchildren. He also thanked Bakary Jammeh, a native of the village who was the coordinator for the project, for a job well done.

The Governor, North Bank Division, Edward Seckan, also thanked Morgan/Clark and Bakary Jammeh for providing the funds and for taking such a wonderful project of development to his area. He quoted President Jammeh as saying, "With education the sky is the limit".

Sheriff Marong, chairman of the organizing committee of Jarjary and India Village School committee, said that the school is the first of its kind in the history of the village.

He said it was constructed purposely for house pre-school going children to give them a good start prior to their enrolment in the formal education sector.

"Since education is considered to be among the priority in our national development agenda, it is important to have more learning facilities at the nursery school level throughout the country in order to give our young ones early education," he said.

He also thanked Morgan/Clark for helping to improve the status of their village. The school has an enrolment of 270 children with all their fees paid for by sponsors of the school.