Derek Bailey Foundation of UK in
collaboration with the British Embassy in The Gambia has built and inaugurated
a new maternity ward in Nyofelleh Village clinic in the West Coast Region, to
reduce the mortality and morbidity rate among the community of Nyofelleh and
its surrounding villages.
This achievement came through one Famara Demba, a native of Nyofelleh village, when one Mrs. Joan Bailey visited The Gambia in 1993 and met with Mr Demba.
They had a small discussion concerning the needs of the country, which impressed her and upon her returned to the country the following year she laid the first brick in the school, and has personally financed the building of the primary school in Nyofelleh village.
The school was opened in 1994 as a primary school for 90 pupils, and in 1999 work began on the building of the clinic, which has been in operational use since 2000.
Both the school and the clinic have expanded and the amenities in both are improving.
In his statement, the National Assemble Member for Kombo South, Hon. Abdou Kolley, expressed his appreciation to the Derek Bailey Foundation and the British Embassy for their recognition of the importance of providing a maternity ward to rural communities, particularly in Nyofelleh village.
He said this was a clear manifestation of the willingness of the Derek Bailey Foundation to support the neediest people in The Gambia, as they have demonstrated, by building a “magnificent labour ward”, which he described as part of complementing the government’s efforts in a bid to uplift the socio-economic advancement of the country.
He assured them that the government would continue to pay great attention to the highest attainable standards of health at the clinic.
Ms Jeandare Jarju Kujabi, regional principal nursing officer, stressed that the construction of the clinic in Nyofelleh village manifested yet another milestone in responding to the needs of the rural communities.
She described the gesture as timely, as it would provide the needed service to this community and its surrounding villages.
“I believe this maternity unit and a midwife would cut down the number of referral of patients to Brikama health centre, which could be stressful to women and children and their families as a whole,” she noted.
Ms Jarju added that this achievement would not have been possible at this time without the assistance of the Derek Bailey Foundation and the British Embassy.
She assured the donors and the people of Nyofelleh that the regional health directorate and the ministry of health will give support in complementing their efforts in running the clinic.
Deputizing for the British Ambassador to The Gambia was Kalifa Bojang, a political officer, who expressed his gratitude to the community of Nyofelleh for their warm welcome to partner with them.
He said building this clinic would go a long way in helping to reduce the mortality rate in the communities, and challenged the communities of the area to take care of the facility.