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Dutch foundation, college support more Gambian students

Feb 4, 2016, 10:47 AM | Article By: Cherno Omar Bobb

Yagana World Foundation, a Dutch charitable organisation, together with Bonaventura College in Leiden, Holland on Monday supported more Gambian students with learning and sporting materials.

The foundation has been supporting education, health, agriculture, sports, and microfinance among other areas in The Gambia for the past 16 years.

Dinemarie Langereis, founder of the foundation, said they are sponsoring 35 students at Makumbaya Lower Basic School, and Bonaventura College provided the students with learning materials, a laptop, and clothes for the teachers of the school.

They also donated clothes to the community of Makumbaya.

Ms Langereis explained that last year, Yagana World Foundation opened a well-equip clinic at Makumbaya.Initially, natives of the village have to travel kilometres to access to medical care.

The foundation had also donated set of jerseys and footballs to Makumbaya Lower Basic School, and Maladah Basic Cycle School in Kunkujang Jattaya village.

Dinemarie said her foundation is ready to work with Bonaventura College in supporting more needy people in The Gambia particularly the community of Makumbaya.

Meanwhile, Bonaventura College, which has been sponsoring 7 students at Makumbaya Lower Basic School since 2009, now sponsors an additional 16 students at the school.

A group of 12 students and 4 teachers from the college in Holland came to The Gambia to investigate the difference in education, sports, boys and girls in Holland and The Gambia.

As part of their visit to The Gambia, Yagana World Foundation and Bonaventura College have visited a microfinance project at Tujereng and Batokunku.They are to also go to Bakoteh Lower and Upper Basic School where they will donate school and sports materials today, Thursday.

Sjirk van dere Veen, a teacher at Bonaventura College, said they are pleased to have the opportunity of visiting schools in The Gambia.

Puck Usman, a student from Bonaventura, urged students of the schools they visited to take their education seriously in order to benefit themselves, their families and society at large.

Rene Paulides, a sports teacher at Bonaventura, said the sports materials they donated to schools were given to them by some sports clubs within their neighborhood in Holland.

Kebba Kujabi, Alkalo Makumbaya village, thanked Yagana World Foundation and Bonaventura College for the support rendered to the village over the years.

Lamin B. Sanyang, headmaster Makumbaya LBS, expressed delight about the support of the foundation and the college.

Omar Touray, headmaster of Maladah Basic Cycle School, explained that the school was founded by Dutch philanthropists in collaboration with the community of Kunkujang Jattaya in other to provide quality education to the people of the village and its vicinity.