4Gambia
Foundation, a charitable organisation registered in The Gambia and Holland,
recently donated three trophies, two footballs and a set of jerseys to Jerreh
Sittanunku Development Organisation (JSDA).
Geke
Lagerburg-Schutte, the Dutch founder of 4Gambia, and Amadou Demba, the
foundation’s Gambia national coordinator, presented the items to JSDA at a
ceremony held at Sittanunku village, Upper Niumi District, on Saturday.
Alkalo
of Sittanunku, Ba Nuha Jammeh, expressed gratitude to the donors while
welcoming them to the village.
He
said as the village head, his priority is the development of the village in all
areas; so any help that is coming in that light is always welcomed.
Amadou
Demba, national coordinator of 4Gambia, said the foundation is involved with
different projects in The Gambia such as education, health and sports as a
contribution to making life better for Gambians.
In
the area of sports, the foundation had supported at least 25 football academies
in The Gambia with different sporting materials, including jerseys, footballs,
trophies and football boots.
Mr
Demba said by the time they received the request for support of sporting
materials from JSDA, they had already given the ones at hand to teams who were
on their waiting list, and it was not even enough.
But
they decided to go the extra mile by lobbying from Gambia Sport Foundation and
thank God they were able to get some materials there.
The
materials from the Gambia Sport Foundation, a Dutch foundation that mainly specialises
on supporting The Gambia in the area of sports, are what were presented to
JSDA.
The
founder of 4Gambia, Mrs Lagerburg-Schutte, said the foundation gives support in
different areas, but more so in the area of education.
The
foundation has a number of students they are sponsoring, and had helped in
building classroom blocks in some schools and given education support in other
areas.
The
Dutch official said the foundation is opened to more collaboration and possible
support to JSDA and Sittanunku village in general.
The
chairman of JSDA, Sanusi Darboe, introduced the association to the donors,
saying it was formed, among other things, to support the socio-economic
development of Sittanunku village in the areas of education, sports, health,
among others.
He
hailed 4Gambia Foundation for the worthwhile support, saying it has come at the
right time as the maiden football tournament organised by JSDA has now reached
the final stage.
But
the final could not be played because there was no trophy. Now that 4Gambia donated trophies, the final
would be played as soon as possible, Mr Darboe said.
The
chairman said JSDA is ready to work and collaborate with 4Gambia in the
development of Sittanunku.
A
representative of the village development committee of Sittanunku, Dada Manneh,
also commended the foundation for the support.
Mr
Manneh, who is also a board member of JSDA, said the VDC is grateful for the
support since the development of youths and sports in the village is very dear
to the committee.
He
noted that the donated materials will greatly help in motivating the village
youths in developing their football prowess.
Mr
Manneh also pointed out that at the moment; one of the pressing priorities for
the VDC is to revive the dilapidated village clinic.
Sittanunku
had a clinic, built and fenced by the villagers. The clinic was in operation for a short
period, but could not continue. The
building itself is now not in a good condition.
In
this vein, the VDC appealed to the Dutch foundation to extend a helping hand in
reviving the clinic, not only for the benefit of Sittanunku, but also
neighbouring villages that are without any health facility.
Other
speakers, including Lamin Jaranka Jammeh, Fatou Jammeh, and Sutay Sarjo,
commended the award-winning foundation.
4Gambia
Foundation was recently among more than 30 Africans and friends of Africa
organisations who were awarded the Voice Achievers Award, in recognition of
their “outstanding achievements”.
