Hans Van Der Staay, a Dutch philanthropist accompanied by his Gambian wife Elisabeth Badjan last Thursday donated a Lathe machine to the technical department of Bakau Upper Basic School, at a presentation ceremony held at the school grounds.
The donation, according to the Principal of the school, Mrs. Anti Sanneh came following an enquiry by Hans, as to whether there is any technical department in the school.
She said it was against this background that Mr. Hans decided to come up with such a wonderful gesture to provide them with high standard lathe machine, which can be used for different functions, such as cutting of metals screw, cutting and drilling of holes, among others.
Mrs. Sanneh, on behalf of the entire management and students of the school applauded the kind gesture of Mr. Hans, noting that Hans has really demonstrated his passion and commitment to the school and the whole Gambian community.
"You have proven your true image, and your valuable contribution to national development in a bid to enhance technical skills for self-reliance which is indeed part of national development," Mrs. Sanneh noted.
She further used the opportunity to assure Mr. Hans that they will certainly put the donated item into a viable and purposeful use, hence it marks a significant milestone in the annals of the school.
For his part, Mr. Hans explained that the reason for the largesse is part of his father's proposal to donate materials to very good schools. He said he therefore wasted no time to present it to Bakau Upper Basic School, thanks to the involvement of the school’s principal, who has once again expressed the need for the school to have the machine at its disposal.
"After keeping it for some time he later gave me the authority to come with it to The Gambia to present it to a very good school, who will benefit from it and I though it wise to give it to Bakau Upper Basic School," Mr Hans pointed out.
The presentation was also attended by a host of dignitaries, including the Councilor of Bakau New Town ward Alagie Bahoum, and schoolteachers.
