Njawara Ambassadors for Development and Meaningful rural life for women and children (NADAM) has successfully held its 17th edition of marathon and cultural festival staged in Njawara village NBR on 28 and 29 December 2012.
NADAM therefore wishes to reflect back and review the whole activities covered on the above dates.
Marathon
Following a successful cultural day that folded in Njawara on Saturday 29 December 2012 to mark the day of the big event, which is the Njawara Marathon, the youths of the village all pushed towards another long day packed-full of marathon activities and a grand wrestling competition ahead, All hands were on deck looking forward to another successful event.
By 2:30pm, the ground was set and all the athletes were ready to go to their various starting points. As the time came close to departure, our fear of not having enough athletes was washed away as many people of different age groups came to register.
By 2:45pm, the Toyota pickup, military Toyota pickup, the ambulance and tractor were loaded with athletes and necessary equipment for the move towards Kerewan.
As the marathon clocked 17th edition with the theme “Run for Rural Women Development Initiative”, it brought together prominent athletes from the four corners of the country and various athletic departments, which included the Gambia Armed Forces and the Gambia Police Force.
The village centre was full to the brim with spectators from different parts of the country as hundreds of villagers and guests converged on the village square to witness the road race of different categories and distances of 10km for male, 5km for female and 3km for kids towards the village square.
The event did not limit itself to the athletes or the community audience; it also attracted dignitaries from different walks of life who attended it and the most top ranks were the chairman of Kerewan Area Council, Njawara village Alkalo, the VDC chairman, the regional sports chairperson and the regional youth coordinator of North Bank Region, to name but a few.
While everyone was waiting for the first signs of an incoming winning athlete, the Alkalo of Njawara made the welcoming remarks.
He urged the youth to work harder and come together to ensure the development of the village and the country at large. The president of NADAM, Ngoneh Panneh, declared the event open before she thanked the women for their support and encouraged them to put hands and minds together to ensure the success of the event, the association and many more to come.
Friends of Njawara, a Swedish group that also sponsored the cultural festival, was represented by Stina, Sara and Nicholas.
Stina, in her speech, expressed how happy and impressed they are about the whole programme. They also thanked the villagers and urged them to keep the good work unabated.
Wrestling
Day two further continued during the night at the wrestling ground where a grand wrestling competition was held, and wrestlers from The Gambia, as well as from Senegal, all took part in the annual wrestling night, which started 12 am midnight till dawn. The competition was officially opened by the Gambia Wrestling Federation, who were represented by secretary general Habbibou Jatta and PRO Matarr Saine.
The wrestling competition was divided into three categories of first, second and third. The first position was won by ”Nyolo nyolo of Ecre Ndongo”, and second position Mama Lamin of Barra, while the powerless was won by Lichin of Ecre Ndongo Ceesay. The second prize was won by Hoyan Tan and the third position by Dandemayo.
The winners were awarded cash prizes of D3,000 and D2,000 respectively.
Sponsors
We cannot conclude without mentioning those who helped and made the programme a success. They are no other ones than the sponsors of NADAM, who pulled out their resources and power to support the noble initiative.