The Senegalese High Commissioner to The Gambia, Babacar Diagne yesterday donated food and non-food items worth D125,000 to the Gambia Prison Service.
High Commissioner Diagne is the first among 14 Senegalese High Commissioners to The Gambia since 1960 to ever visit and donate to the Gambia Prison Service.
The donated items included 10 bags of sugar, 10 bags of rice, 10 gallons of cooking oil, 40 packets of soap, 5 cartons of tea bags, 50 packets of biscuits and 10 bags of iodine salt.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony held at the administrative head office of the Gambia Prison Service at Mile II in Banjul, High Commissioner Babacar Diagne described the day as a historic moment for him, being the first Senegalese High Commissioner to the Gambia to ever visit and donate to the State Central Prison.
Noting that it was very important for the High Commission to give to the inmates as they are also part of the community, Diagne said no government can do it alone by itself, and that The Gambia and
He commended President Yahya Jammeh for allowing over 700,000 Senegalese to live in The Gambia in peace, and also the Gambia Prison Service for their great job and also for being open to them.
According to High Commissioner Diagne, the donation will from now on be done on a yearly basis.
He stated that being the first Senegalese High Commissioner to ever visit and donate to the Gambia Prison Service will motivate him to do more for the inmates.
‘Whenever the prison service has needs, you can knock on our doors and we will help,’ he said, adding that there are also plans to donate mosquito nets to the Prison Department.
Yaya P. Jarju, deputy Director General at the Gambia Prison Service, on behalf of the
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According to him, the jailing of inmates does not mean that they are bad people, but they are there to be corrected.
Lamin Sowe, operations commander at the Gambia Prison Service, also commended Diagne for his foresight.
