St.
Joseph’s High School Alumni organised a reunion and fundraising gala at the
Paradise Suites Hotel in Senegambia on Friday 30 December 2016.
The
school’s alumni, class of 1975, pioneered the idea of holding an annual
fundraising event towards the improvement of the school services.
This
year, class of 1976 partnered with their alma mater in the provision of an
ultra-modern and state-of-the-art library for the school.
Mrs
Juka Jabang, the chief guest of honour, said the importance of library in the
teaching and learning process cannot be overemphasised as schools with strong
libraries often produce strong students.
“There
is ample evidence to show that strong school libraries build strong students,”
she said.
Mrs
Jabang also said libraries help teachers to properly integrate into the school
system so they can support students in academic achievements and life-long
learning as it enables them to know how to use information technology to access
additional resources.
Mrs
Hannah Coker, Alumna member of 1976 and the Principal of St. Joseph’s High
School, said it is her profound pleasure not only as principal of St Joseph’s,
but as its proud alumna (ex-student) to partake in the ceremony where past
students returned to their Alma mater to express thanks, and with grace and
humility, undertake the great endeavour to modernise the school library.
“In
a world that is increasingly knowledge-driven, a modernised library will
significantly improve our students’ reading culture and help connect them to
cyberspace so that they too are not left behind in the cyber revolution,” she
said.
“Our
older siblings could not have done us any better than this remarkable gesture
of refurbishing and modernising our library.”
Mrs
Coker acknowledged the continual and invaluable support and contribution of the
parent ministry of education, banks and corporations, generous donors and
philanthropists, institutions and
ex-students, as well as the media and The Paradise Suites Hotel for
patronising and making the gathering a success.
She
also expressed gratitude to the class of 1975 whose funds were used to renovate
and modernise the school’s science laboratories and other important equipment
to make the learning of science easy, safe and motivating for students.
Ms
Amie Sey, of African Development Bank (AfDB) and head girl of class 1976,
speaking on behalf of the alumni, said when they realised the school was
running down, they decided to come together to raise funds for the school by
organising a gala dinner, which also served as a reunion after 40 years when
they left the school.
“So
we took up the project to build a fully equipped library for our alma mater,’’
she said.
Mrs
Sey said they also pledged as alumni of St. Joseph’s that every year on 31 December,
each following class would do a fundraising gala for which invitations would
also be sent to corporate citizens and philanthropists and the proceeds will be
used for the betterment of the school in various aspects.
Mrs
Sey said their long-term goals are to bring the school back to being the best
and build more partnerships with educational organisations like UNICEF so they
can take up more projects in society.
The
event is one of a kind in The Gambia as it reunites school mates of 40 years
ago in a gala night to plough back into their alma mater, which contributed to
who they had become.
What
began as a bold initiative by the St. Joseph’s Class of 1975 had been bolstered
by their younger sisters, class of 1976.
However
the noble baton challenge was also handed to the graduands of 1977.
