Standard Chartered Bank (Gambia) on
Friday trained 110 school girls at Bakau Upper Basic School as part of its
girls empowerment programme, dubbed ‘Goal’.
The bank said it has reached 210 girls through its award winning goal programe, launched barely a month ago in The Gambia.
Officials said Goal is the bank’s leading education programme that provides financial literacy, life skills and employability training to low-income adolescent girls.
Since the initiative was globally launched in 2006, it has grown from a small programme in two Delhi slums to an internationally recognised global movement operating in 25 countries, helping more than 217,000 young women.
Speaking on the programme in Bakau, Mr William, principal of Bakau Upper Basic School, hailed SCB for the initiative, saying the first 110 girls trained from his school through the Goal programme have gone through life changing experience.
He pointed out that educating girls and giving them the tools to shape their lives effects economic growth of a nation.
“It leads to increased prosperity not just for individuals but for their communities and their societies; it provides returns for decades,” he said.
“In The Gambia, Goal was launched on 15 April 2016 with the aim of reaching 1,500 Gambian girls aged 12-14 in its first year,” he said.“It will be a fully- fledged programme in The Gambia and the Bank will work with local senior secondary schools to implement the programmes.”
The first Goal event was held at St Joseph Senior Secondary School where 100 girls were trained.
Through the sport-based leadership skills building and financial literacy activities, the Goal aims to empower and equip adolescent girls with the confidence, knowledge and skills they need to be integral leaders in their families, communities and economics.
Eight physical education teachers from four school St Joseph Senior, and Gambia Senior secondary schools as well as Latrikunda and Bakau upper basic schools went through four-day training on the goal curriculum and activity guide to be used in workshop and training sessions.
Albert Saltson, CEO and managing director of SCB, said the Goal is a life changing initiative which started nearly 10 years ago in other countries.
“Its impact is phenomenal,” he said.
“Therefore, we call on all of you to join us in our quest to empower adolescent
girls.”
