According to the donors, Stitching School & Community Support Gambia branch was established in 2010, through the support of Ric Spruijt and Caroline, Hollandaise couple based in Holland.
Muhamadou Alieu Bah, president of Stitching School & Community Support Gambia branch who also doubles as the coordinator of the Stichting School parent body in The Gambia, hailed Ric and Caroline for directing their support at the country through the provision of the valuable materials such as exercise books, reading material, clothes, furniture, learning and teaching materials among many other things.
Highlighting some of the interventions by the organization, Bah stated that the organization has provided funds to renovate four classrooms to the tune of D21,000 and the construction of two pit latrines for the pupils of Papa Bouye, which he said, came at a time it was highly needed.
He thanked the couple, Ric and Caroline, for their foresight in rendering the support, while commending the government through the education ministry for their steadfastness in the crusade to access quality and relevant education for all.
According to him, plans are in place to provide more support to the school in terms of creating conducive learning and teaching environment for Papa Bouye Day Care, Nursery and Lower Basic School to ensure children receive quality education for the development of the country.
Mustapha Jobe, president of National Tourist Guides Association, said as guides, they encourage tourists to visit schools and local communities to see if they could offer any support to them, particularly children, who are the future leaders of the country.
This, he said, was the reason his association was collaborating with viable foundations and organizations such as Stitching School & Community Support to support the education sector by providing learning and teaching materials to schools, sponsorship programmes, and improving learning and teaching environment and staff upgrading among others.
According to him, as a tourist guide, his intention is to link tourists with the local communities while ensuring maximum respect for tourism code of conduct in the country.
In receiving the materials, Madam Sainabou Mbye, head teacher of Papa Bouye School, said the school is a community-based institution run and managed by the local community to bring education to the doorstep of the community.
According to her, the school was founded in 2010 with an initial number of 104 pupils and few teachers but now the number had increased threefold with 6 volunteer teachers teaching in the school.
“This is the second time the school has received benevolent gesture from Stitching School & Community Support International through the Gambia branch,” she said.
She commended Mr Bah for directing the support at her school and further appealed for intervention in getting staff teacher, furniture, training and ICT equipment for the school.
