Plans are at an advanced stage for the much-awaited first-ever NGO Week organized by The Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, TANGO, which is slated to run from 11 to 17 February 2012.
The week-long celebration in the form of parades, exhibitions, panel discussions, awards and sports, will avail the NGO community the opportunity to share with the Gambian population its contributions and success in development work in support of national development and advancement.
The NGO Week is a platform for knowledge sharing, NGO accountabiity and transparency, as well as evaluation of interventions, among others.
It will showcase and highlight the gigantic contributions of NGOs in the country’s development strides and will generate a debate on the way forward, given all the challenges and opportunities that abound.
It also seeks to, among others, strengthen the policy and legal environment for NGOs that will foster close partnership between the Government and other development actors in the communities for the development and progress of The Gambia.
Speaking at a press conference held yesterday at the TANGO offices in Kanifing, Madi Jobarteh, programme coordinator for TANGO, said the idea is to tell Gambians that NGOs have been in the country for a long time.
“For the past 40 years, we have been collaborating with departments, ministries sub-sectors within the
Yankuba Dibba, board chairman of TANGO, revealed that Tango is a voluntary consortium of registered NGOs operating in The Gambia and comprising national and international NGOs.
Dibba noted that NGOs exist because government cannot do it all, and will continue to do so because, as he put it, they are relevant.
Jainaba Nyang-Njie of ActionAid International The Gambia expressed her office’s gratitude to be associated with TANGO in the forum.
“ActionAid has been associating with TANGO activities since its inception, and have partners in various programs and projects,” she said, adding that the NGO Week will not only offer ActionAid the opportunity to showcase its work, but other NGOs as well.
“It is an opportunity that will really showcase what we have been doing with partners, supporting them in the area of health, agriculture, governance, human security, women’s rights and many others,” Nyang stated.
