(Wednesday August 31, 2016 Issue)
UK
Ambassador to The Gambia, Colin Crorkin, held a cocktail reception at the
Ambassador’s Residence to congratulate and bid farewell to nine Chevening
Scholars selected from The Gambia.
These
scholars will follow a one-year Master’s programme, all expenses paid, at UK
Universities for the academic year 2016/2017.
The
event was graced by the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Omar Sey,
Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Mr Amadou Colley, members of the
Chevening Alumni, British Embassy Banjul staff and invited guests.
Ambassador
Crorkin took this opportunity to wish the scholars a successful programme,
saying: “This is a unique opportunity to develop networks that will benefit the
scholars, their ministries and organisations and, of course, The Gambia.
“The
allocation of scholarships to The Gambia has increased significantly over the
past two years to the point where we will now have 20 scholars returning to The
Gambia within two years which would previously have taken 10 years to achieve.”
Isatou Jagne, who will be studying
Epidemiology, said: “The Chevening award is phenomenal mainly because of the
networking opportunities and its highly regarded Alumni. Chevening is my window
of opportunity. The experience so far has been surreal. I cannot wait to
engage, explore and enjoy my Chevening journey.”
Momodou Cox, in his remarks, said he is
honoured to be among the first MRC Unit staff to be awarded such a prestigious
scholarship.
“This
will give me the unique opportunity to pursue a one-year MSc in Immunology at a
world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and
global health.”
Kumbale Goode, who will be undertaking a
Master’s in International Technology Management, said a Chevening scholarship
meant a lot to her.
“Getting
an opportunity to pursue your dream is the best thing that could happen -
especially when I thought it might be unrealistic,” she said, adding: “The
opportunity that the award presents scholars is far more than financing - it’s
an opportunity to build a nation, one person at a time.”
Kaddijatou Manneh will be studying Global
Entrepreneurship and, according to her, it was “surreal until last evening when
my colleague scholars and I met with renowned people in The Gambia at the
reception”.
She
added: “The Chevening journey is an opportunity to develop ourselves but more
so to come back and develop our motherland. I could see in the eyes of all
scholars the desire to go out and put this opportunity to maximum use. Pursuing
Master’s degree was a dream for me, now it is a reality.”
Abdulrahman Bah, who will be studying
International Commercial Law, said “receiving the prestigious Chevening award
to me is a life changer”.
He
said further: “This award will build my capacity in my area of speciality and
afford me the opportunity to network with the thousands of distinguished
Chevening Scholars all around the world.
“It
goes without saying that the ultimate beneficiaries of this award will be the
Gambian people as we all look forward to coming back home and contributing our
knowledge to nation building.”
Applications for Chevening Scholarships for
the 2017/2018 academic year are now open to Gambian students and will remain
open until 8 November. All eligible persons are encouraged to apply via – www.chevening.org/apply