Faith
Cole, a UK-based Gambian philanthropist, recently arrived in The Gambia to
continue her contribution to the development of the country to complement the
efforts of the new government.
The
lady was received on arrival at Banjul International Airport by officials of
the coalition government led by Amadou Bah, a protocol officer.
Speaking
to journalists at the airport, Ms Cole said she has been planning to come home
since last year, but it could not work due to the heated political situation
then.
“So
I am home again, and I want to meet President Adama Barrow because I feel I am
an asset to The Gambia, because of my expertise and experience having lived and
work abroad for many years. I think I can contribute to the development of this
country.
“Gambia
has invested in my life, because when I was at school as Methodist and Gambia
High, I paid no school fees because I had a scholarship. The country had
invested in me, and then when I started doing my business and I made some
money, I started to come home to pay back to Gambians.”
She
said she has already outlined areas that her development interventions would be
more focused on, and these include child education, women’s health and health
in general.
“I
have been working in the health sector in London, so it is the sector I know
best,” the UK-based Gambian said.
“So
I feel that I could contribute to the health sector very much. I know the sector here needs a major revamp
to reduce the mortality ratio and make the country a healthy nation.
“This
is why when I got information that Gambia has a new government I was extremely
happy because, unfortunately during President Jammeh’s era, the situation was
getting worse, and the sad situation was that people lose their lives unnecessarily,
and investors could not come because they knew they would be at risk of losing
their investment.
“Nobody
with a sound brain will come and invest millions of dollars into a country when
you know that within a year you could be sent parking.”
Thank
God, she said, that situation is over now.
