The Association of Wood Re-exporters and Forest Users in The Gambia has again demonstrated its commitment to the development of the environment by donating over 1000 seedlings to the West Coast Region.
The donated seedlings, which included 400 mangoes, 300 oranges and 300 cashew seedlings, were presented to the governor of West Coast Region, Lamin Sanneh, at his office in Brikama.
The presentation of the seedlings was attended by the chiefs of the region, regional education directors, regional forestry officers, alkalou and members of the wood re-exporters association.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Lamin Barrow, chairman of the Association of Wood Re-exporters and Forest Users in The Gambia, reaffirmed their resolve to promoting the environment.
He commended the WCR governor for giving them the opportunity to hand over the seedlings to him for onward transmission to the communities in the region.
Mr Barrow also went on to highlight the importance of trees to the people, adding that the trees are very useful in the socio-economic development of the country.
“We have the belief that the development of the country should not only be left in the hands of the government, but instead it should be a collective responsibility for all patriotic citizens to contribute their quota to nation-building,” he said.
For his part, the chief of Foni Bondali, Alhaji Dembo Bakary Badjie, commended the Wood Re-exporters and Forest Users for the initiative.
He noted that this is a clear indication of their commitment to the protection, restoration and development of the forest.
“I therefore used this opportunity on behalf of all the chiefs in the region to urge this association to continue their good work towards the preservation and protection of the forest,” he added.
Babucarr Suwareh, regional education director, also hailed the association for the donation of the seedlings.
He noted that the importance of the seedlings cannot be over-emphasised in the sense that it will not only benefit the entire WCR community but also the schools.
Mr Suwareh assured the governor and the association that the trees that will be given to the schools would be greatly taken care of to ensure their sustainability.
In receiving the seedlings, the governor of WCR Lamin Sanneh, said he was overwhelmed by the handing over of this 100 seedlings to his office for onward transmission to the community of WCR.
According to him, the gesture is a clear indication that the association is moving in the right direction.
“These seedlings will go a long way in restoring our forest cover,” governor Sanneh said.
The governor also assured the association that the seedling would reach the right beneficiaries, adding that they would surely be taken great care of in realizing its sustainability.
He went on to encourage the association to keep up the momentum in playing their part in the restoration of the country’s forest cover.
