“Aflatoun is one of the most important projects in the school. Through the project, students that have been encountering difficulties in terms of their education are being supported. This is a great initiative which my school is delighted to be part of because it has not only helped the students, but also improved the academics,” he said during a visit by ChildFund, The Gambia officials who are currently visiting their project sites across the country.
Aflatoun is a project initiated by ChildFund International, The Gambia decades ago with the aim of supporting the country’s education sector.
The project, credited for transforming beneficiary schools and supporting children’s education, has now been incorporated by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and rolled out in some primary schools across the country. Through the project, children would be able to learn social skills with a view to supporting their education in buying stationery, uniforms, educational learning materials, school lunch, among others.
Camara added that: “The project is helping students whose parents are struggling. We are now selling books and other learning materials at schools. The students need not to go up to the town to buy books and other materials while classes are on-going.”
Aminata Darboe, a Mother’s Club member at Kiang Dumbutou Lower Basic School said the project has greatly helped beneficiary students especially in buying learning materials among others.
“Through the project, we were trained on how to make soaps. We in turn trained the students. Students have qualified and are now making their own soaps. They sell these soaps to inhabitants and the profit is used to support their educational careers.”
Maimuna Colley, teacher coordinator for the project at Kiang Dumbutou Lower Basic School said: “The Aflatoun project has brought a lot of transformation and financial gains to the school.”
She stated that before the coming of the project to their school, needy students found it difficult to acquire all their learning and educational materials.
Alieu Gaye, head teacher of Massembeh Lower Basic School said: “The project is doing extremely well in beneficiary schools in rural Gambia. I can tell you that without this project, most of the beneficiary students would have dropped-out of school due to financial constraints.”
The students, he added, are the direct beneficiaries of the project. “Now even if students come to school without pencils and books, we use the little profit we make and buy books and pencils for them,” he added.
Amadou S. Jallow, teacher coordinator of the Aflatoun project at Farafenni Lower Basic School in North Bank Region said: “At Farafenni LBS, we invest heavily on printing T- Shirts for students and teachers using the money that we get from the initiative. The money that we get from the sale of these T-Shirts is what we use to sponsor some needy students.”
“At some point, some students from this school used to put two subjects in one book. This is due to the fact that their parents cannot afford to buy them enough books. But with the project, students can get these materials for free if they are members of the Aflatoun club.”
