Jama explained that she lost contact with her husband just five months after his departure. For weeks, she lived in uncertainty, clinging to hope and praying for his safety. It was only later that a friend who had travelled with her husband broke the devastating news of his death.
“The news came as a shock to me,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion. “Since then, life has never been the same.”
Despite the loss, Jama revealed that she has not yet informed her children about their father’s death. She said her children are still very young and she fears that breaking such heartbreaking news could negatively affect their emotional wellbeing and disrupt their lives.
“I don’t know how to tell them,” she added. “They are too young to understand. I am afraid it will affect them deeply.”
Before his departure, Jama described her husband as a hardworking driver who provided for the family and ensured that their children were well taken care of. His decision to embark on the risky journey, she said, was driven by the desire to secure a better future for his family.
“He was doing his best for us. We were managing,” she said. “But everything changed the moment he left.”
Since his death, Jama has been left to shoulder the full responsibility of raising their six children alone. She survives through petty trading, a source of income she says is far from sufficient to meet the growing needs of her family.
“All my children are in school, and it is very difficult to provide for them,” she explained. “Sometimes I don’t even know how we will get through the day.”
Now living in what she describes as deep hardship, Jama is appealing to the public, humanitarian organisations, and government institutions for support to help her sustain her children’s education and basic needs.
“I am struggling a lot,” she said. “I need help to take care of my children. I cannot do it alone.”
Her story highlights the human cost of irregular migration, commonly known as the “Backway,” a route that has claimed the lives of many young Gambians seeking greener pastures abroad. For families like Jama’s, the consequences are not only tragic but long-lasting, leaving behind widows, orphans, and broken homes.
As Jama continues to navigate life without her husband, her greatest concern remains the future of her children - a future she hopes can still be saved with timely support.
Members of the public, humanitarian organisations and philanthropists willing to support Jama Ceesay and her six children can reach her directly on: 2669230 / 7898390.
