Yama Jobe, a resolute mother from Chissay Majaw village in the Jokadou District of the North Bank Region, is raising more than 10 children, one of whom attends primary school and is supported by the ChildFund cash transfer program.
In her 50s, Yama shares how this initiative has not only assisted struggling parents in enrolling their children, but has also played a crucial role in ensuring their continued education.
Previously, her son had to leave school due to the financial hardships the family faced. However, thanks to the nationwide rollout of the ChildFund cash transfer initiative, he has returned to school and is excelling academically, consistently earning top marks in exams.
Thrilled by the program's impact, Yama shared how it has significantly enhanced education in rural areas, not only improving academic performance, but also helping to retain pupils/students currently enrolled in schools.
The "Zero Out of School Children" initiative, implemented by ChildFund International The Gambia in partnership with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, UNICEF, Educate a Child, and Efanet, aims to assist struggling families nationwide in enrolling their children in school.
As part of this initiative, beneficiary students will receive bicycles and cash transfers in order to purchase uniforms and essential educational materials.
According to school authorities, these initiatives have significantly enhanced the academic performance of the students benefiting from the program, and have encouraged parents to enroll their children in school.
Yama further added: “The cash transfer program has profoundly enhanced my children's educational opportunities. We never imagined my child would have the chance to attend school, given the challenges we are currently facing,” he told our reporter in an interview as ChildFund officials are currently touring the country and visiting project intervention sites across the country.
“Due to the economic struggles our family is facing, we had no choice but to remove one of our children from school after he completed grade nine. We can no longer afford his school fees, and in order to ensure that we can provide food for our family with our limited income, we made the difficult decision to prioritise basic needs over education,” she explained.
Although Yama is currently overwhelmed with the initiative, she urges ChildFund and its partners to broaden the program in order to ensure that additional struggling parents can also benefit from it.
Sira Sall, is a mother, whose son is thriving thanks to the programme. She shared how the initiative has positively impacted her family, saying: “My son has always dreamed of attending school. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford uniforms and other essential educational materials, leaving us with no other choice, but to prevent him from going to school. However, thanks to the ChildFund initiative, my son is now excelling in school, often ranking first or second in his exams”.
"We not only purchase uniforms, shoes, and books through this program, but the cash assistance also allows us to save money to buy a hen, which we keep in our compound.”
Sall also seized the opportunity and urged ChildFund to help them with shelter, saying: “Since the aftermath of last year's windstorm which left many families homeless, I am living with all my children in one room. Therefore, I want support to overcome these challenges.”
For his part, Ebrima Kassama, principal of Chissay Majaw Basic Cycle School spoke at length on the significance of the cash transfer, adding: “This initiative has really increased the enrollment in the school in the sense that it helps parents to have some cash to give to their children so that they come to school.”
With over 50 students benefiting from the program, Kassama recalled that prior to this initiative, many of the beneficiaries came to school without proper uniforms or shoes.
“However, that is now a thing of the past. Parents are now eager to send their children to school, given that the program addresses all their needs. We are also urging ChildFund to consider extending this support to the upper classes and not just the Early Childhood Development (ECD) students."
The beneficiary students, who spoke about the initiative expressed their gratitude to ChildFund and its partners for launching such a commendable programme that will significantly enhance their educational journey.
Abdoulie Jallow, head teacher at Kumbija LBS in URR, highlighted the significance of the cash transfer initiative and its transformative impact on the school.
“Prior to this program, our enrollment stood at 255 students, but now we proudly have 354. This increase is a direct result of our proactive efforts to promote the value of education, coupled with the ongoing cash transfers initiated by ChildFund and its partners."
Concluding, he said that at the beginning of the academic year, many children faced challenges in attending school due to the lack of uniforms and other essential learning materials.
But those issues, he added, are now in the past, recalling that in the past it was particularly difficult to enroll children with disabilities. However, today "we proudly have two students with disabilities who are excelling academically. We also want ChildFund and their partners to consider expanding the program in order to support more students in need."
