Gamcotrap Trains 50 Community-based facilitators on advocacy skills

The three-day capacity building training held at the GAMCOTRAP headquarters in Kanifing, attracted selected participants from Central River (South and North), Lower River and Upper River Regions. The initiative was funded by Wallace Global Fund and Implemented by GAMCOTRAP.

The training, designed to create a favorable environment for the implementation of programmes aimed at eradicating FGM in The Gambia, is expected to continue across the country.

In an interview with The Point, Dr. Isatou Touray, executive director of Gamcotrap, explained that the training is part of a programme meant to reach out to the local communities by creating awareness on FGM, Child Marriage and other forms of Sexual Gender-based violence.

“We have been conducting the programme and the participants who have been trained as community-based facilitators (CBF) have been identified by their communities.”

The training, Madam Isatou added, is about advocacy skills to reach out more effectively as well as receiving and giving feedback about the situation of FGM within the selected regions.

“These people have explained the success they have made as well as the constraints they have. After this training, we are going to have another training in CRR that will include CBFs from URR to raise awareness at the grassroots community level.”

Aja Fatou Njie, GAMCOTRAP coordinator in Lower River Region called on participants to be steadfast and share the knowledge with their colleagues.

This, she added, would enable them to make a difference in their area.

"Let us come up with issues and look at the constraints and problems of FGM," she said.

The project, which is meant to work with key targeted groups such as security officers, key stakeholders, community-based facilitators, community leaders (both men and women), religious leaders among others, targets communities in Central River, Lover River, North Bank and Upper River Regions.

Participants at the event called on their fellow participants to make best use of the workshop. The training, they added, should be seen as  something very important in helping them to do their work effectively.