Community engagement and safe migration training for youth winds up in Kerewan

The training was organised by the National Youth Council (NYC) to discuss migration issues.

The community engagement brought together different youth leaders, VDC members, children National Assembly members, people with disabilities and other relevant stakeholders in the neighbouring communities of Kerewan to discuss issues connected to migration, human trafficking, smuggling of migrants within and outside The Gambia.

Lamin Jammeh of Migration Management Unit of the Gambia Immigration Department discussed the mandate of the Immigration Department, challenges and benefits of migration, and human smuggling and trafficking.

Migration, Peace and Security Officer Omar Bah encouraged the participants to take the knowledge learned seriously and help share the information to the community members who couldn't attend the event.

Ismaila Badjie, Program Manager at the National Youth Council (NYC), informed participants on the role of NYC and other partners in curbing migration and relevant opportunities available in the country that the youth could tap into.

Lamin Darboe from Social Welfare took the youth through the procedures involved in reporting cases of children on the move, laws that govern child abuse and exploitation as well as the role of parents in the context of children on the move.

He thanked UNICEF The Gambia for its continued support towards the protection and welfare of children and youth in national development.

Meanwhile, the share of youth not in education and employment in The Gambia was reported at 39.85% in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognised sources.

In The Gambia, the share of youth not in education, employment and training and the total actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank in May of 2024.

Youth employment in The Gambia improved due to worldwide collaborators such as the European Union and the International Trade Centre, the World Bank findings indicated, stating that more Gambian youth would continue to realise the country’s potential through the government’s new development and employment plans

The Gambia would continue to implement the New National Employment Policy and Action Plan from 2022 to 2026.

The national action plan maintains similar initiatives as those of the Tekki Fii Project, such as skills development for entrepreneurship and businesses, opportunities for women and youth and the creation of 150,000 jobs by the end of the plan.