By: Nyima Sillah
The Premier Group Foundation Trust (TPGFT) over the weekend rendered free medical services to the people of Sotuma Sere and its surrounding communities in the Upper Region River (URR).
The aim of the organization is to help the less privileged people in the communities and across the country.
Speaking at the event Sankung Minteh, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Founder of the TPGFT Foundation, “At times we receive patients at the hospital who have an infection on their hands and also diabetes patients that don’t know their status. All these issues inspired me to take up the foundation to the rural Gambia where standard access to health care is very difficult.”
Minteh explained that they don’t have any direct link with the Ministry but believed that they are complimenting the Ministry’s effort directly or indirectly because anyone who engaged in health has to do it in accordance with the laws of the land.
He noted that since the beginning of the outreach, apart from their first outreach, they usually see more than five hundred patients.
However, CEO Minteh added that their next move is to expand what they are doing if they have funding because the association is self-funded.
“We cannot go out there and tell people to fund us. We share it on different media platforms and if anyone sees what we are doing is beautiful, they can fund us.”
Binta Baldeh, event planner of the foundation, “We first started this outreach in Tanja, Baddibu, Kiang, and Choya and this outreach is our 5th engagement this is really going well because as an organization our aim is meant to help the less privileged people in the communities across the country.”
She described the turnout as a very good one since they are expecting to see at least over 300 patients and disclosed that in the next 3 months, they are targeting to reach out to the people in the kombo’s.
Haggie Kumba Touray, Sotuma Sere Village Health Worker, said this is very important to them although they have a health center in the village providing a free medical clinic is very welcoming to them and thanked the premier group for reaching out to them.
Haggie Sankanu, VDC member, “We are very happy for such a gesture because there are people here whom you know that if they fall sick to ever have the money to buy medicine becomes a very big problem for them. This is the first time we are receiving such assistance in our community in Sotuma.”
