By Yunus S Saliu
The KuKi Group known as the KuKi Gambia, on Sunday, 19th February 2023 inaugurated KuKi Gambia Skills Training Center in Kubuneh village, West Coast Region to give young people an opportunity to learn the trade that can help them survive in the job market.
The inaugurated skills training center in the heart of Kubuneh is sponsored by the KuKi Group in Germany. The group, since 2015 has been supporting the Kubuneh village and its residents. Their major focus is supporting and sponsoring needy children and families, especially in terms of arranging sponsorships, clothing, and so on.
Their other supported projects include a bookshop, a batik group, and a sports team in Kubuneh.
Speaking to members of the KuKi Gambia from Germany, Jule Photographer for KuKi Gambia expressed her love for the country and said KuKi means Kubuneh Kids.
She said construction of the building takes a bit longer to complete “but now we are happy to inaugurate it.”
She said the group will continue sponsoring students of Kubuneh and the center noting that the people of the community have confidence in them and “we hope they are feeling good and in future, they can do it on their own as sustainability is concerned.”
Presently, she said the group is sponsoring 112 kids from the community “and we are very happy to help them go to school to acquire education. And for the skills center, we noticed that after senior secondary education, there are not many possibilities for some of them to further their education to earn money so we talked to the villagers about what they need to help them that was how this came about.”
“Above all, I’m happy to be here because everyone is so nice and accommodating,” she added.
Mr Hartmut, Chairman of Kuki Gambia, visiting the Gambia for the first time expressed their love for the Gambia, especially Kubuneh community said the project is important for the village and “hope the skills center will yield something good for them.”
He disclosed that every year the group always sends some items to the village for the development of the village and the center which has since started operation in January 2023 “with this opportunity are given to the youth to learn a trade so that they can survive on the job market.”
Anja, treasurer of KuKi Gambia in Germany said they love the skills center and it is meant to serve everyone within and outside the village that wants to acquire skills and education for the betterment of their life.
“Here they have the opportunity to learn tailoring, welding, electrical, carpentry, and so on,” she disclosed.
Malick Badjie, the project coordinator for the Kuki Gambia who is a native of Kubuneh explained how the relationship between the donors from Germany and Kubuneh village started years back and thanked Madam Karin, the first President of KuKi Gambia for the good initiative.
He explained that before the construction of the center, KuKi Gambia group has been helpful to the village with different interventions which include sponsorship, painting of the school in the village, bookshop, tie, and dye among others.
Ebou IS TambaAlkalo of Kubuneh village and Awa Colley president of Kuki Gambia committee expressed gratitude to the KuKi group from Germany and prayed for their good well-being.