By: Nyima Sillah
ChildFund’s Country-wide tour of its projects and programs have received positive feedback from communities and beneficiaries as the team discovered various achievements and positive impact from implemented projects.
In Madina Sancha in Kiang East district, Modou Joof, head teacher of Medina Sancha Lower Basic School said “ChildFund has been a good partner to the school and has done a lot for the school. I can remember some time ago they came here and found some of our students learning under a very terrible condition they decided to come to our aid and built a classroom block for the school.”
The establishment of the classroom, he said, has been very helpful because the school was experiencing several challenges before its intervention, which is why the children were learning in those conditions.
He noted that with the intervention of ChildFund, the children are now well accommodated in the school and they also established a playground for children in the school.
ChildFund, he added, has done a lot for the school and they are looking forward to them intensifying their support to the school regarding sanitation, maintenance of the playground structure, sanitary paths, and sports facilities.
However, Ndey Njie, women Community Leader who spoke on the D600, 000 borehole project implemented by ChildFund for her community said they use to struggle a lot to fetch water from the well but the 10,000 liters borehole implemented by ChildFund in their community has been very impactful.
She also said with the ChildFund water project, no one is struggling with the water issue in the community, adding that almost all the compounds in the community have taps through the water project.
“We appreciate the gesture, and we look forward to having more projects from ChildFund in other for us to be free like the people in Kombo.”
Oumou and Isatou among other children in the village also expressed gratitude to ChildFund for their support in their community.
The team also visited Tendaba Nursery School, and Badume Koto community in Jarra, Sajor Trawally, Deputy facilitator at Tendaba Nursery School highlighted the importance of the ChildFund Early Childhood Development playground saying the playing ground is useful for the children in the community and has minimized some of the issues that children use to face when they go outside to play.
“The playing ground also motivates children to come to school and brings unity among them but the little challenge we have is the location of the place because the place is not properly fenced and people have space to get it the playground and misuse the materials.”
Isatou Conteh and Fanta Camara parents of the children in the community also thanked ChildFund for their support.
Lamin Ceesay, ChildFund Facilitator in Jara Badume Koto, expressed similar gratitude for the implemented project and assured the materials’ suitability for the children’s benefit.
Meanwhile, the team visited Batabut Kantora, Child-Friendly space in Foni, Isatou Sanyang, facilitator of the Child-Friendly Space said that it was established by ChildFund and has made a significant impact in the community and it came at a time when the Cassamance crisis happened and left so many children in exclusion and deprivation.
She added that such a place was badly needed to accommodate the children in the communities and give them support and through ChildFund intervention they established a safe place for the children who are still making an impact in their lives of children’s.
“The space is helpful and safe for children. They have learned so many things because they were not going to school when the crisis happened so they came here to have fun and we teach them so many things,” she said.
