By Mama A. Touray
Muhammed Y Darboe, Executive Director of Writer’s Clinic in The Gambia has said writing is a process, not a product, and that people must always write to become good writers.
Mr. Darboe made this remark at a recent day-long panel discussion organized by the Writer’s Clinic, an event held at the Regional Directorate, Brikama. The theme for the first-ever panel discussion was “the impact of mentorship and constructive feedback on the development of young writers.”
Speaking at the opening, he said “Writing according to advanced composition is a process and not a product and understanding that we have seen ourselves as people who are also going through the process, helping other people who want to go through the process.”
However, the Executive Director gave a brief background on how the Writer’s Clinic in the Gambia was established, saying they intend to reach people in the senior, junior, and schools, go out to the provinces, and the last cohort will be those in the primary school.
“I have a strong belief that shaping the minds of individuals starts from their formative years. That is the state where you can tell them right or wrong and they accept,” he disclosed.
He, therefore, encouraged young people to write more to be good writers.
For her part, the Deputy Project Coordinator of the Writer’s Clinic in the Gambia, Binta D Bojang, added that the Writer’s Clinic came up with the idea of panel discussion because they believe they can inspire a lot of young people through it.
“All of us in this hall in one way or another have an inspiration and we as the writer’s clinic are a group of young people who are also inspired by other people that is why we want to give back to our fellow young people by inspiring and instill the passion of writing in them,” she said.