By Yunus S Saliu
Girl’s Pride The Gambia in partnership with the Canadian Embassy in Dakar, on Thursday, completed a two-day training program for civil society organizations (CSO) members and various institutions on game-based learning Funneh boards to advance the knowledge of participants on eradicating a series of sensitive and considered taboo topics including female genital mutilation (FGM), menstrual hygiene among others across the country.
The two-day training session held at the Ministry of Basic School Education (MOBSE) on the 28th and 29th of August 2024 is part of the project Play4Equality: Enhancing Civil Society Organisations’ Efforts to Eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in The Gambia Through Game-Based Learning organized by Girls’ Pride The Gambia. It was funded by the Canadian Embassy in Dakar through the Canada Funds for Local Initiatives (CFLI).
The introduction of the game-based approach made the training worthwhile and the conversation effective and interactive. “This will help to boost the advocacy strategies of the participants,” Fatoumata Jabbi-Kassama, Founder and CEO of Girls’ Pride, expressed.
She explained that game-based learning with the aid of Funnehboard is very effective. Learners will find it easy to understand the topics and it helps learners to seek fast solutions within themselves because it increases the knowledge of the players when it comes to topics treated during the game.
For step-down training and easy transmission of the knowledge, participants were given Funneh board and accessories to take back to their institutions and organizations for members to use. Materials to play this game included Funneh board, question cards, a questions and answers booklet, dice, tokens and playing the game starts from 2 to 10 people.
Janet A. Mansal of Gambia Teachers Union said the Funnehgame is important, educative, and helpful “especially to our organization, the Gambia Teachers Union (GTU), thus, through it you will learn a lot.”
She affirmed that she has attended a series of training whereby facilitators will stand in front of people to explain and participants tend to forget what they learned after such training but “on this game-based learning what you learn sticks to you. Because the practical part of it would help you remember.”
Like other participants, she said the game-based learning taught her how to be hopeful, confident, and patient and to collaborate with others.
Awa Boye, a member of the Association of Gambia Albinos (AGA) thanked Girl’s Pride saying the knowledge gained from the training will go a long way in helping others, “Though it is one board you can use it with different questions through the booklet to teach other subjects. So the game has multiple topics and ideas that are useful to people.”
Adama Janneh from GADHOH said with the aid of a language interpreter that the game is very interactive and helps people to learn not just only one topic but different topics which include female genital mutilation (FGM), menstrual hygiene, and gender-based violence, among others.
Isatou Jallow, Program Assistant at Think Young Women disclosed that the game-based learning with the Funneh board introduced her to a new method of learning and sharing experiences.
Over the years, she said, “they have been working on different thematic areas like this, sexual and reproductive health rights and FGM, but now with this game-based learning there is a need to have a different approach because “I believe this method will make a lot of impact in the advocacy that we do as an organization. So what I’ve learned in the game is that it is a game of proof.”
However, Binta D Bojang of The Gambia Agenda (TGA), Mariama Sonko of Gambia College, Mamadi Kassama of Men4Equality, and Hadijjatou Secka of American Corner all shared their experiences concerning the training.
Meanwhile, the training was attended by members of CSOs, and higher institutions including the Association of Gambia Albinos, Gambia College, National Youth Parliament, Starfish International, Think Young Women, GADHOH Female Wing and School, Gambia Deaf Women’s Society, Network of Community Radios, Raise The Young Foundation Girls for the Future, The Girls’ Agenda, Aid The Gambia Women and Children, GTU, Women In Liberation and Leadership (WILL), Men4Equality, American Corner, SOS Children’s Village, Peace of Mind, UTG and FLAG.