The Point newspaper and other companies and institutions in the Gambia were recently awarded certificates of appreciation in recognition of their valuable contribution to UNICEF Check Out for Challenge 2008. The presentations were made a ceremony held at the Sheraton Hotel.

Speaking during the handing over of certificates, a senior member of staff at the Sheraton Hotel, Mrs. Haddy Jeng, thanked all those who contributed immensely to UNICEF Check Out for Children Challenge 2008. She said The Gambia as a nation has benefited from the proceeds of the Sheraton Group Fundraising Campaigns and Check Out for Children long before the opening of the Sheraton Gambia. “As conscientious and caring citizens we now have the opportunity to experience that glow of pride and feel especially proud of our own personal contribution to UNICEF programmes. As partners, we are convinced that your generous support and unflinching endorsement of Check Out for Children Challenge 2008 will guarantee a resounding success,” she said.

For her part, the UNICEF representative in The Gambia, Mrs. Min Whee Kang, thanked those companies and institutions for their contribution to Check Out for Children 2008. She said that this idea will improve the lives of children in The Gambia and is the aim of UNICEF to see children being well protected.

According to the UNICEF representative, over USD$50,000 has been contributed annually by partners through UNICEF and some of this money is going to UNICEF in the UK. She concluded by saying that money will come back to countries like The Gambia.

Each April, the United States celebrates Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), an opportunity to savor a major American contribution to world culture.

Initiated by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, JAM aims to focus public attention on the music, and on the many talented composers, musicians and other contributors to the sound.

Recently, the American embassy in Banjul observed Jazz Appreciation Month but what is Jazz? Well a leaflet made available to Entertainment explains it thus, “Jazz is the most consequential, influential and innovative music to emerge from the United States and New Orleans, Louisiana, is widely known as the birthplace of jazz.

This is of course a very succinct explanation of what jazz is but to those who enjoy it, jazz is an exceptional experience that enlightens the mind and thrills the soul. There are of course many forms of jazz as by their very nature the jazz musician is a restless animal constantly seeking to innovate and develop their art. Among the original forms of the art was Ragtime and among the best-known exponents of this lively piano based form was Mr. Scott Joplin. His pieces including The Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer remain popular to this day despite being over one hundred years old.

If Scott Joplin and his ragtime compatriots were rooted firmly in the piano then the guitar was the instrument of choice for the blues men. There are many who would argue that jazz and the blues are different forms of music but to anyone who has experienced the deep passions of either form will appreciate the deep human energy that fires them both. Most of the great bluesmen came from the Mississippi Delta which runs 322 kilometers along the Mississippi River from Memphis Tennessee to Vicksburg Mississippi. These included Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters.

For those who appreciate jazz the appreciation month is an opportunity to indulge their love of great music and for those who are not fully versed, it is an opportunity to get introduced to one of the world’s great art forms.” For anyone wishing to learn more about jazz or simply expand their knowledge visit www.smithsonianjazz.org

The President of the Republic, Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, recently donated 20 school buses to various Senior Secondary Schools around the country at a ceremony held at the July 22Square.

Expressing his appreciation to the gesture from President Jammeh, Mr Sheriffo Sanneh, a senior teacher at Siffoe Senior Secondary School, one of the beneficiaries, expressed appreciation on behalf of his principal to President Jammeh for what he described as a laudable gesture.

According to Mr Sanneh, the gesture will go a long way in contributing towards ameliorating the transportation constraints being faced by students in his area.

He also gave the assurance that the donated items will be put to good use.

Also speaking to these reporters, Mr Lamin S.M. Bojang, a History and Government teacher at Siffoe Senior Secondary School, appealed to the President to improve the welfare of Gambian teachers.

He also hailed President Jammeh for his ‘immense’ contribution towards the development of the education sector.

Ousman Jobe, an Agricultural Science teacher, said the gesture could not have come at a better time than now when students are in ‘dire’ need of such.