Kombo South Youth Congress, in collaboration with Gunjur Village Development Committee, recently embarked on a massive cleansing exercise at the Gunjur fisheries Centre.

Speaking to The Point, the chairman of the Kombo South Youth Congress, Malang Fatty, said the congress was engaging in the exercise monthly in other villages in the district. He called for unity and understanding among the youth of Gunjur.

He revealed that environmental sanitation is a concern for every citizen and expressed his readiness to continue the cleansing exercise in other parts of the district.

Ousman Demba, social secretary of the Kombo South Youth Conference, expressed delight with the youth of Gunjur for their massive turnout.

For his part, the assistant director of the Gunjur Fisheries Project, Alhagie Jammeh - alias “Ash” – expressed appreciation to the youth of Kombo South and the Gunjur development Committee for a job well done.

In  the spirit  of the  Muslim  month  of  Ramadan  Coca-Cola  Gambega  Limited  has  extended  its  helping  hand  to the  SOS  Children’s  village  in  Bakota.  Speaking  at  the  presentation  ceremony  held  at  the SOS Children’s  Village Bantaba  last  Friday, the  Human  Resources  Manager  at  Gambega  LTD,  Mr. Saja  Sambou,  said  his  company  was  pleased  to  donate  different  items  worth  over  D45,000  to the  Orphans  and  abandoned  Children  at  SOS Children’s  Village  as  one  way  of  sharing  and  charring  during  the  holy  month  of  Ramadan.   He also said it allows his  company  to  showcase  Coca-Cola  companies’  long-standing  partnership with  SOS International  and  SOS  in  The  Gambia in particular. According to Mr.  Sambou,  his  company  hopes  that  the  items  donated will  go  a  long  way  in meeting  some of  the  constraints  at  the  SOS  Children’s  Village. “Gambega Ltd.  will  always  care  and  share  with  the  needy  children  of  the  World,” he said. He added  that  investing  in the  orphans  and  abandoned  children  is  a  noble  gesture. He  revealed  that  his  company  has  given a lot  of  assistance  to  the  SOS  Children’s  Village  in The  Gambia  and  promised  that his  company  will  continue  to  do  more.

In receiving the items, Madam Oumou  Tall, acting  Director SOS  in The Gambia,  said SOS in  The  Gambia  is  a long  time  partner  to Gambega  Ltd. She  said  Gambega  has  contributed  immensely  to  the  success  of  many  activities  at  SOS  in  The  Gambia. “This  kinds  of  assistance  is  what  SOS  Children  are  looking  for  because  they  are orphans  and  needy children  who  cannot  do  anything  for  themselves,” director  Tall stated. She  said helping  the  needy  children  is  part  of  fulfilling the  humanitarian  crusade  and  she  revealed  that  SOS  in The Gambia  is  also  extending  its  hand to  the  needy  children  at  the  community  level  in  The  Gambia. She  said SOS in The Gambia is  assisting  536  needy  children  in Western  Region  and  promised  Gambega  Ltd.  that  the  items  donated  will  be  put  into  good  use. According  to  Director  Tall, Gambega  was the  first  institution  in The  Gambia  to  donate  to  her  institution during this  years  Ramadan and  she  called  on  other  institutions  in  the  country  to emulate  Gambega Ltd.  for their  wonderful  presentation.

Present were the assistant director SOS Children’s Village, Mr. Omar  Beyai, SOS  mothers  and  children, Malanding  Bojang  Sales  and  Marking  Supervisor  Gambega  Ltd., Madi  Jallow  Sales  Supervisor, Momodou  Marong  assistant  accountant  and  Bakary    Jammeh  administrative  assistant at  Gambega  Ltd. The  vote  of  thanks  was  delivered  by  Mrs. Haddy  Njie  Touray the  Director  SOS Children’s  Village. The items  donated  were, 37 roma classic bed sheets, 10 bags of rice, three bags of onions, three bags of Irish potatoes, 11 Milgro full cream milk  powder tins, 22 Dettol antiseptic Germicidal cream, 11 Bleach classic bottles, 28 mattresses, 10 gallons of Soybeans oil  and  five bags of sugar.

My wife, Sheila, and myself are UK citizens, we sold up in the UK and moved to The Gambia, 18 months ago, to retire and enjoy the rest of our lives, enjoying the peace and quiet of Jambur.

Being a resident of Jambur, I feel I must try and let people, who might be able to help, know the plight of the villagers.

The main road between Jambur and Farato is so bad that the village is cut off from the rest of the country - too many holes and too much water. Last rainy season we had two vehicles running, this year we have none.

The ladies who go to market have to walk several miles as do the children going to school; people going to work have to walk in the rain and through deep water and mud.  Fishmongers cannot get to the village, so the people cannot easily access such ahigh quality food. There is no transport for the sick to the hospital for treatment.

I feel that in this day and age, this situation is totally unacceptable, and I send a plea to anyone who can help the people of Jambur to live a better livelihood.
Please help us to live to a reasonable standard. The people of Jambur should survive.

The Nigeria High Commission in The Gambia recently made a donation of 32 litres of herbicide to the women of Sittanunku village, Upper Niumi, North Bank Region (NBR).

The 30 litres of herbicide can be applied on at least three hectares of farmland, which when translated in real terms means “a bumper harvest for the community”.

The link between the Nigeria High Commission and Sittanunku was forged during the Roots Homecoming Festival when one Mr Demba Senghore, a member of the village development committee, told Mr Obase B. Okongor, the head of chancery of the Nigeria High Commission, about the plight of the Sittanunku women.

The Chief of Upper Niumi Lamin Queen Jammeh who received the Nigeria High Commissioner Mrs Esther John Audu and her entourage at the village ‘bantaba’ described the donation as a “meaningful intervention” in the development of the village and “a giant step in the right direction”.

He said, “It is only a truly committed development partner who will visit the provinces during the difficult period of the rainy season. It is a lean period when economic activities are at their lowest ebb.”

Elaborating on the theme of committed development partnership, Her Excellency Mrs Esther John Audu described herself as “a grassroots person” who identifies with the needs, aspirations and difficulties of the Sittanunku women in particular and women generally. She assured the women of the high commission’s readiness to support their development agenda.

Earlier on, Mrs Audu had paid a courtesy call on the Governor of North Bank Region Mr Edward Sekan in Kerewan. On hand to receive the Nigeria High Commissioner were Alhaji Lamin Ceesay, Chairman of Kerewan Area Council; Superintendent Lamin Touray, Assistant Commisioner of Police; Cherno Nyassi, Immigration Commissioner, NBR; Alhaji Fafanding Kinteh of Lower Baddibou District; Honourable Cherno O. Jallow, National Assembly Member for Upper Niumi Constituency; Mustapaha Saidy, APRC Divisional Youth Mobiliser; and Demba Senghore, community facilitator.

Governor Sekan congratulated the Nigeria High Commissioner on her visit and assured her of the hospitality of the people of North Bank Region.

According to him, the NBR has a disaster sub-committee which manages disaster – man-made or otherwise – in the region. The sub-committee, he added, already had a bank account to which public-spirited are urged to make some donation.

For her part, Mrs Audu expressed delight at being at Kerewan and at being well received. She told the Governor that Nigerians and Gambians are one people who should always work together to foster each other’s progress. As a demonstration of the Nigeria High Commission’s commitment to existing bilateral relations between both countries, she promised to make some donation to the disaster sub-committee.

As if to reinforce Mrs Audu’s observation that Nigerians and Gambians are the same, Superintendent Touray disclosed that Nigerians in Farafenni are law-abiding people.

The Secretary of State at the Department for Health Doctor Malick Njie recently laid the foundation stone in Jinack Kajateh village in Lower Nuimi district in the North Bank Region. The clinic and a new ambulance were sponsored by Kutejumbulu 2 Bab Foundation to the tune of D5,000,000.

This makes it the foremost clinic in The Gambia. Dr. Njie noted that the main objective of the project was to improve the living standard of the people residing in Jinack Kajateh. He added that Kutejumbulu 2 Bab Foundation is a project which was first registered in The Gambia and has been of great help to the village of Jinack Kajateh especially the women and children.

Dr. Njie stressed that there is a need for quality healthcare as you need healthy energetic children to get the best out of their education. He concluded by saying that quality healthcare delivery for every citizen is part of the government’s health strategy for The Gambia.

The National assembly Member for Lower Nuimi District, Honourable Cherno Cham, pointed out that Kutejumbulu is an association predominantly of women. He stated that Omar Manneh had been instrumental in the whole process and thanked him for his generosity to the people.

Mr. Gerd Hoffmann, a chief donor, expressed his delight at the project. He stressed the importance of health saying it is indispensable. He further stated that their crusade was to end the death of children.

In conclusion he assured the villagers that there are many more developments to come.

Mr. Omar Manneh, a board member and administrator, said he was very pleased with the project and thanked everybody who contributed in one way or another. He finally urged every good citizen to come together and work for the betterment of the village.

In more than one sense, High Point Village Bar and Restaurant is one of the busiest within the Kololi area and is here to promote African culture as part of their objectives.

Speaking recently with Entertainment, The Bar Keep and Manager, Mr Foday Dubuya, said that the bar is decorated in a cultural form, noting that this is to promote culture in terms of entertainment by organising drumming programmes. According to him, culture has been existing in Africa since those days and therefore, as Africans, we need to continue in promoting culture in our societies. He explained that the location of his bar and restaurant is within the tourist industrial area and this attracts a lot of tourists who are coming around. He added that this is one of the reasons why they promote culture.

Mr Dubuya noted that a lot of tourists come to The Gambia to know about African culture. He further revealed to that the bar and restaurant offers the best African dishes, facilities and ambience. The place offers an environment that is a beautiful balance of man- made creations and nature.

The coastal boys and girls of the Gunjur Young Farmers Club recently celebrated their 6th anniversary in Gunjur Village in Kombo South.

Speaking at the occasion, the chairperson of the club, Ousman Kah Bajo, said it was a day of joy and thanksgiving to Almighty Allah for granting them life and health to grace the occasion. He also said it was a day of record and a chance for them to analyse their progress and setbacks.

Mr. Bajo, in relation to the progress, said that the club is able to assist members in solving their personal problems ranging from health to academia and sports. He added that from July 26th 2007 to July 26th 2008 was a very successful year and congratulated members on their tireless efforts in contributing to the club.

For her part, Ms Fatou Jammeh, the vice-chairperson of the club, said that she was full of happiness and joy on what was a great day for the young farmers. She called on her fellow girls to join the group like those in Sukuta Kombo North did.

Famara Bojang, the erstwhile Chairperson of Gunjur Village Development Committee (VDC), has told The Point that he would not surrender any document or valuable of the village to what he has called the “so-called task force or VDC.”  He said that the Alkalo, the Ward Councilor, the Chief or any authority concerned has not requested him to give any documents to anybody.

However despite the building tension, the community of Gunjur comprising youths, elders and women met recently to install their new VDC Chairman. The newly appointed Chairperson of the VDC is Mr. Abdourahman K. Touray. Speaking at the occasion, the Alkalo of Gunjur, Alhagi Sabaki Touray, advised the youth to be very mindful in the steps they take towards developing the village. He said that the older generation has done what they could in their own efforts. “You must unite as one family despite your different party affiliations and sentiments if you want to achieve your dreams,” he told them.

Omar N. Darboe, a member of the task force, said that they would follow the advice of the elders and authorities. He assured the Alkalo that the VDC would work hand in glove with the government of the day.

Fa Malick Touray and Sheriff Darboe, the heads of Koneeto and Darboe Kunda wards respectively, and members of the elders council, assured the youth of their support in any meaningful development they undertake.

The new VDC Chairperson, Mr. Abdourahman K. Touray, assured the villagers that he would serve with dedication and honesty. He said it is very pathetic to see Gunjur in such a terrible condition just because of an improper VDC. “We have the potential and human resources, all we need to do is work as one people to achieve our goals,” he said.

Famara Bojang told The Point, “How can I take the risk and surrender all this documentation to unknown persons who call themselves the VDC?”  He has however informed this paper that whenever he is authorised to do so, he would hand over the relevant documentation. He said, “All I care about is the development of this noble village [Gunjur].

Kemo Saho of Farato village in Kombo South was recently taken back to the State Central Prison in Banjul following the failure of his counsel to show up in court.

Kemo Saho is undergoing trial at the Brikama Magistrates’ Court for violently assaulting an imam of one of the mosques in Farato. His case was supposed to proceed sometime last week but was stalled due largely to the inability of defence counsel Edu Gomez to make it to court. The case is now expected to continue on 10 July 2008.

Kemo Saho is in the meantime accused of stabbing Imam Samba Bah with an animal horn thereby causing him actual bodily harm.

In another development, Lawyer Edu Gomez’s inability to make it to the court was also last week a stumbling block to the progress of the trial of a certain Mustapha Camara.

Mustapha is being charged with an alleged offence of attempting to commit murder contrary to section 200 of the Criminal Code, Cap.10,Vol. III of the Laws of The Gambia.

The case is now expected to continue on 10 July.