We provide education on many levels
Published July 13, 2024
The Gambia is a poor country in West Africa. Just how poor it is can be illustrated by comparing it to Norway. According to the World Bank, the gross national income (GNI) per capita in The Gambia was approximately $720 in 2020, while in Norway that same year, the GNI was approximately $82,000. A full 48% of the population lives below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day. That is why it is very important that everyone do what they can to improve their living conditions. One way to do this is to grow as much of one’s own food as possible, and one of the mothers in Brikama has truly succeeded in doing so. She lives at the location shown in the photo above. The photos below are from her own vegetable garden. This is the kind of situation we’d like to see as many of our students as possible eventually achieve, but what about all those who don’t have enough knowledge to get started?
We used to have a wonderful vegetable garden at our school in New Jeshwang, but that project fell through when the teacher who ran it all moved away. Fortunately, we’re up and running again—not just there, but also in Brikama. The administration and some of the teachers received a crash course from us in February 2024. They were taught how to obtain seeds (from ripe vegetables and fruits) and the entire process leading up to a harvest-ready crop. Next, they were challenged to put this into practice—and they received a modest amount of startup capital. The idea was for them to collect seeds together with the students, so that these seeds—and once the plants were big enough—each student could take a plant home. At the same time, they were to have a vegetable garden at the school so that the students could learn what to do with their little plants.
Take a look at the photos below. They show what they’ve accomplished so far at the school in Brikama. The photos were taken in early June.
