By Lamin Kujabi
The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Catholic Relief Service (CRS), Mr. Sean Callahan, has visited The Gambia “to better create an understanding on the scope and context of their work in the country, as well as to see how they can work better and stronger”.
After his audience last week with His Excellency President Adama Barrow at State House, Mr. Sean Callahan, talked to press about their new initiative supporting the school feeding programme for lower basic schools. He reminded that CRS has been in The Gambia for 60 years; that they are appreciative of the support the Gambia Government for all these years.
He promised that the organisation will mobilise more funds to effectively implement the school feeding programme for lower basic schools in the country.
Reacting to this development, Claudiana Cole, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, noted that the School Feeding Programme is very much in line with her ministry’s enrollment and inclusive education policy.
She asserted that the new programme, to be managed by CRS, will increase enrollment and enhance performance and ensure completion.
The Program, the Minister, revealed, targets 186 schools across the country including schools that World Food Programme is taking care of. ‘‘This programme will cover all the schools in Region 4 and three quarters of schools in Region 2, where Government is responsible to feed the children,” she disclosed.
The Minister pointed out that they are working towards a home-grown school feeding programme fully taken over by government. The government has started doing that by taking over these two regions and we will move gradually to take over,’’ she affirmed.
Madam Cole explained that this CRS-supported School Feeding Programme lasts for a period of five years, for the first phase.
The CRS boss and his delegation were accompanied to the State House by Honorable Cole and the Chief Executive Director of National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), Mr Sanna Dahaba.
