By Abdou Mbye
The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE), in collaboration with The Gambia Diaspora Experts Ini-tiatives (GDEI) in the USA, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), spearheaded the presentation and launch cere-mony for the distribution of donated peanut butter to various schools across the country, courtesy of GDEI.
The event, recently held at Muhammedan Lower Basic School (LBS) in Banjul, aimed to enhance the quality of the school feeding programme under CRS’s McGovern Ndole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Programme (NDOKK), ensuring accessible and high-quality education.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister, Permanent Secretary Mr Louis Moses Mendy expressed gratitude to the donors, emphasising the vital role of school feeding programmes in improving enrollment, retention and performance of stu-dents.
“This has been validated by scientific research, further confirming that these nutritious meals also enhance the cogni-tive ability of the child. The target age group is the most critical stage in a child’s holistic development, during which any damage will be irreparable,” PS Mendy elaborated.
He expressed appreciation to the organisation for their timely and relevant donation to the school feeding pro-gramme.
Dr. Amulai Touray, Country Manager of CRS, expressed delight in being part of this commendable initiative, stating that the donation would significantly complement the school feeding landscape and programmes across the country, especially in the schools affiliated with CRS.
“One thing I want to emphasise is that the school feeding programme is everybody’s responsibility. We all have a role to play, and it is commendable that GDEI is contributing to this journey. On behalf of CRS management, MOBSE, the head teacher, and students, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your generous donation to the school and all other schools that will benefit from it. Your kindness will have a significant impact on the well-being of the children,” he asserted.
Dr. Touray further called on all stakeholders and development partners to support MoBSE’s initiative to extend the school feeding programme to every child across the country, regardless of their gender, race, religion, or location. He expressed pride and gratitude for MoBSE’s leadership, management and support to CRS.
The GDEI Liaison Officer in the US, Mr. Kenneth Manneh, explained that GDEI is a non-profit organisation founded in 2020 by Gambian intellectuals in the United States, aiming to engage Gambians in the diaspora to actively participate in national development efforts, utilising collective intellectual capacity, technical, and human resources.
“Given our collective interest in substantially contributing to national development in The Gambia, we are organising Gambians in the diaspora to establish strategic processes to access the interests, expertise, and experiences of Gam-bians. To realise this, we establish a database compiling the names and contact information of Gambians residing in the diaspora to consult and collaborate on projects, initiatives, and programs in The Gambia,” he elucidated.
He further expressed gratitude to MoBSE’s management for their assistance in shipment and distribution, the mem-bers of the GDEI Board for providing funds to ship the peanut butter, and Dr. Ebrima Sankareh for connecting them with MoBSE.
The President of the Mother’s Club of Muhammedan LBS, Mbenda Faal, thanked the donors on behalf of the school for their generous gesture and for selecting their school as one of the beneficiaries.
The ceremony was chaired by the Deputy Permanent Secretary (DPS) Finance, Mr. Gerreh Sanyang, who expressed gratitude to the partners for the gesture.
