By Yero S. Bah
The founder and Coordinator of the Rural Child Organization Mr. Amadou Jallow, has informed Mansa Banko Online that his organization focuses on child protection, women and youth empowerment, targeting rural areas in the Gambia.
The idea, he intimated, came about a decade ago, following the opening of a community library in Mandinaba village meant to help school-going children and youth to access books, but also encourage a reading culture in the rural settlement in Kombo East, West Coast Region.
According to Jallow, the primary purpose of his organization is basically child protection, women and youth empowerment in rural Gambia, and they are also into the provision of relevant information regarding the availability of opportunities for Gambian children, youth and women. He noted that rural children are mostly not exposed to opportunities unlike the urban children, youth and women.
“Opportunities are always available to urban children and youth, so we are here to end this by giving out the right information at the right time to the rural child too,” said Coordinator Jallow. He observed that due to lack of decentralization of the governance system in the country, there are information and opportunities gaps in the Gambia; that rural entrepreneurship is also shaping up in the rural areas throughout the nation.
He added, “We established this network to create a level playing field between urban and rural children in terms of access to opportunities.”
The Rural Child Organisation’s Founder and Coordinator further averred that the organization is currently working out a partnership with the Mandinaba Police unit to promote community policing by joining efforts in helping police in child protection and community sensitization, on the importance of community policing in maintaining peace and stability in Kombo east. He added that, they are also working on a project to introduce human rights education in rural Gambia, saying it’s necessary to enlighten children as early as possible about their rights and the rights of others.
Jallow said one could hardly acquire any opportunities or work outside of the Greater Banjul Area simply because everything is highly centralized in the urban areas. Therefore, he indicated that it’s this circle they want to break by advocating for equal and level playing ground for all citizens countrywide.
He lamented that child exploitations are rampant in the Gambia, citing various places where he said, these exploitations are ongoing such as garages, labour sector; maintaining children are doing things they are not supposed to do.
Jallow noted that such activities wouldn’t allow children to read their books which have negative effects on their lives and educational cycle. He posited that parents should give children ample time to focus on their books, opining that the problems they have as Africans, and Gambians in particular, is that “our future lies in the hands of destiny.”
The head of Rural Child Organisation held that their mentorship aspect is one of the “most inspiring and effective means” of effecting change in rural children; that his organization basically provide the platform for children to access the fields they would want to become later in life by mentoring them on those areas. Jallow explained, “We take them to see what their field mentors do at [their] daily work, to help them see as firsthand information on the fields the children chose.” He said through their personal contributions, they have been able to open their own office, and are working on equipping the office. He disclosed that community members are even benefiting by doing their assignments, and that the Rural Child Organisation is also collecting data in Kombo East in order to help them in knowing the demographic picture of the area.
He told this medium that, since they opened the library, children in the area had been doing great academically. Besides, they are discouraging open wells, as he reasoned that the community had lost at least three children as a result of open wells, simply because kids are mostly sent to fetch water from such wells.
The organisation chief also informed that they had also been able to develop a community forest by working with the Forestry Department.
Coordinator Jallow concluded by calling on sponsors and philanthropists to help his organisation, financially, as he used the opportunity to implore youth to be volunteering for community development.
