Current CAMPAIGN
Gambia Rising Scholarship Fund
St Thereses School, Mansa Konko, Gambia
Volunteers and sponsors visiting schools throughout the region whose students benefit from the Gambia Rising Scholarship Fund.. December 2022
“I’ve never known such intense glass half full/half empty feelings. It is incredible how many lives have been changed by what we have done and are doing together. ”
OUR IMPACT
From nursery school through the University of The Gambia, GambiaRising donors are enabling young Gambians to get an education.
GambiaRising is a small, committed team of Gambians and Americans working to make it possible for deserving Gambian students, mainly young girls, to stay in school. Every dollar of new donations for scholarships goes directly to support the students; none of our team receive pay for their work on behalf of those we serve.
Currently, we support more than 2,000 students in more than 80 different Gambian schools from nursery school through Gambia College and the University of The Gambia.
When a young Gambian's father has died or left, or when some other family issue means you have to leave school, your view of what your life might become suddenly shrinks. When someone tells you that a Gambian living nearby is known to help people go back to school, you set out to find them. And when they say that luckily, they have enough funds to buy you the materials and uniforms, or pay the tuition, that you need to return to school, hope returns, and even grows.
You still have to walk to school, sit in a hot classroom, do the family chores before studying by candlelight or flashlight, but you see a path to a better life.
HOW IT BEGAN
The Gambia Rising Scholarship fund was launched in 2009. Neither my friends nor I had any thoughts of starting a program when we helped three young people stay in school. But we learned so much from doing so, and we also became painfully aware of the prevalence and consequences of the problem we were addressing. Little by little, the shape of something began to form:
We worked through Gambians we knew and trusted to implement our program in their communities, keeping the "do it yourself" (DIY) aspect in tact and spending no precious funds on offices or payroll.
The consequences to a girl of dropping out of school were so severe (too often leading to forced marriage), set our pillar to have a strong focus on helping girls first.
As other friends joined us, we were soon supporting more than 25 students. Most were in and around upcountry Fula Bantang where Kebba Sanyang proved to be a dynamic and creative coordinator for our upcountry programs. Soon we also had 6 students in college or university; three of them were young women.
The cost for education in The Gambia is nominal by Western standards, yet out of reach for most Gambians.
$3.50 per month will enroll a child in school
$5 per month ensures she/he can go to junior high school
$12.50 per month provides a high school education.
Our most challenging year ever is coming. We're setting up administrative systems, negotiating for better prices on books and uniforms, setting up sorting criteria for the applications that have already started to come in. Organizationally, we'll be ready for the challenge that we know will come with the new school year.
We are counting on the continued commitment and generosity of our donors. And we continue to rely on returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs), their friends and their families to keep pushing toward higher goals.
