By Amadou Manjang
On Saturday, 25th November over a hundred students met their sponsor for the first time in twenty years.
Verein Gambia-Hilfe Foundation is supporting about three hundred students in the Gambia.
The said foundation was founded in 2003 by a German tourist called Brigitte Eickolt, who felt the need to support Gambian children.
The foundation provides lifelong educational support to the students. It sponsors children from nursery school to University or College.
The foundation has a nursery in Manjai called Aisha’s Nursery School where most of their sponsored students started their schools.
Mr Demba Susso, the head of Aisha’s Nursery School, said the foundation is improving the lives of many young Gambians.
Susso added that the Verein Gambia-Hilfe Foundation does not only pay the tuition fees of young Gambians but also provides them with free meals and educational materials.
Susso made these remarks during a reunion ceremony held at Aisha’s Nursery School in Manjai where all the sponsored students met Verein Gambia-Hilfe founder.
‘The foundation is trying to bring Early Childhood Education (ECD) to the community,’ Susso added.
He advised the students to work hard and take advantage of the opportunities they have.
The foundation supported many students who have now completed their education and are now working in different disciplines.
“One of the students who benefited from this support is Lamin Jawla, who is currently working as a nurse.
According to Jawla, the support Verein Gambia-Hilfe Foundation gave him has tremendously changed his life.
‘I am among the students who benefited from the support of the foundation. They have supported me from nursery school to university and I have now completed my studies and I am working as a nurse,” he said.
He called on the other students who are currently under the scholarship of the foundation to make the best use of the opportunity.
‘You should not play with this opportunity. Take advantage of it,’ he advised.
Brigitte Eickolt, the founder of the Verein Gambia-Hilfe Foundation expressed her happiness for meeting the students for the first time.
She also expresses her happiness in the transformation and the support given to people like Lamin Jawla.
She vowed that she would continue to support and improve the lives of young Gambians.
Mr Mustapha Barrow, an educational cluster monitor in Region One, congratulates Eickolt for complementing the efforts of the government in providing education to Gambians.
He urged the parents of the sponsored students to ensure that their children take their education seriously.
‘Every parent has that responsibility,’ he said.
The parents of the sponsored students expressed their appreciation for the support their children are receiving.
