On Tuesday, December 24th, 2024, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) gave money to help groups hold festivals. MOTAC worked with the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) to give out D405,000.00. Seventeen community festival groups got money.
The Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Abdoullahi Jobe, led the event, which was held at the Ministry. The groups received their money there.
MOTAC and NCAC do this every year. They help festival groups as the celebrations begin. The amount given out this year was almost the same as last year.
This is the fifth time MOTAC and NCAC have helped since the current government started. In 2018, they gave D200,000. In 2019, it was D300,000. Then, in 2021, it went up to...
Youths from Hurungwe West came together for a fun sports day at Zvipani Primary School.
The event was put on by a group called 4-H Zimbabwe Foundation. They worked with the area's representative in parliament, Cde Chinjai Kambuzuma. They wanted to help stop drug use and child marriages, which are big problems there.
Cde Kambuzuma told the young people not to be violent or use drugs. She said families shouldn't marry off their kids just because times are hard due to the drought.
Mr. Emmanuel Chipisa also spoke. He works for the government in the Ministry of Youth and asks the youth always to keep the peace. "Drugs hurt your health. They make it harder for you to do well in life," he said.
The leader of 4-H Zimbabwe, Mr. John...
Senegal Looks to Gambia's Marble Voting System.
Ousman Sonko, the Prime Minister of Senegal, spoke highly of Gambia's voting method. He did this while talking to lawmakers in Dakar on December 27, 2024.
Mr. Sonko said Senegal should consider using the same system as Gambia. He called Gambia's way of voting with marbles "cost-effective" and "very simple." He also said it was nearly impossible to mess with the results.
Some people in Gambia agreed with the Prime Minister's words. They said Gambians who want to change how voting works should pay attention to what he said.
Gambia's election group, the IEC, wants to switch to paper ballots. But a nearby country just praised the Gambia's current marble system.
Hassoum Ceesay studies...
The Banjul Cultural Festival in Gambia received a big boost. Abdoullahi Jobe, the Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, helped raise money for it.
Over one million dalasi was raised—that's a lot of money in Gambia. The money went to 50 traditional cultural groups in Banjul, the capital city.
The festival is held every year and lasts for a week. It starts on Christmas Eve and ends on January 2nd. The festival showcases Gambian culture. There are parades, music, dancing, art, and food.
Many people come to the festival. Over 50,000 people attend, and they come from the Gambia and other countries.
Mr. Jobe distributed the money on December 27th, 2024, at a special event. He thanked the president and vice president for their help and...
The Olympics will soon have a new leader. In March, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will pick its next president. The voting will be in Greece from March 18 to 21.
This will be just the 10th IOC president since 1894. The leaders tend to serve for a long time. The first president was Demetrios Vikelas of Greece. But he only held the job briefly. Pierre de Coubertin of France really ran things. He took over as president after the first modern Olympics in 1896.
Seven people want the job of IOC president. Four of them currently lead important sports groups. Sebastian Coe of England runs track and field. David Lappartient of France heads cycling. Morinori Watanabe of Japan oversees gymnastics. Johan Eliasch of Sweden leads skiing...
Essa Mbye Faal says the Gambia wastes money. Mr. Faal leads a political group. It is called APP-Sobeyaa.
He spoke on the radio. The show was Coffee Time. It was on West Coast Radio.
Mr. Faal talked about the president's tour. The tour is called "Meet the People." Mr. Faal said it was a waste. He used a special word for waste. The word is "MbumBaye." It means being careless with money.
Mr. Faal said the tour was bad. It makes poor people pay for the president's fun. The president uses the tour to get more power.
The government is not spending well. It gives money to powerful people and does not help the people who need it most.
Mr. Faal gave some examples. The president spends a lot on travel. The president took many people to a big...
Deyda Hydara was a brave journalist in Gambia. He started a newspaper called The Point. He worked there for many years.
Mr. Hydara also wrote for other newsgroups and shared stories from Gambia with the world. One group he helped was Reporters Without Borders.
Before The Point, Mr. Hydara was on the radio. His show was on Radio Syd in Gambia. He was a very busy reporter.
But something sad happened on December 16, 2004. It was the 13th birthday of The Point. That night, someone killed Mr. Hydara.
After he died, his wife, Maria Hydara, took over his job. She made sure the newspaper continued.
Many people considered Mr. Hydara a hero. He told the truth about Gambia and wanted his country to be free and fair.
Gambia Aims to Improve Madrasa Schools.
Gambia wants to improve Madrasa schools. It has a new project called RISE, which stands for Resilience, Inclusion, Skills, and Equity.
The goal is to create one curriculum for all Madrasas. This will help with inclusiveness and social justice, as well as aid development and democracy.
Imam Baba Leigh likes the project. He said it would bring unity. He thanked the Minister of Education, Professor Gomez.
Prof. Gomez said Madrasas have had many problems. Students struggle with English, lack job skills, and have a hard time moving into science and tech fields.
"We must include everyone in development," Prof. Gomez stated. Madrasas teach over 19% of Gambian students.
A new report examines...
Religious Leaders Urged to Help Protect Gambia's Environment.
Gambia's National Environment Agency (NEA) met with religious leaders recently. The meeting was in the Greater Banjul Area. The NEA wanted to talk about the environment.
Muslim and Christian leaders attended the meeting. The NEA thinks these leaders can help change people's behavior through their sermons.
Dr. Dawda Badjie is the head of the NEA. He said the meeting aimed to teach the leaders about the environment. He also wanted to explain what the NEA does.
Dr. Badjie asked the imams and pastors to help protect the environment. He said they are respected in their communities and believe they can play a big part in saving the environment for the future.
"You have a duty...
