ChildFund staff members recently traveled across The Gambia to check how their projects help rural communities. They looked closely at programs designed to boost education access for local families. Their "Zero Out of School Children" program gives money directly to parents and bicycles for kids, making school supplies and transportation much more affordable. These efforts have dramatically increased the number of children attending classes regularly, especially throughout the North Bank Region and Lower River Region.
Many parents told stories about how these cash payments made education possible despite money problems at home. One mom named Sira Sall mentioned her son performs really well in class because of this support. School leaders noticed bigger class sizes and fewer absences since these programs started helping families. The bicycle program especially helped kids who live far away from school buildings attend classes every day instead of missing lessons.
ChildFund continues to hear positive comments from the families it assists, though many people ask it to help even more children across the country. During recent travels, program officials stopped at a project location in Ballanghar Chamen to see firsthand how bicycles change students' lives there. Fatoumatta Jallow runs the Ballanghar Chamen Lower Basic School and praised ChildFund warmly for their assistance.
She explained how walking long distances seriously affects student enrollment at her school. Several students spoke directly with visiting officials about their daily struggles reaching school before receiving help. The team from ChildFund also visited another project location in Kuntaur during their trip around the country. These visits help them understand exactly how their programs affect real people and which improvements might work best moving forward.
Many parents told stories about how these cash payments made education possible despite money problems at home. One mom named Sira Sall mentioned her son performs really well in class because of this support. School leaders noticed bigger class sizes and fewer absences since these programs started helping families. The bicycle program especially helped kids who live far away from school buildings attend classes every day instead of missing lessons.
ChildFund continues to hear positive comments from the families it assists, though many people ask it to help even more children across the country. During recent travels, program officials stopped at a project location in Ballanghar Chamen to see firsthand how bicycles change students' lives there. Fatoumatta Jallow runs the Ballanghar Chamen Lower Basic School and praised ChildFund warmly for their assistance.
She explained how walking long distances seriously affects student enrollment at her school. Several students spoke directly with visiting officials about their daily struggles reaching school before receiving help. The team from ChildFund also visited another project location in Kuntaur during their trip around the country. These visits help them understand exactly how their programs affect real people and which improvements might work best moving forward.
