Posted by 
Banjul, 14 July 2020
For immediate release
The European Union’s Tekki Fii project led by IMVF (Instituto Marquês de Valle Flôr) is actively supporting the national response to COVID-19. As schools re-open to students of 9th and 12th grades, the project today handed-over sanitary supplies and first aid kits to the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education. 25 schools in LRR, NBR, CRR and URR will benefit from this support.
The project has supported the Regional Youth Committees of CRR, NBR, LRR and URR to be on the frontline of COVID-19 prevention. Sanitary materials were distributed along with awareness raising to more than 100 communities. Five community radios, which have received new equipment, hosted awareness raising programmes that reached thousands of people in the rural areas of the country.
At the community level, twenty-five vegetable gardens have received sanitary supplies. The project is aiming at intervening in 30 community gardens that will benefit from market-oriented planning to improve and increase production capacity and productivity. Farmer Field Schools are being organised in 30 gardens, from which 11 will start already in the rainy season. In this season, 1,000 farmers shall benefit from access to quality agriculture inputs, mitigating the losses of the previous harvest season and encouraging farmers to quickly return to the fields. Moreover, since the outbreak, 18 young agro-entrepreneurs received or are about to receive a Tekki Fii grants and 10 youths selected for the Rural Youth Awards will soon receive in-kind support for their agribusiness activities.
“Gambians can count on the European Union’s continued support in response to the challenges of COVID-19. We all have to adapt to this new reality, including the educational sector. Today’s donation will allow more than 16,000 students to resume their studies safely and with serenity.” – says the European Union Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia, H.E. Attila LAJOS.
The Tekki Fii project “Promoting Agribusiness and Strengthening Social Cohesion” is led by IMVF and implemented in partnership with ADWAC, United Purpose and Alianza por la Solidaridad. The project aims to support the creation of sustainable market-oriented agribusiness value chains that shall contribute to employment creation and income generation. At the same time, a social cohesion component aims to create a conducive social environment for the youth to tackle the opportunities in the country and to engage in community development. The project is part of the larger flagship Tekki Fii programme designed to provide better opportunities for youth in the Gambia. All projects of the Tekki Fii programme are funded by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.
For more information please contact: delegation-gambia@eeas.europa.eu