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By Fatou Jaiteh
The Indian community in The Gambia, in collaboration with the Fandema Association, has over the weekend supplied 75 solar light bulbs to as many households in the village of Nioro Tukulor.
The gesture is part of the Lighting up a Village initiative by the Indian community in The Gambia. The initiative is aimed at providing remote villages of The Gambia with rechargeable solar bulbs to help increase lighting in homes at night. The initiative is especially welcome considering the fact that school children living in such areas find it difficult to read or study at night because of lack of proper lighting in the whole village.
Over the years up to 85 villages in The Gambia have benefited from the Indian community through this project and this year Nioro Tukulor is the beneficiary.
Adama Bah is the facilitator of the project in Nioro Tukulor, her home village. She is a member of the Fandema Association, which is formed to train young women on solar installation and engineering, amongst other things.
Adama Bah expressed sincere appreciation over the gesture and thanked the Indian community for according her villagewith such a great opportunity of improving lighting.
She encouraged the girls to venture into solar installation, noting that girls should not see the job as one for men only.
The association also supports women in economic activities in 11 rural communities in all regions of The Gambia as part of efforts to promote the green economy through the lens of gender equity 2020-2022.
Adama is one of the young women that have been trained in solar installation. Her skills will be used to help repair some of the solar materials provided to her people. The same is expected from other ladies who have benefited from the skills training as Adama.
Mr Ebrima Gaye, the Director of the Fandema Association, stated that the initiative is an achievement for the whole country and not only the people of Nioro. He expressed his pleasure that the Indian community is contributing in the development of The Gambia.
He further stated that since the project could not cater for all the households in the entire village because the community comprises of more than a hundred households, a committee has been set up to oversee the whole process of ensuring that each compound that has a bulb pays two dalasi daily.
He added that the monies thus collected would be used to buy bulb for the remaining households in the village. The same proceeds would be used to replace fault batteries of those already supplied.
Speaking on behalf of the Indian community in The Gambia,Mr Rahman Guptar thanked the people of Nioro Tukulor for the rousing welcome given then. He assured the Gambian people of the commitment of the Indian people in supporting the people them, adding that they have numerous other projects to embark on, such as beach cleaning, tree plantingand assisting some of the hospitals with essential equipment.
He further stated that the Lighting up a Village initiative is here to help those villages that do not have sufficient lighting, adding that the project is here to stay.