The project officer of the West African Youth Network (WAYN), Ms Evelyn R T Koroma, is currently in The Gambia on a research mission.
Ms Koroma told the Youth Matters that her organisation, in collaboration with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), is working on the production of a youth directorate; a project sanctioned and sponsored by the latter.

She said that this envisaged youth directory is expected to cover all the youth organisations in West Africa, an assignment, she said, was taking their members right through all the member countries in West Africa. Her task, according to her, is taking her to The Gambia and Senegal, and she indicated that she was on the road with the director of Youth Crime Watch The Gambia, the focal point organisation of WAYN in the country, Mr Abdoul Jobe.

The WAYN project officer also said that her presence in The Gambia would also aim at showing to The Gambia office that it has the backing of the regional office in Sierra Leone. And according to her, the directory, when completed, would serve as a reference point for international organisations, like the United Nations, especially those that might be interested in information for possible funding of youth programmes.

The WAYN research team is said to be currently working with mainly the National Youth Council of The Gambia. This, Ms Koroma believes, would help ensure that they lay hands on the right youth groups.

Mr Abdul Jobe told Youth Matters that they were currently engaged in data collection, as a first step, and that in an attempt to allay fear against dealing with the wrong organisation, he assured that they were working closely with the National Youth Council of The Gambia, adding that: “As far as I am concerned, there are a lot of one man-organisations in the country.” This, Mr Job stressed, can only be assured by liaising with the Council. He revealed that by December later this year, the first directory would be out on circulation among the relevant regional and international bodies, like the UN, ECOWAS, etc.

He concluded by saying that the main reason for the production of this directory was to enhance their effort in ensuring that they deal with the people who serve the right purpose for which they stand. This, he said, is so because many donor organisations would want to sponsor certain programmes, but they often find it difficult to access the right contact point, or that they sometimes get in touched with the wrong groups who often apply clandestinely.

Ebrima Manneh, the deputy country director of WAYN, described the initiative as timely in the face of the rapid proliferation of youth groups in the sub-region.

In view of this phenomenon, Mr Manneh disclosed that the project will place various youth groups in the sub-region in a proper spotlight of international attention, as the “comprehensive” directory would readily package addresses and contacts of all functional youth groups in West Africa.

“Such a prudent move should be embraced by all and sundry. This is the beginning of a new dawn and West African youth groups stand a greater chance to gain  recognition internationally once the task is completed. I’m looking forward to the launch of such a major initiative,” Mr Manneh told the Youth Matters, while commending the WAYN Secretariat for its commitment to the common cause.