The Jolly Riders Foundation, a U K Gambia-based charitable organisation has again donated 355 bicycles to four schools in The Gambia and other sectors of development.

The presentation ceremony, held at Gunjur, Kombo South last Tuesday saw four schools, namely Suduwol Basic Cycle, Nyakoi Upper Basic and Senior Secondary School in URR, Berending Senior Secondary and Bakadaji Upper Basic in the North Bank Region as the beneficiaries.

Other beneficiaries included the Gunjur Police Station. Three out of the four schools each received 101 bicycles, while Bakadaji Upper Basic received 50 due to the fact that they earlier received 45 bicycles, and Gunjur Police Station received two bicycles.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the Co-coordinator of the Jolly Riders Foundation in The Gambia, Mr. Babucarr Boyo Touray expressed delight in the people and government of The Gambia for accepting their gifts. He said the Jolly Riders would continue to do their service of supporting The Gambia through education.

He said it is their ambition and desire to provide bicycles for every rural school-going child, who travels more than a kilometer to school. This, he said, would go a long way towards easing their difficulty of trekking to school.

He called on schools to write and apply for supplies. As he put it, a fully-shipped container with bikes will soon arrive by the first week of next month. He emphasised that the maintenance of the bicycles is a paramount concern for Jolly Riders.

Mr. Saidu Gbla, the Director of Jolly Riders Learning and Development Centre said the Jolly Riders are not going to stop at providing bicycles to students but will also ensure that there is quality education in the country. He said his foundation is making plans to create a learning centre in The Gambia for both teachers and students to develop new teaching techniques and develop the culture of reading in The Gambia.

For his part, Mr. Alhagie Bah, a representative of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education expressed delight in Jolly Riders, whom he described as good partners in development. He welcomed the new programme of enhancing and developing reading culture and teaching techniques in the country.

Mr. Ivan Griffen, a member of the Board of Trustee of Jolly Riders Foundation commended their Gambian counterparts for their honesty, hard work and sincerity. He said in many countries of the world, people use charitable organisations to enrich themselves but the Jolly Riders in The Gambia is an exception.

He advised students to be very careful on the road to avoid accidents. He promised that Jolly Riders would continue to work with The Gambia to ensure quality education for all Gambian students.

Other speakers included Mr. Ousman Manco Touray of the Regional Education Office, Region 2, Mr. Michael Gibba, Principal of Gunjur Upper Basic School and Mr. Dembo Suwareh, Principal of Nyakoi Upper and Senior Secondary School, who delivered the vote of thanks.