In a bid to make the President’s Girls Empowerment Project (PEGEP) more viable and sustainable, the management of the project is embarking on a vigorous advocacy campaign aimed at both its local and international partners.

The campaign targets dynamic and philanthropic individuals and institutions. Headed by its project manager, Honourable Sheriff Abba Sanyang, a high powered delegation of the PEGEP, last Sunday called on the proprietor and manager of the Equator Lodge in Kartong, Lamin Jamba Jammeh, and the general manager of Lemon Creek Hotel Resort in Bijilo, Erik Ravn, in separate meetings.

According to Hon. Sanyang, the objective of the crusade is to complement the efforts of the president who is the founder and chief sponsor of the project. He noted that the Taiwanese embassy in Banjul has been the only institution that has been supporting the president in the noble initiative, adding they intend to market the project to the wider world with a view to making it more viable and sustainable. He stressed their desire to see Gambians embrace the project as theirs and contribute to its sustenance for posterity.  Although the project had been set up to support girls education in the country, the NAM for Foni Kansala noted with pride that more than 35, 000 Gambians - both male and female - have been sponsored by PEGEP, from junior school level up to masters level, since its inception.

Hon Sanyang went on to call on both Messr Lamin Jamba Jammeh and Erik Ravn to serve as ambassadors for PEGEP in Europe, and to seek for funding and partnership opportunities for them. In response, Lamin Jamba Jammeh, who is the local counterpart to the Antwerp-Banjul Challenge and councillor for Kartong ward, thanked Hon Sanyang and delegation for a laudable move.  He assured them of his commitment to work with them for the realisation of their objectives.

Jammeh explained that the Antwerp-Banjul challenge has been supporting worthy projects in the country over the years, saying that it has the potential to expose PEGEP to philantropic organisations and individuals in Europe. He urged them to put up a project proposal for onward submission to the chairman and organiser of the challenge, Cor de Bresser, a ‘true friend of the Gambian people.’

Mr Jammeh however lamented  the negative publicity on The Gambia on the internet and emphasised the need for massive promotional campaign using the mass media to let the wider world have a true picture of the country. For his part, Erik Ravn, the general manager of Lemon Creek Hotel Resort in Bijilo, also expressed similar sentiments. He promised that he will do all he could to establish the necessary contacts for PEGEP in Denmark. He advised them to intensify the publicity of PEGEP both locally and abroad with a view to make it known to the people. Present at both meetings were ex-sponsored students of the project.