A selection of children from the SOS Children Village in Bakoteh, on Saturday launched the Kids Menu for the Sheraton Hotel at a ceremony held at the Hotel in the Brufut Height.

The Kids Menu is a cover designed for children’s menu in the hotel. A total of 25 children were selected to participate in the drawing competition of the menu, based on their favourite diets.

Isatou Njie-Saidy, 11-year-old name sake of the Vice- President of the Republic of The Gambia emerged the winner of the competition, whose drawing will be the front cover of the Kids Menu, followed by two others- Mama Yafa, and Jama Jarju, all of the same age group.

The kids drawing competition was presided over by a total of six judges from the Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA), Gambia Hotel Association (GHA), Voice of the Young, ASSET, CPA  and Travel and Tourism Association of The Gambia (TTAG).

The Judges do not hesitate to describe the menus drawn by the kids as great; and the difficulty they have encountered in selecting the best out of the whole lots, because of the quality and creativity involved in the drawings.
 
Speaking at the occasion, Jennifer Buhr, General Manager of Sheraton Hotel, said her management wants the children to create their own menu, rather than adults. “We believe that, it would be better for the children to create their own menu, instead of adults creating it for them. I think children are very important members of the society. There is a need, therefore, to give them love and fair treatment in whatever we do,” she said.

The Sheraton GM assured that the Kids Menu will be put into good use.

Oumou Tall, Regional Administrative Secretary and Public Relations Officer (PRO) of SOS Kinderdorf International Office, North-West Africa, thanked the Management of Sheraton Hotel for coming up with the initiative. She described it as a brilliant idea, meant to foster self-confidence in children and make them feel proud of themselves.

She further explained the role of SOS Children villages, especially The Gambia Office, with the establishment of new SOS children’s village in Basse.

Kaliba Senghore, Director-General of The Gambia Tourism Authority described the ideas as a new ones, which are all geared towards empowering children in the tourism sector.

Sarah Paget, a member of the panel of judges from ASSET, also made similar statements.

Therese Gomez, SOS Mother for the winner, Isatou Njie-Saidy, expressed delight on the declaration.

She finally thanked Sheraton Hotel for organising the event.