As part of their relentless efforts towards creating awareness on poverty the Global Call for Action Against Poverty (GCAP) Gambia coalition on Tuesday concluded a four day sensitization workshop on International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank and their impacts on Africa especially The Gambia, in Jenoi Lower River Region.

The workshop which was held at the Farmer Training Center in Jenoi brought together participants mostly youths from across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Alhagie Kebbeh, Director of the National Association of Youth Against Food Security NAYAFS, cum chairperson of GCAP Gambia Coalition gave a brief history of GCAP.

According to him, the idea of establishing GCAP was conceived at the world social forum held in Brazil, in January 2005, which was attended by 150,000 participants world wide. At that forum, he added, the civil society activists led by the Brazilian president, Lula Da Silva, decided to form a global campaign to end poverty in the world, a global initiative now known as the Global Call for Action Against Poverty GCAP. Upon their return to Gambia, participants decided to establish a GCAP coalition in the country, which now comprises different organizations with a goal of ending poverty in the country. Since then, he said, GCAP has been following meetings of world leaders towards addressing global poverty. He said IFIs is just one area of campaign for GCAP.

For his part, Mambanjick Njie, Deputy Permanent Secretary for the department of state for Youth, Sports and Religious Affairs, urged young people to change their attitudes towards national development. DPS Njie also emphasized the need for project sustainability adding that the people at the grassroots level should be involved throughout the implementation phase of the project inorder to ensure sustainability. This he believes would also contribute towards reducing poverty.

Deputizing the Action Aid country director, Mr Lamin Nyangado Policy and Advocacy Manager of Action Aid The Gambia, also urged people to continue campaigning against poverty. In Mr Nyangado’s view, proper planning is vital in any development process. He advised participants to disseminate the knowledge gained to their communities so that more people can be aware of the IFIs and their negative impact on poor countries.
Ousman Ceesay a representative of the chief of Jarra West, described the issue of poverty as a cause for concern while underscoring the need for people to be action oriented.

Kebba Nfansu Yarboe, Alkalo of Jenoi, thanked the organizers for choosing his village to host what he termed a magnificent programme.

Mr Ousman Sowe, chairperson NAYAFS, Western Region Branch, chaired the opening and closing ceremonies respectively.

Meanwhile, please follow our subsequent editions when we shall bring you the GCAP workshop recommendations and specific impacts of IFIs on agriculture, education and trade in The Gambia.