Following a successful exhibition of Malian products at the Coconut Residence in Kololi, the General Manager on behalf of Farid Benzouda, Director of the Coconut Residences, made, on Saturday, a donation of more than three thousand dalasis to the Joyce International Nursery School located in Kunkujang Keitaya. The ceremony took place at the Residence premises in Kololi.

Mohamed Zaki, General Manager of Coconut Residence, said the gesture is not only meant to support the school’s feeding programme, but also to create a conducive environment for young children at the grass-root level. He commended the Gambia Children’s Trust Fund (GCTF), a charitable organisation, based in the United Kingdom, for their immense contribution to the development of the said nursery school. He then described the CTF as a genuine organisation and assured its members their support at all times.

For his part, Ismaila Ceesay, Head Master of Joyce International Nursery School hailed the donors for their timely intervention, noting that part of the money will be used to enable his students to attend the celebration of the 43rd Independence of the Gambia.

According to him, the nursery school, which has over 300 students, was totally handicap before the intervention of the GCTF.

‘‘Before their intervention, we have no feeding programmes for students, no toilets, lack of safe drinking water facilities, a tiny classroom and no salaries for the staff of the school,’’ he hinted. He called on other donors to to support the ongoing programmes at the school.

In a similar vein, Eileren Newlands, Secretary of the Trust Fund and one of the initiator drew the attention of the management and staff of Coconut Residence to be conscious of their social responsibility. She also explained that the school’s funding programme comes from the United Kingdom.

‘’Since we started in 2007, we have registered some success notably, the installation of a standpipe and daily feeding programme. We have also built a toilet block and three new classrooms as to meet the demand of the children,’’ she said. She concluded by expressing the organisation commitment to transform the school into a modern one with all the necessary learning facilities.