Ten Years in, and Ascend Together Is Just Getting Started

We are one month into year ten at Ascend Together—one decade. A milestone I hoped for but wasn’t sure we’d reach. Early on, there were many moments when I thought this project might come to an end. Whether it was funding drying up, lack of student interest, leadership changes, Covid-19, or just sheer fatigue, I was never certain how long we could keep going. Yet, here we are, ten years later—not just surviving, but thriving. How did we get here? What makes Ascend special? Where are we headed?

We’re here because of a shared vision between the board of directors and our team on the ground in The Gambia. Disagreements, concerns, and emotions have crossed the Atlantic, but our anchor has always been our shared desire to see the youth of The Gambia spread their wings and fly. Development work is hard. Funding is inconsistent, especially for an organization of our scale and niche mission. Promises have been made and broken. Deadlines missed. Salaries have been a source of frustration. Communication has broken down. Life hardships have arisen. And yet, amidst all these challenges, our team of Gambian employees deeply care. They care about the students we work with. They care about the mission. And most importantly, they care about each other. Year after year, they show up with enthusiasm and purpose, and that is why our organization thrives.

A quick shout-out to our donors: We are a decade in because of your unwavering support. Whether through the Chicago concert, t-shirt sales, sponsorships, or even those early days on GoFundMe, you’ve believed in our cause, year after year. Our gratitude starts with you.

What makes Ascend special is the quality of people who work and volunteer their time. In particular, it’s the leadership on the ground in The Gambia. From the managers to the assistants, from the tutors to the ambitious alumni, this organization runs on collective leadership. My original goal for Ascend Together was for the organization to be led and run by Gambians. Reflecting on my time in development, I realized many projects fail because leadership comes from overseas rather than from within the community. How can you build something sustainable if the decisions aren’t being made by the people you claim to serve? I wanted the architects of Ascend to be Gambians.

Under the stewardship of Alhagie Manjang and his team—Kebba, Bintou, Mrs. Clara, Mr. Jarju, and Abdou—we’ve watched the programs blossom into what they are today. What started as an afterschool program has grown into something much bigger. Ascend is now a place where students receive basketball training and academic tutoring, but it’s also where they engage in discussions, volunteer, plan, organize, and build lasting friendships. It’s become a true community—a youth community. And I don’t use this word lightly. “Community” has become a buzzword in development, but I wouldn’t use it here if I hadn’t witnessed it firsthand. When I visited The Gambia this spring, I was moved to tears watching the day’s sessions unfold. I was surrounded by kids who truly wanted to be there—hugging, laughing, supporting each other, seeking advice and comfort from our coaches and from one another. Real camaraderie. It had become so much bigger than I’d ever dreamed. What I witnessed had come from the collective dreaming and hard work of Alhagie and his team.

Where are we headed? The short answer: wherever our team’s dreams take us. I trust their values and know we share this mission. But their vision isn’t a small one. Ideally, I’d love to keep the organization small and continue raising what we’re proven capable of raising—keep it comfortable. But Alhagie and his team want to work with high schoolers and elementary students. They want to expand into rural areas, serving students from upcountry. They want to offer one more field trip per year. One more tournament.

So, what’s next? Hopefully, we’ll be able to help bring this dream to life. Our team on the ground has a clear vision, and now it’s up to us—the board and you, our donors—to make it a reality.

-Seth Williams

The Year in Review: 2023/24

This holiday season we are grateful to reflect on how Ascend has grown throughout 2023. Easily one of our best years to date, we saw our community grow in so many ways. From the tutoring program to our fundraising efforts we saw growth in all sectors. All of this growth was thanks to you, our donors. Here is a recap of what we accomplished.

Back in January we were excited to have a complete coaching staff full of Ascend veterans who know how to run a fun practice. Our coaching team led multiple basketball sessions each week for our students, weekend sessions open to the community, and a community tournament in the spring. This tournament was organized by our staff and ran smoothly because of the support from our Ascend Alumni volunteers. We hosted guest speakers, community members, and even representatives from the professional Gambia basketball organization.

To wrap up the year, our students helped to plan and organize a sleep-away field trip. Our staff took a bus full of Ascend students up-country to learn about local economies. Our students broadened their view of what it takes to run a small business, the environmental impact development has on our land, and more.

One of the most exciting moments of the year was getting summative academic feedback from students. We learned that our tutoring program helped nearly 10 of our students move on to the next track at school. Many students reported increased confidence, higher test scores, and better overall achievement in school thanks to our programming.

Hearing from our students helped to shape our goals for the current school year. Our students had asked for increased support in the classroom so, this fall, we welcomed two new staff members.

Madam Clara and Mr. Jarju are teachers at St. Therese school. They each hold a weekly session with our Academy students to offer specific math and English support. In addition to the math and English sessions, our students benefit from the test taking and life skills curriculum led by our other staff members.

Looking back, it is amazing to reflect on how far we have come in nearly a decade of programming. We have 5 staff members who actively respond to student feedback and adjust programming to best fit the needs of our community. We have a strong group of Alumni students who volunteer to support sessions and offer mentorship both on the court and in the classroom. We have the best problem, our students never want to leave!

All of this is because of support from people like you. Our spring sponsorship campaign enabled all students to finish the academic year with full programming and events in addition to receiving much needed school supplies. Our fall fundraisers, the t-shirt drive and charity benefit concert, raised enough money to fund school year start up costs, hire two new staff members, and fund general programming costs for more than half our programming year. We are humbled by your support and want you to know that this support truly impacts the lives of many people.

Beginning of the Season: Fall 2023

As we embark on year 9 of programming with Ascend, we are grateful to reflect on the growth we have made through the years. We can now boast a fully Gambian staff, a strong school partnership, and an ever growing student community. This fall we hope to keep our program growing strong while making some key changes requested by students and staff.

We have started sessions in the classroom and on the court with our Alumni grade 7 and 8 students. These have been well attended and full of excitement. We have started brainstorming goals for the semester with our Alumni students and hope to share more about their community projects and activities soon. In addition, the court is crowded with interested grade 6 students who would like to be part of our Academy program.

This fall we are seeking to hire a local teacher to join our team as a math tutor. This teacher will join our program manager in delivering our after school tutoring curriculum and providing classroom support. Math support is something prior students have requested and we working with the school to find someone who is a good fit for our community.

We would like to celebrate and share our thanks for everyone who contributed to our fall fundraisers. The t-shirt fundraiser raised the funds needed to jump start the year. This included supporting staff salaries, materials costs, community outreach funding, and more. In addition, our board member, Mark Anderson, held a charity fundraiser concert that raised enough money for over half our year of complete programming. Thank you to all who gave support!

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End of Year Tournament

It is Ascend tradition to celebrate the closing of the school year with some sort of event. This year, our staff and alumni hosted a basketball tournament. In addition to 35 academy students, we hosted 8 students from a different school. We also invited community members to join such as paralympic athlete Salifu, FIBA certified referees, and officials from the Gambia Basketball Association.

The tournament was a day long event with lots of action. Our coaches and alumni started the day with stretching and drills.

Then we had lots of fun cheering each other on as students broke up into teams to participate in the tournament.

After the tournament we played coaches/alumni vs students scrimmage and even had some fun with the attending Gambia Basketball Association officials.

It was a wonderful event that exemplifies the goals of Ascend - competition, cooperation, and community. 

Meet our Assistant Coach: Bintou Dambely

Bintou is a testament to the goals of our programming with Ascend Together. Our mission is to be a place for Gambian youth to grow. It is intentionally vague because we want that growth to take whatever form suits each student best. We are passionate about growing the capacity of Gambian youth to successfully grow up, live in Gambia, and give back to their communities. Bintou is doing just that. 

Bintou was one of the first students to join Ascend together back in 2015 at our St. Theresa site. She grew up to be accomplished in the Gambia Basketball Association - she first played in the YMCA league and now plays for the Kotu Blue Ninjas. She has won many awards and has represented Gambia on the court throughout Africa and in Europe. 

Even though Bintou is shy off the court, she is an accomplished public speaker. She is passionate about women's rights and the importance of education. She is leading by example through furthering her own education. She already holds a masters degree in hospitality and tourism and is pursuing another degree in the field of education. 

Our program manager says the Ascend students view Bintou as an older sister. She is approachable, open minded, and disciplined. We are lucky to have Bintou with us as Assistant Coach. It is humbling to consider the role Ascend Together has played in Bintou’s life and we are grateful that she has come back to continue her support of our community in this role.

In the Classroom

It is rare for everything to go as planned - programming with Ascend is no exception. Our academy program has two parts that work towards our overarching goal of growing Gambian youth. We get kids interested by bringing them on a basketball court and get them grounded by supporting them in the classroom. This year, basketball has continued to grow while we have been fighting to keep structured tutoring going strong. 

The basketball element has been strong for years. We have stable coaches and alumni volunteers. Our students have attended workshops, tournaments, and have met role models who have excelled in the sport. Unfortunately, the classroom element has been a struggle. It is no surprise that tutoring is not the main draw of the program. Over the past few years, we have developed a test prep curriculum that students feel has a strong impact in helping them feel prepared for end of year exams. We bring in elements of life skills training and we are working on increasing our capacity for quality math tutoring as well. 

At the beginning of the year, Gambian teachers went on strike with the goal of increasing pay. In Gambia, all teachers are contracted through a national public teaching organization and teachers are sent all around the country with little input on their location of service. This means teachers are often posted away from family and sometimes in communities that don’t even speak their native tribal language. 

Given the teacher strike and the embedded challenges in teaching in Gambia, we have struggled to hire a stable crew of teacher tutors for our program. The board of Ascend, as well as our on ground leadership, will continue working to strengthen this part of our classroom and tutoring programming. 

In the meantime, we have had to get creative. Our program manager, Alhagie, has figured out ways to keep our students growing in the classroom. They recently had an essay competition with the goals of working on reading and writing skills as well as building confidence and communication skills. Students wrote short essays about what they did on the most recent school holiday then presented the essays to the class. 

We are grateful for strong local leadership who are able to make the best out of situations that are not ideal. We are continually proud of our students for showing up on the court and in the classroom. Regardless of setback and struggle we will continue to Ascend Together. 

Meet our Head Coach: Kebba Faal

Kebba was born and raised in the community that Ascend has come to serve. He is passionate about basketball and is involved in the professional adult league as well as with youth. He is the captain of Gambia Basketball Association’s Kotu Blue Ninjas and reached the finals in this year's professional league. Kebba also coached Gambia’s male and female 3 vs 3 teams at the African Youth Championship in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  

Amidst all of this, he has always found and dedicated time to Ascend Together. Kebba joined the Ascend team from day one in 2015 as a volunteer. Next he served on our team as assistant coach and was appointed head coach in 2022. As head coach he has been able to share his love for basketball with our Ascend Academy students as well as supporting them in the classroom. He has a heart for service and community development and would like to see basketball grow within Gambia.

Meet our Program Coordinator: Alhagie Manjang

Alhagie has been a part of Ascend since the beginning six years ago. He has served in many different roles over the years and now plays an integral role as the program coordinator. 

He became interested in basketball watching NBA games at a local television club. From there, he became involved with training to become a referee for the games of the burgeoning Gambia Basketball Association. This is where he met Seth, a founder of Ascend together. Years later, Alhagie accepted an offer to be involved with the development of the Ascend organization to share his love of the game with Gambia youth. As program coordinator, he takes the lead on organizing the coaches, students, and tutoring. He constantly fills in gaps and is immeasurably flexible. For example, when tutoring was at a standstill due to teacher strikes, he volunteered his time to fill in as temporary tutor so the Ascend mission could continue. 

Alhagie officiating a basketball game for the Gambian Basketball Association.

I asked Alhagie to reflect on his time with Ascend and was humbled by his response. He said that Ascend “has transformed my life”. He didn’t have a lot of responsibility before and the jobs he has had as a tutor, coach, and now program coordinator have helped him grow as a leader. Now, he knows how to work with people and is “grateful now that I am a very good listener.” In an effort to develop work ethic, responsibility, and perseverance in the students of Ascend, Alhagie has come to embody these traits.  

Alhagie works with Ascends students on the court and in the classroom

He hopes that Ascend can become a household name in the country. Currently, basketball is only popular in the urban areas of Gambia, Alhajie’s dream is that the sport becomes accessible to all regions so that both youth and adults can benefit from the growth and opportunity that basketball has provided for him. 

The mission of Ascend is multifold. In the forefront, the mission is focused on youth. Gambian youth need a realistic alternative to the pressures of fleeing the country in order to support their families. Ascend provides support for students to excel in school so they have an opportunity for employment within the country. Ascend seeks to give students a sense of community through basketball. In the background, these goals of Ascend come to fruition in employees like Alhagie. He is employed in-country, building community for himself and others. Through his work, his family, students, and community members are empowered to Ascend Together. 

Home Court: How Basketball Can Create a Dialogue About Migration

Sport is a powerful thing. It has the ability to produce great joy and heart-breaking sadness for fans and observers. It requires of the players themselves dedication, discipline, passion, and a tireless commitment to improvement. Sport transcends borders, national identities, religions, and economic conditions.

It is this ability to transcend that brought Ascend Together and the US Peace Corps together to host the first-ever Hoops and Dreams Basketball and Youth Development Camp at Independence Stadium. Basketball is growing in popularity in The Gambia and Ascend Together has been on the fore-front of creating opportunities for youth basketball in schools. Through our RISE Gambia program, we provide student-athletes with basketball training, equipment, and structure, while also offering after-school tutoring and life-skills curriculum. Working predominantly with youth, we’ve pivoted our curriculum to address one of the most pressing issues facing young people in Gambia today: backway migration.

The Gambia has the highest rate of migration of any country in Africa, losing 12,000 young people each year (0.5% of the national population) to migration to Europe. People take the backway because they want to help support their families financially and see Europe has having more opportunities to do so than Gambia. But the route is incredibly dangerous; migrants are routinely kidnapped, tortured, and held for ransom in Libya before making the risky boat crossing to Italy where overcrowded boats often capsize. Once in Europe, migrants spend at least one year in “camps” while they await a decision on their asylum request. Because Gambia is a peaceful country without conflict, the rate of denial for Gambian asylum requests is high: 67% in 2016. That means that even when they reach Europe, only one out of three Gambians will receive documents allowing them to work legally. But for those who do, the rewards are worth the trip. Walking through any provincial village, it’s obvious which families have relatives in Europe; their houses are made of cement instead of mud and they often sport solar panels, TVs, and refrigerators. What’s not seen is the reduced burden of having to guess where the next bag of rice will come from or how to pay back loans taken out from local shops to cover the costs of food while a family waits for the harvest to bear fruit. Remittances sent home from Gambians abroad accounted for 22% of The Gambia’s economy in 2016 according to a report released by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). These remittances have helped relieve the burden of poverty for many Gambian families.

But the loss of so many young people to migration has detrimental effects on the local economy, family structures, and the work force. It may also be unsustainable, particularly as Europe grapples with how to provide employment for an influx of migrants from all over the globe. But in a country with 29% unemployment (data from 2014), where the average woman has more than five children, what options do young people have?

That’s where the Hoops and Dreams Camp comes in. We invited 86 of the top young male and female basketball players in The Gambia, from urban neighborhoods in Bakau, Serrekunda, and Lamin, all the way up to the provincial town of Bansang, to the three-day camp. In the mornings and evenings the campers honed their skills in basketball activities, which featured individual and team drills, a 27-game tournament, all-star games, and performance awards. But in the heat of the afternoon the venue would shift to the conference hall where campers were treated to a catered lunch and a host of guest speakers with a single message: let’s build the new Gambia right here, in Gambia.

One of the first to speak was Mustapha Sallah, a former migrant recently returned from Libya who is part of an organization of returned migrants called Youth Against Irregular Migration, which aims to educate young people about the dangers of the backway through their own stories. More comfortable speaking in Wolof, Mustapha walked the young campers through his experience in Libyan detention centers where he witnessed Gambian migrants die before they ever even saw the Mediterranean. Mustapha returned to Gambia voluntarily as part of a repatriation program sponsored by the International Organization for Migration. It can be hard to return, he says, because the money invested by the extended family to sponsor the trip was wasted. But when he arrived in Gambia his family embraced him with tears of joy. Mustapha’s organization is now trying to provide support for the growing number of returned migrants.

Next up was a panel of Gambian entrepreneurs and professionals featuring Momar Taal, CEO of Tropingo Foods, Ndey Fatou Njie, founder of Tiga Swimwear, and Alieu Kah, a financial consultant. From all three the message was clear: you can make a life for yourself here in Gambia. Mr. Taal, who started a successful business processing and exporting agricultural products, explains: “First of all, you can’t be afraid of failure. I hear from Gambians all the time ‘Gambia amuut dara’; there’s nothing here. But look around you: we’re surrounded by mango trees. Gambia has a wealth of agricultural opportunities. Mangoes can be sold whole, as juice, as jam, or as a dried fruit.”

Ms. Njie, whose Tiga Swimwear produces swim suits and other clothes using African fabrics and accesses overseas markets through online sales, elaborated that there are a host of economic possibilities in Gambia, and it’s all about finding new market ideas.

Mr. Kah lived and worked in Canada for years but returned to Gambia “because this is our country. We have networks and connections here. If you have an idea for a business, you’re more likely to succeed here where you know the culture and the language and the people.”

Other presenters at the camp included the Ebunjan Theater Company which recently released a play titled “Backway”, The Youth Empowerment Project, the Gambia Start-up Incubator, and the Medical Research Council. All of these organizations are stakeholders in the future of Gambia and Gambia’s youth.

The young campers recorded the presentations on their phones, sharing them with friends and family, and of course there were plenty of selfies and group photos. The energy that sport brings to daily life also lends strength to the message of the camp.

At the closing ceremony, attended by parents and extended family, a group of campers asked if they could perform an impromptu skit. All of their own accord, the six young Gambians regaled the crowd with a story played out all too often in real life: three young migrants leave Gambia in search of a better life. One is killed in Libya and the others reach Europe but find it a harder place than they expected. At the close of the skit, 15-year old Bintu Dambally, microphone in hand, tells the crowd “We have everything we need right here; the people, the culture, the resources, to make Gambia a great country without taking the backway.” Her peers cheered the performance, taking video with their phones and sharing the message.

My Country, My Future: Gambia’s Top Young Entrepreneur Speaks to Ascend Students

On May 13th Ascend Together's RISE Gambia program hosted a celebrity guest. One of Forbes’ 30 most influential African entrepreneurs under the age of 30, Momar Taal is a rising star in Gambia, having started a million-dollar agriculture business, Tropingo Foods. Mr. Taal had a simple message for the young men and women in the RISE Gambia program: you can make a life for yourself here in Gambia, you don’t need to go to Europe to make money.

Gambia has one of the highest rates of migration to Europe of any country in the world, losing on average 0.5 percent of its population each year to the “backway”, according to UNICEF. In 2016, 12,000 Gambians, mostly young men, arrived by boat in Italy, part of a wave of migration from Africa and the Middle East to Europe. Despite its small size (roughly 2 million people), Gambians are the fifth most common arrivals in Europe according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), rivaling much larger countries like Nigeria and Syria. The effect on Gambian society is pervasive, particularly in the provinces, where you find villages where most of the young men have gone the backway.

And the route itself is dangerous. Young Gambians who take the backway are subject to kidnapping, torture, and murder while in lawless Libya, before risking their lives on a treacherous boat crossing to Italy where overcrowded boats often capsize. Over 5,000 migrants, including Gambians, died in 2016 crossing the Mediterranean. The number of migrants killed or kidnapped in Libya is unknown, but almost every Gambian knows someone who suffered some sort of abuse or worse while in Libya.

So why are so many young Gambians risking their lives to get to Europe? An issue this complex will never have a simple answer, but the most common reason given by migrants is that there are no opportunities for young people in Gambia. Young people want to help their families financially and they see Europe as being the best way to do that, where the remittances sent home from even a low-paying job can go a long way in Gambia.

As an organization that works with Gambian youth, Ascend Together recognizes that the migration issue needs to be addressed. So we called Momar. Momar Taal is living proof that you can make a life for yourself in Gambia with a little creativity and a lot of hard work. So, sitting in the shade next to the YMCA basketball court, Ascend students listened to Momar tell the story of how he started his multi-million dollar mango and groundnut processing and export company.

“First of all, you can’t be afraid of failure. I’ve failed and failed, but I kept trying until I succeeded.”

“I hear from Gambians all the time ‘Gambia amuut dara’; there’s nothing here. But look around you, we’re surrounded by mango trees. Gambia has a wealth of agricultural opportunities. Mangoes can be sold whole, as juice, as jam, or as a dried fruit. Even the mango pit can be pressed to produce castor oil, which is an important component of many cosmetics products.” Upon hearing the last bit, the students looked at each other in disbelief, thinking about how many mango pits they’ve thrown away.

When asked what business niches might exist that aren’t currently being taken advantage of by Gambians, Momar said “there are so many. One that comes to mind is refrigeration. Every hotel, fish plant, restaurant, needs access to refrigerated storage and there are only two people doing it. And there are so many agricultural opportunities. Gambia has a great climate for growing rice. Gambians have historically grown rice. So why isn’t there a major Gambian rice company? I don’t want to eat Chinese rice, I want to eat Gambian rice.”

While these students may still be a few years away from starting a business, the message was clear: there are opportunities here in Gambia; you don’t have to go to Europe. And the wheels were turning. One student, Paul Mendy, asked why aren’t pineapples grown in Gambia? Momar’s answer: someone needs to look into it. Maybe you can be the first person to start a pineapple company here.

Ascend Together's RISE Gambia program is addressing alternatives to the backway in its curriculum. For more information on how you can help, please visit our website at http://www.ascendtogether.org/home/ or check us out on Facebook at Ascend Together.  

Celebrating Our First Student-Athletes of the Month

On April 8th, Ascend Together held an open court event at the YMCA in Kanifeng. Open to the community as well as Ascend students, the event was an opportunity for young basketball players to participate in dribbling, passing, and shooting drills with Ascend coaches. After three hours of basketball in the rising heat, Ascend staff called it a day and invited the young athletes to sit in the shade and enjoy an egg sandwich. The staff had a surprise: the first ever Student-Athlete of the Month announcements!

The Student-Athlete of the Month awards are intended to recognize the Ascend students who have shown the highest degree of dedication to their studies and to basketball. Each month, Ascend coaches and tutors will recognize one student from St. Theresa’s Upper Basic School and one student from Kotu Senior Secondary School to receive the award, which includes a certificate and a new pair of basketball shoes. Coaches and tutors look at a student’s attendance and punctuality, active participation in the tutoring and basketball sessions, improvement, teamwork, and leadership. Since this was the first ever announcement of the awards, the excitement among the students was palpable.

With students and coaches creating a drumroll by slapping their hands to their thighs, the announcements were made:

“For St. Theresa’s, the Student-Athlete of the Month is…. Doudou Sanneh.” The students erupted in jubilant cheer mixed with a few playful jests. Doudou is young, only in grade eight, so he’s due a few jabs from his older peers. “And for Kotu, the Student-Athlete of the Month is…. Haddijatou Ceesay.” More jubilant cheers, but no jabs this time, Haddijatou owned it hands down.

Haddijatou Ceesay, 16 years old, grade 11. Kotu Student-Athlete of the Month, March 2017.

When asked about winning the award, Haddijatou responded with humility. "I felt good to be chosen among the rest as the best athlete of the month, but I felt lucky as well because there are others who are as serious and improved like me. Ascend have built my confidence, I am naturally a shy girl but with the help of Ascend programming from tutoring (presentations), group work, peer tutoring to leading drills and warm ups at basketball sessions. All this have shaped me to be a good athlete”.

“It's a love affair between me and basketball, sometimes I thought, how happy could I be without basketball. I thank Ascend Together and all our wonderful coaches, tutors and my fellow students”.

Doudou is younger and a little shy when it comes to answering questions about winning the award. It didn’t help that he was still finishing his egg sandwich when his name was called, prompting his peers to give him the typical Gambian jab that he eats too much. He’s been playing basketball for only one year but says he wants to play in the Gambian Basketball Association’s adult league, “preferably for the YMCA team.” He says when he grows up he wants to be a government minister for Youth and Sports. When asked how he will achieve the lofty goal, he gives a shy smile and says “study hard and pass my exams.” He wasn’t quite as shy when it came time for pictures.

Doudou Sanneh, 14 years old, grade 8. St. Theresa’s Student-Athlete of the Month, March 2017.

Ascend Together will continue to recognize its most dedicated students each month. For information about how you can help students in Gambia thrive, please visit our website at http://www.ascendtogether.org/home/ or check us out on Facebook at Ascend Together.

RISE Gambia Students Attend International Women's Day Fair

On March 1st, 32 RISE Gambia students boarded buses from Kotu and St. Theresa’s schools bound for the Peace Corps the Gambia office. While many students snapped selfies in the leather seats and enjoyed the air-conditioning, others jotted down questions they wanted to ask the American Peace Corps volunteers hosting the event.

When Ascend staff and students first heard about the women’s day event, their first thought was that it would focus on the challenges: early marriage, female genital mutilation, etc. But Haddy Sowe and the Peace Corps volunteers had something else in mind: let’s focus on the successes.

Peace Corps volunteers led sessions focusing on famous women in African history who have led armies and mobilized activist movements. Women who have held power as Queens and more recently as Presidents and high-ranking military officials. Students were given a tour of Africa’s heroines from the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, to Wangari Maathai, the renowned Kenyan environmental activist and Africa’s first female Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Not to be forgotten was Gambia’s own Fatou Bensouda, the Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, and one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world for her role as “a leading voice pressing governments to support the quest for justice.” The message to the young students: gender is only as much a barrier as you allow it to be.

After the morning presentations, Ascend students split into groups of three and rotated between 10 Peace Corps volunteers who each led different small-group discussions. Some were light-hearted - celebrating the importance of laundry-folding skills; while others addressed the cultural challenges that face young people in The Gambia. But all the sessions succeeded in being an opportunity for young women and men from the United States and The Gambia to discuss gender issues in their respective cultures and to learn about gender in the other’s culture.

Bintu Dambally, a grade nine student from St. Theresa’s Upper Basic School, said her favorite part of the event was hearing about the role of African women throughout history. Isatou M. Jallow, a grade 10 student from Kotu, and an emerging gender activist, said she enjoyed hearing about the progress in gender equality in America. And Binta Janneh, also a grade 10 student from Kotu, said she liked seeing the changes in women’s fashion in Africa over time.

We thank Peace Corps The Gambia and their volunteers for bringing their energy and expertise to our students. Each new piece of knowledge these students gain brings them one step closer to realizing their potential as outstanding citizens and leaders of the future.

GALLERY

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Peace

The past month has been one of transition in The Gambia. With the political transition came great fear. Many student in our Rise Gambia program fled the country with their families in the face of insecurity about the future of the country. Thankfully, although things did not play out perfectly, life on the ground has been returning to what it used to be, with a renewed sense of peace and hope. In the first Rise Gambia gatherings following the political impasse, students had the opportunity to write and share their own stories. They also reflected on the meaning of peace. Here are a few of their thoughts.

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I had never known the importance of peace until when we were about to lose it. Families fleeing, women delivering on their run for their lives and that of the children, and my experience as a refugee; I could have never imagined how this looked like. Peace is the most precious gift. I am urging my fellow Gambians to embrace it for good. - Aji Amie Secka

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Gambians have crossed the border for the safety of their lives. Some were homeless in other countries. It has been a great joy to Gambia that there is now hope...

The word peace stands for everything. Without peace, nothing on earth can be. The importance of peace brings a lot in a state. The importance of peace makes us to be a happy and comfortable family, because when there is a war all over, there will be no happiness at all. - Sana Fatty

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The majority of the people running out of the country for their lives were children. These are the same children who were once waving and chanting along the road every now and then, and some pointed out these wonderful moments were not deserved. Now we are a smiling coast. - Aminata Jobe

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This Country of Ours

The Gambia is in the midst of a transition. Time will tell if it is a peaceful one or not. This week we received this letter from one of our friends on the ground:

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It has not been easy for me all this while, especially with the current situation of what is going on in this country of ours. The tide of tension is getting higher and no one feels secure and safe any longer. All we do is to pray every day that God grant us peace.

There are reports of soldiers coming into the country. Though the government seems quiet for the time being, no one knows what plans he has. Everyone feels that he is going to put up some resistance, which may lead to a battle.

People everywhere are going out shopping for food to keep as reserve. In case the situation goes sour, many have fled the country. Just earlier this week there were flights from Conakry, Nigeria and Senegal that came to pick up their dignitaries, and some are traveling on the roads. As of late, you hardly see a non-Gambian walking in street, as it used to be.

My sister, I wish this situation wouldn't have meet me here. This is why I fought so hard to leave this country, which did not happen. I knew the Gambia is not an exception of conflict. You could tell of it your self while you were here, by the nature of the government. But by virtue of reason that is not known to me, God has allowed me to be here in this country, which we love so much. On the street here you hear people, especially young youths, giving out disrespecting remarks and posing violence. This has never been the nature of the Gambian people who lived with the slogan "Gambia, no problem."

I feel less secure behind my own doors. Last year, for me, was the roughest and toughest year of my life. I experienced hunger and fatigue.

I understand what this situation could lead to if it gets out of hand. It will destroy our young stars, and the nation at large.

All schools in the country are closed. People hardly go to work now-a-days. On the streets of Banjul you see groups of soldiers, and in other places barricades have been pitched in all corners. And you find soldiers standing holding live weapons everywhere.

My sister, I wish every thing resolves in a peaceful way so that everything will return to the way it used to be. Your thoughts and prayers are really appreciated. I will continue to update you with the present issues at hand.

God bless

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