By: Alieu Ceesay
ChildFund The Gambia has renewed its pledge to strengthen support for children and communities through its Gift-in-Kind (GIK) Program, which channels donated goods into health, education and social welfare rather than relying solely on cash grants.
The organization outlined the expanded effort at an orientation and stakeholder meeting to explain how companies, institutions and individuals can contribute materials instead of money. Program and Sponsorship Director Nfamara Dabo said the scheme was created to work with partners who cannot give financial aid but can supply useful items that complement government services.
ChildFund has operated in The Gambia since 1984. Dabo said its work focuses on helping children move successfully through each stage of life so they can become agents of change in their communities. Traditional funding has come from child sponsorship, grants and other non-sponsorship sources. Officials later recognized that some donors prefer to give goods. That recognition, Dabo said, “gave birth to the Gifting Kind program.”
The programme, he explained, lets ChildFund engage firms and institutions that will provide materials to support existing work. Health and education have been the main beneficiaries.
On health, ChildFund coordinates closely with the Ministry of Health and the Central Medical Stores so that imported medical supplies match national priorities. “We don’t just bring any kind of medical items,” Dabo stressed. Needs are identified first; only then are requests sent to the organization’s headquarters. Because ChildFund is not licensed to import medicines on its own, it works through government structures and licensing arrangements. From a typical list of 100 medical items, he said, only about 50 may be required in The Gambia.
Those items are the ones processed and shipped.
Education is the other major focus. Donated books and learning materials are supplied to schools amid concerns about literacy and numeracy among pupils. Officials said the donations are intended to ease shortages that affect classroom teaching and children’s progress.
Dabo reaffirmed that ChildFund and its local partners will continue working with government agencies, development partners and community stakeholders so children can obtain the basic services they need for growth, survival and development. The stakeholder meeting was designed to give ministries and other partners a clearer picture of GIK procedures and of the practical roles they can play in moving donated goods to the people who need them.
The initiative does not replace cash funding. It adds another channel so that useful materials—medical supplies, books and other essential items—can reach health facilities and schools without placing extra strain on public budgets. Organisers said closer coordination with the Ministry of Health, Central Medical Stores and education authorities should reduce mismatches between what is donated and what is actually needed on the ground.
By aligning private and institutional donations with official priority lists, ChildFund hopes to make the Gift-in-Kind Program a reliable complement to government efforts in child health, schooling and welfare. Officials indicated that further engagement with companies and institutions will follow as the organization seeks more partners willing to give goods rather than money.
