This year we visited Mam Cherno Jallow, President, Abdul Deen Conteh, accountant and Beatrice Prom of The Gambia Chamber of Commerce. We discussed their needs and constraints and encouraged them to write a Letter of Introduction to Peter Gishuru, CEO of the African Chamber of Commerce in Seattle, Washington, USA. Beatrice Prom met with us privately to discuss women’s development issues. She also arranged for a later meeting with three business women who are making a difference. These women – Adeye M Corr Sarr, Proprietress of Moungnyane Enterprises; Joanna Njie, General Manager of Jovic’s African Clothing & Fish Products and Aji Marie Ceesay, Lady Councilor, K.M.C. and Coordinator of the Regleh Society are active business women which would like to have a building in which to do all of their food preparation. All of these women are currently working out of their homes, preparing and packaging food, and making deliveries to supermarkets and local markets. These women do fish processing, fruit drying, juice making and sew clothing. They would like to have a building in which all members of their Food Processing Association can work from. There are 32 members of the association. Some members are individuals and some are women’s groups.

Projects funded this year: We have funded 15 educational grants, provided training on tie & dye and soap making, stocked the cereal bank, completed the Dankunku Library Extension and Sofanyama Library, provided computers to St. Therese’s Upper Basic School, provided medical supplies and funded the labor & transportation costs associated with the book distribution.

Media Coverage: Beatrice Prom of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce was awarded the contract to provide media services for GambiaHELP. Last year she did a remarkable job and so we asked her to assist us again this year. We had four press releases in the three major newspapers: The Observer, The Point and The Independent, an announcement on Gambia Radio and a paragraph on television news by the Gambian Radio and Television Service (GRTS).

Official Handing-Over Ceremonies: Official handing over of the books, medical supplies and computers to the Ministry of Medical & Health and Department of Education occurred on March 22 and March 23, 2006. Handing-over ceremonies were held at the Medical & Health Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital and in the courtyard at the Ministry of Education.

March 2006 Handing Over Ceremony (From left to right) Isatou Jeng; Sandy Murray, RN, GambiaHELP Volunteer; Shelby Tarutis, Executive Director of GambiaHELP; KungKung Jobarteh, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Education; a Ministry of Education Official; Jodi Lis, GambiaHELP Board Member		Sandy Murray, RN, GambiaHELP Volunteer; Shelby Tarutis, Executive Director of GambiaHELP;