Sinchu Orphanage Director Commends Alkalo

By Abdoulie Nget
The director of the Orphanage Centre in Sinchu Alagie Sia Jongeneel also known as Awa Njie as her Gambian name,  commended the Alkalo of Sinchu for his support to the community and her orphanage in Sinchu Alagie as well.
Speaking to this paper, Sia dilated on her love for children which motivated her to venture into such initiative to take care of children orphan children. Sia said she was given a land free of charge by Salieu Ceesay, the Alkalo of Sinchu to build the centre.
She further stated that the building started in 2005 and finished in 2009 which took her four years before completion. “We are currently having 14 Children at the orphanage in which some are going to school and sponsored by the orphanage centre.
She further mentioned that she and her husband are not only venturing into taking care of children, but they also sponsor 245 students, again provided a borehole forSinchu Alagie and are planning to have a football field in the community of Sinchu.
According to her profile, during her travels, Sia was genuinely moved by physical beauty of TheGambia’s landscape. When she traveled to the interior of the country, however, she was struck by the harsh reality.
Back in Europe, where people regularly discard many things which are still quite usable, Sia began to mobilize everyone she knew, gathering clothing, medicines, school materials, etc.
With an ever growing number of volunteers, it became necessary to give the project legal structure. Thus the profit organization “Les Amis de Gambie ASBL” was established in 2002.  
Since then, many projects have been initiated and brought to fruition, including hospital support project, a program for sponsoring children education and, most recently, the construction of our orphanage, which opened its doors in January 2009.
There are 6600 orphans in the Gambia, out  of a total  population of 1.6 million inhabitants. Unfortunately, some children are not able to live with their families, whilst others simply have no one in their family left alive. There are not enough places available to take care of all the orphans in the Gambia. For “Les Amis de gambie” this was an unacceptable situation that it wished to help change.
Thus we began the construction of our orphanage in 2005.Our goal is to be able to offer a welcoming home for approximately 40 children , a home where they can grow up free of cares and prepare for a bright future.