Featuring students hoping for a KAM Scholarship in 2019-2020, this beautiful video was created by Peace Corps volunteers Anna Rains and Harry Dwinell. Help 12 yr olds Kaddy Gaye and Kaddy Ceesay, 13 yr old Sinabou Bittaye, and 14 yr old Sait Ceesay attend school this year by donating today.
The Kerr Alhagi Mallik Scholarship Fund supports bright young Gambian students by providing them with access to higher quality education. We believe that education empowers students to shape their own futures. Since 2008, 44 unique students have accessed quality education as a result of these scholarships and a total of 135 scholarships have been awarded at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. We are fundraising for the 2022-2023 school year. Please consider a donation today. Any amount helps, especially monthly donations that add up to dependable support throughout the school year.
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US tax receipt option, monthly donation or one-time donations:
The KAM Scholarship Fund is partnering with Gambia Rising, a 501(c)3 IRS tax-exempt organization to offer receipts to donors who plan to itemize their US tax deductions. Donations through this specific button go to the KAM sub-program of Gambia Rising.
US Dollars monthly option, no tax receipt
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Canadian Dollars monthly option, no tax receipt
Canadian Dollars one-time option, no tax receipt
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Challenge: The citizens of Kerr Alhagi Mallik are subsistence farmers who sell small surpluses to meet basic needs. Very few residents are literate enough to read medication instructions. Located far off the main highway, the community struggles to access government and NGO projects such as clinics, wells, roads, and schools because residents don't have the skills to advocate for themselves and their village.
Although some parents see education as a solution, unfortunately many local schools have low achievement, low standards, and high teacher absenteeism. Students graduate from some of these lower quality schools without basic literacy, numeracy, or rudimentary understanding of the language of instruction (English). This poorly prepares students for the job market and it undermines the perceived value of education within the community.
Solution: Higher quality education does exist in The Gambia but parents often cannot afford to send their children to these schools. The Kerr Alhagi Mallik Scholarship Fund leverages the investment that parents are making in their children with supplemental scholarships that assist with costs such as lab fees, textbooks, computer fees, uniforms and shoes, paper, pencils, pens, daily commuting costs (there are no school buses), and sometimes lunch costs to be able to stay after school for extra study sessions. Since there is no middle or high school within daily commuting distance to the village, the parents of KAM students make arrangements for their children to stay with relatives or family friends in other towns.
The mission of the Kerr Alhagi Mallik Scholarship Fund is to provide Gambian students with access to quality education through academic scholarships which leverage their families’ own investments in their futures. The KAM Fund operates through the fiscal sponsorship of GambiaRising.
Although some parents see education as a solution, unfortunately many local schools have low achievement, low standards, and high teacher absenteeism. Students graduate from some of these lower quality schools without basic literacy, numeracy, or rudimentary understanding of the language of instruction (English). This poorly prepares students for the job market and it undermines the perceived value of education within the community.
Solution: Higher quality education does exist in The Gambia but parents often cannot afford to send their children to these schools. The Kerr Alhagi Mallik Scholarship Fund leverages the investment that parents are making in their children with supplemental scholarships that assist with costs such as lab fees, textbooks, computer fees, uniforms and shoes, paper, pencils, pens, daily commuting costs (there are no school buses), and sometimes lunch costs to be able to stay after school for extra study sessions. Since there is no middle or high school within daily commuting distance to the village, the parents of KAM students make arrangements for their children to stay with relatives or family friends in other towns.
The mission of the Kerr Alhagi Mallik Scholarship Fund is to provide Gambian students with access to quality education through academic scholarships which leverage their families’ own investments in their futures. The KAM Fund operates through the fiscal sponsorship of GambiaRising.
Featured Scholarship Student: Omar Cham
Omar and his mother Naffy, 2019.
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Hamat Gaye (left) and Omar Cham (right), both graduating from Masroor Senior Secondary School in 2019 and both KAM Scholarship recipients
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Omar Cham garnered national attention by earning 8 As on the WASSCE, West African Senior School Certificate Examination, a standardized test used in the five English-speaking West African countries. Growing up in Jokadu, North Bank, in a small farming town on the border with Senegal, Omar walked one and a half hours every day to attend lower basic school. But even before he had started school, Omar’s parents expected their eldest child to achieve scholastic success. His parents, Sulay and Naffy Cham, farm groundnuts and coose (millet) for their livelihood. His enterprising father ran a small bidik (shop) for a few years and then drove the town’s daily auto to the ferry terminal for a few more years. Completing grade 6 in ChissyMaJow, Omar lived with relatives in Kuntair to attend upper basic school and finish grade 9. Moving to Masroor Senior Secondary School for grade 10 through 12, first with a focus on Arts and then on Commerce, Omar promptly caught up with his more advantaged peers in Kombo and graduated with stunning accolades.
At Masroor Senior Secondary School, Omar won several academic awards at graduation: Best Economics Student, Best Agri Science Student, Best Mathematics Student, Overall Best Commerce Student, Best Financial Accounting Student, Best Geography Student, and Best General Science Student. He was Assistant Head Boy, Head of his Class, President of the school’s Commerce Club and an active member of the Human Rights Club. The 8 As Omar scored on the WASSCE broke his school’s record for exam results, held by his teacher who had earned 6 As five years ago.
Omar says “My family is not strong in terms of finance so the KAM Scholarship really plays a very important role in fostering my education. The process was too hard but with the assistance I gained from my teachers, the KAM Scholarship, plus my family, I managed with the system to the full end. As the saying goes ‘Education is backed by finance.’ I therefore give a gigantic thank you to the KAM Scholarship Fund for their financial assistance.” Omar Cham has been a KAM Scholarship Student since 2014. Help Omar attend the University of The Gambia to study economics with a minor in mathematics by donating today.
At Masroor Senior Secondary School, Omar won several academic awards at graduation: Best Economics Student, Best Agri Science Student, Best Mathematics Student, Overall Best Commerce Student, Best Financial Accounting Student, Best Geography Student, and Best General Science Student. He was Assistant Head Boy, Head of his Class, President of the school’s Commerce Club and an active member of the Human Rights Club. The 8 As Omar scored on the WASSCE broke his school’s record for exam results, held by his teacher who had earned 6 As five years ago.
Omar says “My family is not strong in terms of finance so the KAM Scholarship really plays a very important role in fostering my education. The process was too hard but with the assistance I gained from my teachers, the KAM Scholarship, plus my family, I managed with the system to the full end. As the saying goes ‘Education is backed by finance.’ I therefore give a gigantic thank you to the KAM Scholarship Fund for their financial assistance.” Omar Cham has been a KAM Scholarship Student since 2014. Help Omar attend the University of The Gambia to study economics with a minor in mathematics by donating today.
Support students this school year
Every cent received goes directly to supporting the scholarships. Unlike most NGOs and charities, the KAM Scholarship Fund has no paid employees and is a 100% volunteer effort.
A minimal portion of donations (approximately $30/year) are used to offset fixed administration costs in The Gambia such as internet usage and transportation for the Gambian administrator to travel to disburse the funds and collect report cards.
A minimal portion of donations (approximately $30/year) are used to offset fixed administration costs in The Gambia such as internet usage and transportation for the Gambian administrator to travel to disburse the funds and collect report cards.
Cost vs. Value
Dollars go a long way when they are converted into the Gambian currency of Dalasi. For the cost of a Friday night out, you can team up with a parent in Kerr Alhagi Mallik and give their child a year of higher quality education.
The scholarship amount is based on the difference between what parents can cover and the total cost of attending school (textbooks, computer fees, lab fees, paper, pens, pencils, school uniform, lunch, and daily transportation). Its value is immeasurable. Without scholarships, some students will have to drop out of school while others might continue to attend but not have the books and resources they need to succeed, access to learning in labs, or food to tide them over for formal after-school study sessions.
Donations of any amount make a difference whether it's $10 or $1000.
The scholarship amount is based on the difference between what parents can cover and the total cost of attending school (textbooks, computer fees, lab fees, paper, pens, pencils, school uniform, lunch, and daily transportation). Its value is immeasurable. Without scholarships, some students will have to drop out of school while others might continue to attend but not have the books and resources they need to succeed, access to learning in labs, or food to tide them over for formal after-school study sessions.
Donations of any amount make a difference whether it's $10 or $1000.
10 Year Summary:
In ten years, the KAM Scholarship Fund has awarded a total of 135 scholarships to 44 students from the village of Kerr Alhagi Mallik. The scholarships have ranged in size from $8 (for grades when most costs are subsidized by the government of The Gambia) to over $1000 (for university tuition). Seventy-four of the 135 scholarships have gone to boys and 61 to girls. Exactly half of the 44 student recipients have been girls/young women and half have been boys/young men. The Scholarship Fund has supported most of these students for many years, bolstering the long-term commitment of their families' investment. The KAM Scholarship Fund has been operating since 2008.
In ten years, the KAM Scholarship Fund has awarded a total of 135 scholarships to 44 students from the village of Kerr Alhagi Mallik. The scholarships have ranged in size from $8 (for grades when most costs are subsidized by the government of The Gambia) to over $1000 (for university tuition). Seventy-four of the 135 scholarships have gone to boys and 61 to girls. Exactly half of the 44 student recipients have been girls/young women and half have been boys/young men. The Scholarship Fund has supported most of these students for many years, bolstering the long-term commitment of their families' investment. The KAM Scholarship Fund has been operating since 2008.
