Child Protection

For too long, young people in The Gambia have watched decisions that affect their lives being made without them. They sit on the margins of policy rooms, their ideas unheard, their potential untapped. It is a frustration many know well,but one that ChildFund The Gambia and its partners are now working to change.

From 1 to 4 January this year, young people from across the West Coast Region converged in Bwiam, Foni Kansala, not just to attend a summit, but to take the first steps toward owning their future. The goal: to establish a Youth Advisory Council that would give young Gambians a real seat at the table.

For Nfamara Dabo, Program and Sponsorship Director at ChildFund, the initiative is rooted in a simple but powerful conviction. “For our programs to be relevant, authentic and responsive to the needs of youth, young people themselves must be involved in the designing, implementation and evaluation stages,” he said. In other words, no more decisions about youth, without youth.

The council, once established, will do more than hold meetings. It will send young people into communities to advocate, to advise, and to speak on behalf of their peers to government bodies and donor agencies. It is the kind of platform that could transform a passionate young person from a bystander into a changemaker.

Hon. Musa Amul Nyassi, speaking candidly to the young people in the room, reminded them that leadership is not about personal gain. “I believe that whenever you are in a position of responsibility, you are there to serve the people and not to benefit from those people,” he said. It was a message that resonated in a hall full of young faces eager to prove themselves. He went further, challenging the notion that formal education alone defines capability insisting that true education shows up in one’s character and in the tangible difference one makes in the lives of others.

Musukuta Komma, ChildFund’s Country Director, painted a picture of what this council could mean in practice,young people shaping policies, proposing solutions, and being genuinely listened to by the institutions that govern their lives. “The council will provide them the opportunity to engage in policy advocacy and bring creative ideas to government and organisations,” she said, her words carrying the weight of a promise long overdue.

Underpinning all of this is ChildFund’s Country Strategic Plan (CSP 2022–2026), which places youth at the centre of its work equipping them with life skills and livelihood education to unlock employment opportunities and deepen their participation in national development.

Also lending their voices to the occasion were Lamin Sanneh of the National Youth Council, Hon. Amie Colley, National Assembly Member for Foni Brefet, and Eddie Bah, Federation Manager of Foni Ding-Ding each a reminder that when institutions show up for young people, something meaningful becomes possible.

The Youth Advisory Council is not yet fully formed. But in Bwiam, something shifted. Young people left not just with information, but with a sense that their voices matter and that the structures to amplify those voices are finally being built.