Gambia: Standard chartered launch first goal training programme

Standard Charterd Bank in partnership with Women Win from England on Friday 15th April launched the first Goal Training Pogramme held at Saint Joseph’s Senior secondary school in Banjul. The event brought together officials from the Standard Chartered Bank, trainers from Women Win, Physical education teachers and Home teachers and students from Saint Joseph’s Senior secondary school.

The aim of the goal project is to help adolescent girls to be confidence and to engage in sporting events like basketball and other related sports and also make Gambian girls to grow and contribute to the economic growth of the nation.

Speaking at the event Albert Saltson, CEO of the standard chartered bank said: «Goal is a unique programme, develop by standard chartered. Goal was launched in India 2006 and has today reached out to more than 217,000 girls in 25 countries where the bank operates. Why is it unique? It combines sports and life year training to empower and equip adolescent girls with the confidence, knowledge/ need to be integral economic leaders in their families, communities, and societies.

«The bank firmly believes that investing in the education of girls and giving them the tools to shape their own future has an incredible multiplier effect on communities and their societies. More educated women are healthier, participate more in the labour market and earn more income. Countries with more equal education have on average a 23 percent greater income per capital».

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He added that The goal training, is meant to enable the physical education teachers, supported by the home economics teachers, and standard chartered staff, to developed and empower 1,500 adolescent girls in four secondary schools this year.

«Our hope and vision is to develop Goal champions and Ambassadors in the Gambia that are able to train their fellow colleagues in the long run, with the objective of rolling out the program in all the secondary school my appeal to you is to make the most of the training and keep your engagement level high as you meet challenges in the roll out phase. We will provide you, as much as we can, with the support to overcome these barriers.»

He pointed out that The Goal programme is the third initiative they have developed for the youth under their education Sustainability pillar. He added: «Our School Desk Project Program has been a wider success since its implementation with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education in 2013. Thanks to the ministry’s support and partnership we have provided 1000 dual school desk and reached over 10,000 students Nationwide over the years. Our financial Education Initiative also ran financial literary session on the difference between «wants and needs» with over 800 students in three schools including this very school St Joseph’s.»

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Yvonne Henry, Trainer from the Women Win said, daily 1000 of girls from India, Brazil, Vietnam from South Africa to Nigeria are playing sports and exercising their rights and goal now have come to the Gambia for the first time. «Luis and I have spent the last five days training 14 very committed and passionate Standard Chartered staffs and local school teacher’s everyday were inspired and energized by their focus and enthusiasm for learning about goals. These 14 new goal coaches will now start rolling out the program in The Gambia and today we begin the first goal event at Saint Joseph’s Senior Secondary School we hope goal will continue in the Gambia and help build the next generation female Gambian leaders,» she said.

Hannah Coker, Principal of Saint Joseph’s Senior secondary school, expressed appreciation to Standard Chartered Bank for choosing Saint Joseph’s as a pioneer school.

Coker noted, «Has Saint Joseph’s become the only senior secondary school for girls in the Gambia, whose mission is to send out at the end of school year, educated, loyal morally strong and talented young women who will serve the nation with pride? So to bring goal to St Joseph’s you are most definitely supporting St Joseph’s for that which it stands for, the empowerment, development and education of the girl child.»