I congratulate all for their achievements with the hope that the day is near
when sanity will be restored in The gambia ,under an alliance gorvernment
,allowing us to return and contribute towards our nations building.

Beran


Students Rake in College Degrees



The Independent (Banjul)

October 5, 2001
Posted to the web October 8, 2001

Cherno Baba Jallow
Banjul, the Gambia

For Gambians in Michigan, USA, the year 2001 has marked an unprecedented
spurt of academic achievements.

During the recent graduation ceremony of Davenport University in Detroit
City, five Gambians bagged bachelors degrees, occasioning great rejoicings
within the Gambian community. A month earlier, four other Gambians had
graduated from Central Michigan University, three with masters and one
bachelor's. The scorecard is undeniably impressive for the Detroit-based
Gambians: 11 of them in this year alone have coveted respective college
degrees; many more Gambians are on the verge of graduating in a year or two.

Of glory and motivation This has given Gambians in Detroit, estimated to
number close to 200, newfound optimism about the future. "It's a great
achievement," enthused the Kudang-born Surahata Ceesay, who graduated with
M.Sc. in health service administration, and now working for the Trinity
Health Care System. "It's very hard going to school full-time and working,
too. It's not an easy task, but it's always going to pay off," he added.

Kebba Barrow, a native of Jarra Barrow Kunda, stressed that Gambians should
not be discouraged in their quest for higher education in the US because of
the attendant difficulties: "It takes time and commitment; this is very
important," he asserted. For him, coming to the US was purposely to seek
higher education. He now holds M.Sc. in computer software engineering. His
first degree was in health service administration from the University of
Detroit-Mercy. He said he changed fields because "The Gambia is lacking in
computer software engineering. The health care sector is over-saturated with
people."

"It's a record setting," said the Illiassa native Lamin Jammeh. "Gambians in
Detroit have been graduating since 1998, but never has there been many of
them graduate at once," he concluded. Lamin, who also holds M.Sc. in
computer information systems, had hoped to attain his Ph.D. in his father's
lifetime. Unfortunately, his father Yusupha "Boukka" Jammeh, former Managing
Director of FACES, died recently, leaving behind a son unrestrained in his
ambition for higher education.

The sudden death of his mother Kunda Camara in the fatal accident involving
some UDP officials near Bansang, had to compel Yusupha Kamara to abandon his
masters program and go to The Gambia to bereave her. But he has since picked
up from where he had left off. "I have three more classes before I obtain my
MBA in global management," he revealed. Yusupha opined that Gambians in the
US badly need family support and encouragement to excel in their academic
pursuits. "Also," he added, "you have to set your goals and say, 'this is
what I want to achieve'; it requires hard work and patience."

He expressed the hope that when this story about them is published in The
Gambia, it would show a positive image of the majority of hardworking
Gambians in the US in mark contrast to recent negative reports of drug
smuggling involving some Gambians in North Carolina. For the former Central
Bank employee Sulayman Jammeh, the large-scale Gambian graduation will
encourage the few others in Detroit who aren't going to school to do so now.
"We have set an example for others to follow. Education is the best we can
achieve in the US," he emphasised.

Sulayman admitted that he wasn't consistent with his undergraduate classes,
as he had dropped out of college to take some banking courses, which would
later land him a better job. "It took me longer to graduate than I had
thought, but at least I got what I wanted," he smiled.

Sulayman, who holds BA in Finance has just landed a new job as an accounting
analyst with a world travel company. He hopes to enrol this fall for a
graduate program in either human resources or general management.

The former deputy head girl of Gambia High School, class of 1992, Ramou
Ceesay, thanked her family and friends for their support and encouragement
over the years. " I graduated with bachelors in organizational
administration; in August, I will enrol for my Master's in industrial
administration," she said happily. Ramou is also happy because her husband
Jim Gaye, also graduated with an associates degree in computer information
system and business administration from Wayne County Community College. "He
will be proceeding to the Walsh College of Business," she glowed over her
husband's plan for a four-year college entry.

Returning home When is the time to return to The Gambia and contribute to
national development? Kebba called on all Gambians with higher education to
"look into the opportunity of returning home someday and contributing to
national development." With a masters degree in software engineering, and
also doing consultancy work with IBM, IKON, Kebba thought his knowledge of
computers would be of great value to Gambian socio-economic development.

But Yusupha argued that a final return to The Gambia and participation in
national development is "a matter of personal choice." To him, a return to
The Gambia is contingent upon personal and family conditions. "But it's
still possible to contribute to national development from afar," he
remarked.

Sulayman agreed that it's a matter of choice to return or not to return to
The Gambia, but he stressed that it's a sense of family longing that
motivates people to return home. "I don't think every Gambian wants to stay
here forever," he claimed. He also questioned the authenticity of claims of
certain Gambians that employment is hard to come by in The Gambia.

"People say there are no jobs in The Gambia, but I think with your education
and experience, you could get any job in The Gambia," he said. "
Personally," he declared, "I am strongly thinking about returning to The
Gambia.

I will be very useful in the banking sector."

He agreed that it is good for Gambians to embark on business enterprises in
the US, but they shouldn't be enriching themselves in this country. "I am
not in support of personal development at the expense of national
development," he demurred. Sulayman suggested that Gambians should organize
themselves in think tanks, study American ways of national development and
then transplant those ideas in The Gambia. "We could have committees to look
into ideas of job creation and economic development," he suggested.




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