No Woman Left Behind

25/01/2024

The No Woman Left Behind (NWLB) Project's second phase, launched in April 2023 by the Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG) in collaboration with AETHNIC of Barcelona, Spain, represents a significant step towards empowering Gambian women. In partnership with the Catalan Agency for Cooperation and Development, this initiative encourages entrepreneurship among women facing unique vulnerabilities.

The conclusion of the Second Phase of the NWLB Project marked a significant milestone as the empowered participants had the opportunity to apply their newly acquired business skills by operating stalls funded by ITTOG at the 5th Edition of GWCC/GYCC Trade Fair held in December 2023.

Read the full article in the January Edition of My Magazine in the comments below 👇

17/01/2024

The conclusion of the Second Phase of the NWLB Project marked a significant milestone as the empowered participants had the opportunity to apply their newly acquired business skills by operating stalls funded by ITTOG at the 5th Edition of GWCC/GYCC Trade Fair held in December 2023.

This hands-on experience gave them a platform to showcase their skills, products, and entrepreneurial acumen to a wider audience. The Trade Fair setting allowed them to interact with potential customers, understand market dynamics, and gain valuable insights into the day-to-day aspects of managing a business.

As the women continue to navigate the business landscape, their experiences at the Trade Fair will undoubtedly serve as a foundation for their future endeavours. The NWLB project, with its practical approach and commitment to empowering women, stands as a beacon for encouraging economic independence and gender equality within the Gambian community.

01/01/2024

21/12/2023

Marie Mbye is passionate about hair and beauty and is mostly interested in makeup and hair installations. She interned at Amy Light's Saloon after her mentorship with Youma Wally Ndong (of Youma Gamplus) and now feels ready to offer beauty services to her customers.

15/12/2023

NWLB Creative Group Stall #87 and 88 at the 5th Edition of GWCC/GYCC Trade Fair.

On display are Made-in-The-Gambia fashion and craft products, recycled exclusive men’s shirts by GamPlus clothing, notebooks, journals, diaries etc.

13/12/2023

Congratulations once again to all the students who graduated on Saturday, 9th of December 2023.

12/12/2023

A few glimpses of the graduation ceremony of ITTOG held on Saturday, the 9th of December, 2023.

11/12/2023

NWLB Food and Beverage Group Stall #123 and 124 at the 5th Edition of GWCC/GYCC Trade Fair.

The focus was on local meals such as Cherreh Basseh, Cherreh Mbom, Mbahal, Dahin and local porridges such as Churai Gerteh, Fondeh, Lahk, Ngalahk, Chakry, Ngineh Jobe and more. This group is led by Mentor Awa Mbye.

09/12/2023

NWLB Creative Group Stall #87 and 88 at the 5th Edition of GWCC/GYCC Trade Fair.

On display are 100% cotton T-shirts, underwear, vests and more by Facil Clothing and all these are made in The Gambia.

07/12/2023

Available at the trade fair stall no.123/124

05/12/2023

Kannie Ceesay of NWLB and a mentee of Youma Wally Ndong of Youma GamPlus is passionate about printing and is currently interning at Universal Design and Printing.

She saw the need and demand in her village, Njaw, and wanted to help solve that problem. Her focus is mainly printing t-shirts, posters and flyers, which at the moment is done in neighbouring towns far from home.

02/12/2023

NWLB girls interning at Jal's Health Foods.

They are learning to process cereals from grains like cous, maize, and beans and nuts like groundnuts.

The finished products are Arraw, Chakry, Chereh, baby food as well as other snacks.

25/11/2023

Awa Manneh, one of the mentees under the Mentor Youma Wally Ndong of Youma GamPlus, is attached to Women's Initiative Gambia, where she is learning how to recycle old things into some very pretty and useful things. She is also learning how to make soaps and handicrafts.

21/11/2023

NWLB Mentor Youma Wally Ndong (of Youma GamPlus), along with the NWLB President Fatou Hydara and Michelle, a volunteer from the UK, visited GamPlus at Fajara where Ndey Mariam, a promising young lady is interning in the zero-waste project.

18/11/2023

NWLB Mentor Youma Wally Ndong (of Youma GamPlus) along with the NWLB President Fatou Hydara and Michelle, a volunteer from the UK, visited Halal Pastry at Kanifing where one of the NWLB team members is working as an intern.

16/11/2023

The women under the NWLB program are interning at different places according to their areas of interest.

NWLB Mentor Youma Wally Ndong (of Youma GamPlus) along with the NWLB President Fatou Hydara and Michelle, a volunteer from the UK, visited the Yahareh Herbal Tea at Bakau New Town to check on the progress of one of our girls who is interning there.

14/11/2023

NWLB Mentor Youma Wally Ndong of Youma GamPlus visited Khan Jallow's Spices at Bakoteh, where one of the NWLB girls is interning. Accompanying her was Michelle, a volunteer from the UK and the NWLB President Fatou Hydara.

12/11/2023

Ndey Mariam, one of the interns, is attached to GamPlus Clothing, a sustainable and eco-friendly fashion brand owned by Mentor Youma Wally Ndong.

The team is currently working on a zero-waste project, making usable and saleable products from leftover fabric. The process starts with collecting, sorting, designing, production and packaging. The objective is to create awareness of fashion waste and how it could be turned into cash and not trash while saving the environment.

The Zero Waste project aims to make journals, jewellery, slippers, recycled car tyre seats and coffee tables, door mats, rugs, table mats, etc, and the residues will be used to stuff pouffe seats.

10/11/2023

At another workshop organised by Mentor Youma Wally Ndong (of GamPlus), the girls had the chance to meet another very talented and successful young entrepreneur in craft, Ms Jatou Mbye of JAYTEE.

She also shared her business experience and was able to gain recognition for her business through volunteering, social media presence and networking events.

08/11/2023

Mentor Youma Wally Ndong of GamPlus conducted a workshop on corporate apparel and invited Ms Fatimah Jonkong Jammeh, Founder and Creative Director of TEEMA, a clothing brand focused on corporate wear and branding, to be the Guest Speaker. Fatimah is well known for her excellent pitching and marketing skills and has won many awards and grants.

Fatimah shared her business journey with the ladies of NWLB and advised them on how to mitigate challenges that will come their way. She also emphasized taking some time to study the market and find their niche before venturing into businesses.

30/10/2023

Cous or Millet Pancake Workshop with Mentor Ida Cham Njai (Ida's Home Cooking - Yabouy)

The purpose of this mentorship is to showcase authentic Gambian food and to guide the girls towards entrepreneurship and financial independence.

Authentic Gambian cuisine, which is very healthy, is dying out, and the girls are being encouraged to revive these dishes, which are healthy and ideal for people with health issues.

Cous and millet can be used to prepare many dishes such as chereh, bread, pancakes, chackery, ngalaah, rouye etc.

24/10/2023

This was a session on Customer Service over the phone with Mentor Youma Wally Ndong.

The girls watched videos on the Dos and Don'ts of good customer service. They also called some companies to see the quality of the response they got and carried out role-play with each other.

21/10/2023

My name is Yassin Ndow, and I am 23 years old. I am from Njau Sawalo, Upper District, Central River Region. I am the eldest of 3 sisters and 2 brothers.

I attended my Primary School at Njau, and then in 2013, I completed my Upper and Senior School from Kaur. When I finished in 2018, I volunteered at Njau Skill Centre Women Initiative Gambia for 2 years.

In 2021, I had the opportunity to join the NWLB project, where I learnt invaluable skills in catering, pastry, food processing, etc. We were also mentored in running a food business to be financially independent and care for our families.

I dream of opening a boutique in my village and helping other girls become financially independent. In other words, I want to continue the great work that NWLB has started so that one day, no woman will be left behind in her pursuit of financial independence.

20/10/2023

As part of the mentorship program with Mentor Youma Wally Ndong, the girls visited the Tropic Mall at Senegamabia for a real-life customer service experience. They went to the different boutiques, the mini market, the optician, restaurants and even the game place to observe how they were greeted and attended to as customers.

Having learnt the theoretical aspects of good and bad customer service, they were able to experience it in real life and discuss their experiences with each other.

18/10/2023

My name is Fana M Ceesay, and I am 30 years old. I was born in The Gambia and have 2 sisters and 2 brothers.

The NWLB is a blessing to women like us, encouraging and guiding us to be financially independent through our mentors.

I am interested in the clothing line and want to have my own brand not just in The Gambia but on an international level. I am now working on my business plan, which is the last stage of the mentorship program, and I am confident that with hard work, patience and perseverance, one day, I will get there

16/10/2023

A Visit to the Local Craft Markets with Mentor Youma Wally Ndong

Mentor Youma decided to conduct this workshop in a fun way by visiting the local craft markets in Bakau and Senegambia with the NWLB girls so they could observe -

- the range of products being sold to tourists and craft lovers and their quality
- if they are made locally or imported,
- how customers relate to the presentation of the crafts in the shops
- the quality of customer service provided.

The girls observed that at these markets, attention is not given to presentation as the goods are tightly packed together, which makes it challenging to see everything available.

Their next stop was at Bin Bin, a boutique selling local arts and crafts at Hendon Court (former Dream Park) in Senegambia. The girls could easily see the difference between Bin Bin and the local craft markets in terms of the presentation of goods and customer service.

Through this exercise, the girls were shown how the presentation of goods and communication with customers is vital to having a successful business.

15/10/2023

A Day at the Centre of Excellence at Bakoteh

The girls of NWLB spent a day at BPIC with their tailoring apprentices, who are also undergoing entrepreneurship training. The apprentices and NWLB girls were divided into 3 groups and asked to do role-plays on first impressions, customer service, problem-solving, and communication.

Customer service role-play was about creating first impressions which positively impact customers, handling demanding customers and communicating with them, which is a crucial component. While one group played out different scenarios, the others watched and analyzed what was wrong and how the situation could have been handled differently.

The girls were also mentored on how to deal with these problems when they have their own businesses.

13/10/2023

Fatou Hydara - President of NWLB

My name is Fatou Hydara. I was born in the Essau Village of the North Bank Region of The Gambia.

I went to Essau Primary School and attended Berending Upper Basic School, which was 10km away from my house. I endured walking long distances to school for my entire senior secondary career and also took part in many of the school's awareness-raising groups, including the Peer Health Education group and the Drama Society.

After graduating from High School, my dream was to further my education, but my parents could not afford it. Fortunately, I was able to pursue a Diploma in Information Technology, funded by my cousin.

Upon completing my IT course, I travelled to Lebanon, thinking I would get a good job and better pay than in the Gambia. But, to my shock, when I got to Lebanon, I was offered a 3-year contract to work as a housemaid. The conditions were very challenging, and I asked to be repatriated to the Gambia after one year.

Back in The Gambia, I started a small cosmetics and tailoring business, which was unsuccessful because I lacked the necessary business skills. At this point, I realized that catering was my real passion.

In 2021, No Woman Left Behind (NWLB) came my way, and I got the opportunity to do a catering course, which enabled me to kick-start a career in catering. The project helped me form the NWLB as an association to help vulnerable ladies like me who are trying to be financially independent,

As the President of NWLB, I now lead the Women's Association and work with women facing marginalization and stigmatization. Such women are seen as failures and not accepted even by their own families.

12/10/2023

A 2-day workshop with Mentor Youma Wally Ndong

The girls were taught how to create mood boards by combining patterns and colours to create unique and authentic designs.

On the first day, the girls were shown how to take inspiration from pictures, images, sceneries and backgrounds from magazines to determine what they wanted to design.

On the second day, the girls were able to design beautiful journals and notebooks using leftover fabric. Initially, it was challenging, but as they worked together, they grasped the concept and came up with creatively designed journals and notebooks.