ChildFund is a Global Child Protection and Development Agency, headquartered in the US, which started its operations in The Gambia in 1984. Mainly in the West Coast region it works with deprived, excluded and vulnerable children, but the organisation also extends it reach to other regions of the country.
Aflatoun’s social and financial education was first piloted in the West Coast Region of The Gambia in 2010. The programme focuses on empowering children to become responsible, proactive citizens and agents of change. This approach is aligned with ChildFund’s core intent and outcomes which seek to ensure: healthy and secure infants, educated and confident children, and skilled and involved youth. At the moment, the total number of children in the Aflatoun programme are 2,160 across grades 3 – 6.
The Aflatoun programme is designed to be engaging and child friendly, using methods like songs, games, and work sheets putting children at the centre of the learning process. Some of the main activities implemented are the production of Aflatoun series books, training of teachers, provision of students’ lunch during Aflatoun sessions, payment of teachers’ allowances, support Aflatoun clubs’ extra-curricular activities (gardening, excursions, soap making etc.) and support the celebration of Aflatoun Day.
