Originator's of the C.A.R.E. Program
(ChildrenAtRiskEducation Program)

INTBN knows that education and good health are key essentials to a productive and progressive life in this ever expanding global economy.  It is well documented worldwide that the females, especially the female child in many countries are at risk to exploitation in many forms and extreme poverty due to lack of one and in many cases both of these key essentials.

*1“The Gambia is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; women and girls, and to a lesser extent boys, are trafficked for sexual exploitation - in particular to meet the demand for European sex tourism - and for domestic servitude; boys are trafficked within the country for forced begging and street vending; Gambian women and children may be trafficked to Europe through trafficking schemes disguised as migrant smuggling.”

*2 “Child labor is prevalent in Gambia, the study found. Some 49,000 children between 10 and 14 years were reported to be economically active in 2000, representing 33.83 percent of this age group.

There are not enough secondary schools and enrollment of girls in school is low, particularly in rural areas. Many children in rural areas assist their families in farming activities and there is no protection from exploitation for children on family farms.”   

There are different reasons children don’t attend school in this region: 

1. Some children that must work to help contribute to their family income, these parents see a 2-fold loss in putting their children in school; first the money the child would make vending would be no more and secondly the money they must now spend to educate the child. 
2. In some families where the child is not working outside the home the children don’t attend because the family can not afford the fees associated with school, uniforms, shoes, transportation, and school supplies.
3. In other instances some parents still fail to see the benefit of educating due to their own lack of education and traditions and fail to understand the future economic stability that education can bring into the family.

Though governmental education is said to be free, in this instance free comes with a price.   There are school fees, uniforms, shoes, school supplies, lunches and other incidentals that are associated with attending school.  These minimal fees and lack of education of some parents prevent many children from attending school, especially the female child that in most cases is designated to work in and out of the home to help support the family.   The program pays all school fees, uniform expenses including school shoes, school supplies and extra study fees for children to help bring the child in line with their class and where they should be scholastically.     

INTBN will provide for the necessary essentials and support for the children in the C.A.R.E. Program to be educated through high school (senior secondary school) and incentives for their families.

References:*1  Information gathered from CIA World Fact Book          *2  Report from International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (IFCTU) and is produced to coincide with the trade policy review of Gambia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as reported by, “afrol news”

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Female Adult Literacy Program (The Gambia)

INTBN’s Female Adult Literacy Program offers free basic reading and writing classes for females 18 years and over.  The classes are designed for individuals who have not received any formal education or left elementary school before completing grade 3.

The Gambia’s adult literacy rate is a real and not a manufactured problem.  According to statistics, *Gambia’s overall adult literacy rate is 40.1%, more than half of the population.  Of this females are the most disadvantaged; literacy rate for males is 47.8% and female

*The Point Newspaper published an article on Tuesday, 14 April 2009 titled, “Recipe for Poverty Reduction,” citing Mr. Buba Joof; Buba Joof says, "Due to the unequal treatment women and men receive, coupled with unequal access to resources, which is strengthened by social and cultural norms and values, it will be of great value if we could explore the relationship between education and poverty. This will go a long way in enhancing the understanding of poverty, hence the development and implementation of viable interventions to alleviate it. Notwithstanding, participatory poverty assessment in the Gambia late 1990 has identified low literacy (illiteracy as one of the causes of poverty).

This suggests that many partners would have to join with education authorities in developing basic education by strengthening the active participation of communities, private enterprises including government, non - governmental organizations, etc in the planning, management, and evaluating the various forms of basic education. 

The heavy workload on women, coupled with poor attitude of men to support women's literacy activities is a major issue that needs to be addressed to enable achievement in education.”

*The Point Newspaper is a local, daily Gambian Newspaper (thepoint.gm)

INTBN offers free basic reading and writing classes for females 18 years and over, especially those who work as housekeepers, produce sellers, the disabled, and refugees but will not be limited to these areas.  The classes are designed for individuals who have not received any formal education or left elementary school before completing grade 3.

INTBN will provide for each student’s educational materials and supplies, as well as the course instructor and classroom.

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Self Sufficiency and Economic Empowerment Program (The Gambia)

INTBN promotes and supports female self sufficiency and economic empowerment.

The organization provides minimal financial assistance and guidance for females to start their own small local businesses.  This empowers the women to be self reliable, financially productive and adding to the economic growth of their families, communities, nation and the world.

*1 “The majority of women’s employment in The Gambia is generally restricted to occupations such as selling food or subsistence farming.  Women are subject to discrimination in education and employment. The female literacy rate is extremely low at 32.8 percent which lowers their chance of competing in today’s global economy.”

It is not difficult to see the need and despair of some of the women in The Gambia.  Begging is widely noted, especially in tourist areas, near supermarkets and mosque where the women sit or stand outside most times begging for money with their children clinging to them.    

INTBN meets with candidates for this program and assesses their skills (if any), interest and financial status.  The organization will offer ideas and help the participants develop a short term and long term work plan for their project that meets the needs of the participant and provide minimal financial assistance to begin.

INTBN will offer further advisory support and counseling for sustainability of the project.

Reference: *1  Report from International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (IFCTU) and is produced to coincide with the trade policy review of Gambia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as reported by, “afrol news”

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Health and Education Fairs/Events
(Chicago, IL, U.S.A. and The Gambia, West Africa)

Health fairs are an effective way to provide valuable health information and screening services to the community. INTBN provides informative health fairs to community organizations, churches, senior citizens facilities and groups. We provide valuable medical information at these events , some these events basic screenings for Diabetes and

Hypertension.

Our Health Fair topics include:

Communicable Diseases                                                                                Non Communicable Diseases

STIs (sexually transmitted infections)                                                       Heart Disease

HIV/AIDS                                                                                                                 Hypertension

Malaria (The Gambia, West Africa)                                                              Diabetes

                                                                                                                                    Mental Illness

                                                                                                                                    Female Health Issues

We are happy to work with you to provide an on-site lecture on other topics not listed here.

INTBN also provides education fairs (Chicago, IL, U.S.A.) with resource information on GED programs, alternative high school and training programs.  We also provide information on Chicago City College Programs.

The organization also goes into communities and applies a one on one approach for sex workers and others less likely to attend organized events.

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Donations (Chicago, IL, U.S.A. and The Gambia, West Africa)

INTBN donates new and used usable goods to individuals, families, organizations, schools and communities when these items are available.