On Monday the 4th of July 2022, we had a two hours fruitful discussion with the National Assembly Committee on Children, Gender, and Social Welfare at the Gambia National Assembly Chambers in Banjul.
The purpose of the engagement was to brief the Select Committee on SOS Children’s Village’s work in The Gambia (What we do, our impact, and challenges). We also took the opportunity to advocate for our target group and vulnerable children and young people in The Gambia.
In addition, we informed the committee about our newly developed National Gatekeeping Guideline and its importance, especially in ensuring quality and the rightful placement of children in need of care in the aspect of necessity and appropriateness.
An important aspect highlighted in the briefing was the introduction of care options in The Gambia eg: Foster Care and the recognition of the Family Based Care Model and many other care options that will ensure children in need of care are placed in the right care setting the need as highlighted above.
As part of our advocacy efforts , SOS Children’s Villages with partners are currently taking part in the review of the Children’s Act 2005 of The Gambia led by the Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Welfare.
We continue to advocate for these important issues highlighted above to be reflected in the revised Children’s Act, therefore ensuring that no child is left to grow up alone.
SOS Children’s Villages further took the opportunity to stress the importance and introduction of care options in The Gambia as the review of the Children’s Act 2005 is currently ongoing.
The team was led by the National Director and the management team.
