SUCCESS STORIES - Sira Njie

Sira Njie's mother died when Sira was just eleven, leaving her an orphan.  She went to live with a local family in her home village of Bundung on the South Bank.  The family who took her in was being sponsored through HELPING by Lisa Osborne, Chris and Margaret's daughter.  

During a visit to Gambia, Lisa and her parents had invited the Gambian family to spend the day at their hotel in the tourist area.  They were playing together in the hotel pool, splashing and laughing, when Sira suddenly paused and told Margaret it was the first time she had laughed since the death of her mother.  This comment had Margaret in tears which attracted the attention of another tourist who was sunbathing by the pool.  "Why are you crying?" she asked, and when Margaret explained, the lady immediately offered to become Sira's sponsor.

As a result, Sira was sponsored throughout school.  Now aged 19, she has completed a basic IT course followed by teacher training and currently works as a primary teacher in Bundung Lower Basic School.