Art Auction Benefits POHGEP

October Gallery is supporting the Port Of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership (POHGEP) by donating 70 percent of the proceeds of selected artworks. Under the photo of the items up for bid are the names of the group/organization that will benefit from the proceeds of the sale. The works with Port Of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership listed at the bottom of the image are the pieces that benefit POHGEP.

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4 More Donors Needed

I have been half packed since March for another trip to The Gambia. Then, the pandemic hit. So, I got really “homesick” when I saw the pictures of my brothers and sisters who are in the Baobab Youth Development Association (BYDA) moving forward with getting our 18 students prepared for school.

The 18 students have challenges, live in a challenged community, and in a challenged country. Yet, with your help, we are meeting the challenges virtually and person-to-person.

With your $75 donation, each student gets a uniform, shoes, lunch (for the year), exercise books, book rental, study fees, and a school bag. I pay my own travel expenses; your donations go directly to the students and some small administrative costs, such as the cost of transferring funds.

Since last year, with your strong support, we have gone the extra mile to make sure these 18 students get the support they need to stay and do well in school. We provided some assistance to one student who needed a hearing aid. We are providing a bilingual tutor for another.

Unlike industrialized nations where the populations are getting much older, The Gambia is much like other African nations and about 60 percent of the Gambian population is under the age of 25. Much of the world’s future will be African.

Our non-profit, The Port Of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership, not only connects Americans and others with the world’s future, but fills a void as implied by a question that a Gambian friend once posed to me.

He asked in 2001:  Why don’t I see any African-American Peace Corp workers or other African-Americans working to develop The Gambia?

My response: Your children will never be able to say that.

That five-minute conversation evolved into our creating connections between Gambians and Americans since 2002. I hope that you will join me by making a connection today.

P.S. We have already forwarded the money for the education of the 18 children in the scholarship program by borrowing from our library program. However, we need your help to replenish that account.