The Voice of the Young The Gambia, often referred to as the smiling coast of Africa because of the way it is shaped on the map of Africa, is my home, my country of birth and citizenship. With a population of less than two million, two-thirds of which are young, The Gambia is devoted to promoting the rights and welfare of her children. As such, a number of organizations for children exist all over the country. One of the best things that ever happened to me was joining the Voice of the Young, a child-led group, which served as a mouthpiece to advocate for children in all operations, thus promoting their rights and welfare. I first heard about Voice of the Young when I was thirteen years old, in grade eight (8th grade). It was one of those …show more content…
Not once did they ever make me feel unwelcomed because everyone always had smiling faces. In no time, Voice of the Young became my home away from home. It was a place I would go to even on weekends when I did not feel like staying at home, and there was always someone there to sit with and talk. It felt great being considered a part of something and getting involved. I was fond of most of the members, and I had joking relationships with some, which was a personality trait I emulated from a friend called Abdoulie. Abdoulie, who was a few years older than I was, was my closest friend in the group. I may not have realized it then, but Abdoulie really had great impact on me. Abdoulie and I were always in the same group whenever we would go out on …show more content…
As we came closer to the school, upon seeing the many students we were going to address, I became panicked and turned to him and said, ‘‘I am nervous.’’ Before responding, Abdoulie looked back for a minute and one could see our fellow group members and a coordinator, who were in pairs having small talks. He then looked back at me and said, ‘‘What are you afraid of?’’ I responded by saying, “I don’t know,’’ and being the funny person that he was, he responded, saying, ‘‘You should be afraid of God and hunger and nothing else.’’ All I did was chuckle because those words did not really mean as much back then as they do now. In the end, he did give me tips on how to overcome my nervousness. One thing I really admired about Abdoulie was his willingness to help at all times. More so, his respect for authority was second to none. Emulating those attributes helped shape the person I am today. Not surprising, Abdoulie was the first in our group to obtain scholarship to study