Gambian girls leading the way in local COVID-19 response — Assembly

Teenagers Fatou, Aisha, Fatoumatta and Hazara discuss working on the front lines to keep other Gambians safe and healthy.

When 19-year-old Fatou first heard about COVID-19, she was afraid. “I was scared for my life and the lives of my loved ones because I knew that The Gambia is not economically strong enough to withstand the destabilization COVID-19 brings with it,” she explains.

Around the world, girls share Fatou’s concerns as they confront the realities of a global pandemic that has disrupted almost every area of their lives. The COVID-19 crisis prevents girls from going to school, increases their household responsibilities, reduces their access to medical care and puts them at greater risk of sexual abuse and child marriage. Girls understand firsthand the consequences of the pandemic, making them an essential part of any COVID-19 solution. Yet too often, community responses to the current crisis ignore girls’ voices.

She's the First launched their COVID-19 Response Fund to change that.

By investing in community-based girl organisations, She’s the First is working to make sure girls like Fatou are included in the planning and execution of relief.

For the last five years, Fatou has been involved with Starfish International, a Gambian organisation supported by She’s the First that helps girls learn and realise their full potential. In Gambia, only 25% of girls complete their secondary education due to poverty, high tuition fees and gender discrimination. Through workshops and mentorship programmes, Starfish helps equip girls with the skills and confidence to break down these barriers to their education.

When the COVID-19 crisis began, Starfish saw that many people in their Gambian community did not understand how the virus was spreading and how they could prevent it. The organisation also realised that girls could be an integral part of the solution. Through trainings with doctors, Starfish taught Fatou and 74 of her peers how effective handwashing, social distancing and masks could limit the spread of the virus. Since then, Fatou and her friends have created innovative measures to raise awareness about COVID-19 and encourage their community to take the necessary precautions.

We heard from four of these young women working on the front lines to keep other Gambians safe and healthy.

Fatou, 19

During the training course with Starfish…

One of the safety measures we learned about was to avoid touching our faces. That was a struggle for me, at first. However, our mentors and volunteers gave us the challenge to practice not touching our faces. We were to put chalk dust on our hands and leave it there. Every time we reached out to touch our faces, we smeared them with chalk dust. This was a practical way to remember that our hands were not clean and that we shouldn’t touch our faces. If we didn’t want to smear our faces with chalk dust, we shouldn’t want to smear germs, either. This exercise really helped me, and it taught me to think beyond the box to protect myself instead of feeling like I am helpless and cannot do anything.

After the training…

I conducted a question and answer session with members of my family to find out what they know about the virus. I was also able to clear their doubts about myths such as charcoal being a cure to COVID-19 and warned them against taking other preventative or medicinal substances that may do more harm than good.

It was exciting...

Setting up the handwashing station because I had the full support of my older brother. I was creative about it and I love how it turned out. When people come inside my house, even if they don’t want to wash their hands, they see the way my station is neatly set up and how easy it is to use so it makes it easier for them to comply with my request and wash their hands.

Aisha, 17

The training course taught me…

How [COVID-19] can spread, the signs and symptoms, mitigation strategies and preventive measures.

After the training course...

I was able to set up water stations in my house for people to wash their hands with soap or bleach-water before they stepped into the house. I also made posters and pasted them on the doors and walls of my home to remind people to wash their hands.

The hardest part of limiting the spread of COVID-19 is...

Convincing older people because most of them felt like I was being bossy. However, I continued to be respectful, to listen to their complaints and to gently and politely remind them to do the right thing.

Fatoumatta, 18

It is challenging convincing others to take precautions because...

Other people feel insulted because they feel belittled by a young girl asking them to wash their hands. I shared the horrible and devastating experiences of other countries and the havoc COVID-19 is wrecking across the world. I reminded them that we still have time to prepare ourselves and mitigate the scale to which this virus can affect us.

As part of my project...

I will be doing voice notes in the local languages to enlighten people with the guidance of the mentors who know the best way to go about it.

For my next initiative...

I think reaching out to my fellow students through the use of creative writing will be an effective way to sensitize others while having a creative outlet for the frustration and anxiety we all feel.

Hazara, 16

At the training I learned...

The risk factors of the virus and the first thing I did after gaining this awareness was to enlighten my family.

It was challenging convincing others to take precautions because...

Some people thought that what I was doing was extreme and foolish. Some people even started laughing at me and made jokes about it. I never gave up, however, because I knew that what I was doing was a matter of saving lives.

Now that I’ve been working for a while to limit the spread of COVID-19...

People are beginning to respect my words as more cases get confirmed in The Gambia. I am happy that they feel comfortable enough to ask me questions and for help in setting up hand washing stations in their own houses.

Kwolanne Felix

is a former editorial intern at Malala Fund and a student at Columbia University. She loves history, social advocacy and her Passion Planner. You can follow her on Instagram.