A new Arabic School was on Saturday inaugurated in Penyem village in the West Coast Region. The construction of the 9, 000 euros school project was sponsored by an organisation, Help Gambia To Learn, which is headed by a Dutch woman, Corrie Jordaan.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Kalilu Colley, alkalo of Penyem village, thanked the sponsor of the school for assisting them and appealed to the villagers in the area to send their children to the  school in order to acquire Islamic knowledge. Alkalo Colley also thanked the villagers for contributing to the successful completion of the school.

Samba Bah, the Arabic teacher of the school, also thanked the sponsor  and the villagers for the successful completion of the school. According to him, the construction of the school started some 18 years ago, but delayed to be completed because of financial constraints. He revealed that the school has an enrolment of 150 students, out of which, 30 are sponsored by the Dutch philanthropist. He also revealed that free meal is being provided in the school, courtesy of Corrie Joedan.

Sherrif Bojang, a representative of the chief of Kombo Central, commended the donors for constructing the Arabic school and urged the people of the village to take proper care  of the school and send their  children to enrol. Alhaji Banding Drammeh, a renowned scholar, quoted the Holy Quran, saying, "whoever spends his or her money in the cause of Allah, is just like when someone who cultivated one seed of coos will germinate and produce many."

He reminded the villagers that the school belongs to Muslims and not an individual, therfore, nobody would be allowed to bring any form of seggregation to the school. Responding, Corrie Jardaan, founder of Help The Gambia To Learn , said that they started the project in 2008, because she was motivated by the children of Penyem village to build the school.

She emphasised that children need to be educated in order to become responsible parents in future. "We will build a Skills Centre and we are also planning to build a Nursery school in this village. I spent  9,000 Euros for the construction of the school," she disclosed.