Trust Bank Ltd, The Gambia one of the leading and biggest banks in the country on Thursday celebrated its 'Excellence in the Millennium Awards' in 2008 in a grand style at the Corinthia Atlantic Hotel in Banjul.

The 'Excellence Award presentation ceremony also witnessed the certification of the 10 most outstanding students who performed very well in The Gambia Basic Education Certificate Examinations (GABECE) in 2007.

The awardees where; Momodou Musa Bah of The Gambia Methodist Academy, Yassin Nyang of the SOS HG Upper Basic School in Bakoteh, Yolande Goswell of St Thereses Upper Basic School, Ebrima Njie of the Gambia Methodist Academy, Mam Tuti Panneh of Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Junior Secondary School, Deborah Akigbogun of Gambia Methodist Academy, Njowene Grey-Johnson of The Gambia Methodist Academy, May Ellen Mendy of Ndow's Comprehensive Junior Secondary School, Nyima kinteh, Ndow's Comprehensive Junior Secondary, School, and Ahmad Tejan Savage of The Gambia Methodist Academy.

The 10 students also received cash prizes of D5,000 each, in a form of a Trust Bank Students Account and The Gambia Methodist Academy was also presented an amount of D10,000 and a certificate of recognition for their tireless efforts in producing a greater number of these outstanding students.

In his opening remarks, Dodou Nyang, Marketing and Sales Manager at Trust Bank said, since its inception, Trust Bank, being one of the best banks in The Gambia, has always been supporting government in the areas of health, education and sports.

Mr Nyang welcomed the invited guests and explained the purpose of the excellence in the Millennium Awards.

For his part, Oreme Joiner, General Manager of Trust Bank, who deputised for Trust Bank's Managing Director said, the staff of Trust Bank are personately committed to the promotion of quality education as a prerequisite to national development.

As such, he went on, the 'Excellence in the Millennium Awards' recognises students of their record performances in examinations, thus, the reason for presenting to them the certificates of excellence and a prize sum of D5,000 each, in a form of a Trust Bank Students Award.

"On behalf of our Board of Directors, management, staff and indeed on behalf of our valuable customers, I want to congratulate these students on this well merited awards and to encourage you to continue the hard work in your subsequent programme of studies" Joiner noted.

He then recognised the tremendous efforts of the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education and all stake holders for their efforts in pursuit of excellence in education. He also reaffirmed his bank's commitment to the partnership with government under the leadership of President Dr Alhaji Yahya AJJ Jammeh to fulfil their role in supporting government in the development of health, education and the sport sectors.

"It is indeed gratifying to note that, our efforts have been recognized by the government and, indeed, we are grateful to note that because of our efforts, our Managing Director was honoured with an MRG of the Republic of The Gambia, sometime ago", he observed.

Genera Manager Joiner also revealed that Trust Bank's contribution to the education sector was boosted last year with the launch of the new package for school sports, adding that they believe that their efforts to develop sports cannot be attained with out exploiting the great potentials in our schools.

"We are the exclusive sponsor of inter-school competition in major disciplines, namely: volleyball, football, basketball and athletics, and it is our bank's resolve and pride to continue to provide the needed support to these areas annually", he revealed. He added that Trust Bank also continue to make donations to schools at their speech and prize given days and to the university of the Gambia during their convocation ceremonies.

Honourable Fatou Lamin Faye, Secretary of State for Basic and Secondary Education described the prestigious event as a clear demonstration of the unwavering resolve and commitment to Trust Bank's corporate responsibility in supporting government's quest to provide a more equitable, qualitative and affordable education with increased access to secondary education.

According to SoS Faye, education attainment is not only vital to the economic well-being of individuals but also for that of nations, adding that access to and completion of education is a key determinant of the accumulation of human capital and economic growth.

She noted that the government of The Gambia recognized that human capital is a key determinant of economic growth and that emerging evidence indicates that it is also associated with a wide range of non-economic growth benefits such as better health and well being.

"It is for this reason that investment in education in the Gambia has moved to centre stage in strategies to promote economic prosperity and social cohesion. In consequence, the government of the Gambia under the dynamic leadership of President Jammeh, has increasingly considered education as an investment in the collective future of societies and the nation, the commitment of which is manifested in his popular slogan: "for education, the sky is the limit", SoS Faye remarked.

She thanked Trust Bank, Gambia ltd, for playing a significant role within the private sector to complement and supplement the efforts of government in realising education related to the achievement of the millennium development goals and the education for all targets by 2015.

Njowene Grey-Johnson, one of the awardees, from the Gambia Methodist Academy, delivered the vote of thanks.