Hearts to Africa, a charitable organization, last Saturday, convened its annual awards ceremony at the Corinthia Atlantic Hotel in Banjul.

The Observer Company, publisher of the Daily Observer newspaper, received two awards - 'Outstanding Achievement Award' and 'Future Leaders Award'. Founded in 1997 with the sole aim of assisting African children and complementing the efforts of African governments in national development, the Hearts to Africa group has since its inception been acknowledging individuals and institutions involved in the promotion of national development.

It does so in the form of two kinds of awards: Outstanding Achievement Award and Future Leaders Award. Last Saturday's award ceremony brought together students from 35 different schools in the Greater Banjul Area and the North Bank Region, as well as teachers, journalists and a cross-section of the community.

Yankuba Bojang, vice president of Hearts to Africa, dilated on his organizations track record in complementing government's efforts in the key areas of education, health and agriculture since its inception. He used the opportunity to call on parents and teachers to take care of their children, describing them as the 'future leaders of Africa.'

The director and founder of Hearts to Africa, Samuel Burke, thanked the participants for honouring their invitation. He assured everyone of his organisation's continued support in improving on education and in other sectors relevant to national development.

He recalled that over 23 schools in The Gambia attended their award ceremony last year, describing this year's turnout as excellent. He revealed further that since the establishment of his organisation, they had been concentrating on the Western Region; but he said that they are now considering expansion into the North Bank Region. Burke also promised his continued support for Gambian students.

At the end of the ceremony, a number of students from various schools across the country were presented with awards as well as organisations and businesses.