Five delegates from Thomas Nationwide Transport (TNT) in Germany, France and Italy have completed a two-day tour of the Central River Region.

The organization has been working in the Gambia in collaboration with the World Food Program (WFP) since 2002; providing financial assistance for the purchase of food commodities for school children in the country.

TNT has also provided funds for the construction of water wells with hand pumps, kitchens with fuel saving stoves and pit latrines for schools in regions 3, 4 and 5. In Region 5, the TNT delegation officially handed over two completed kitchens to the Njogen Basic Cycle and Sare Louba Lower Basic School.

The regional education director in Region Five, Babucarr Suwareh, who presented the keys of the kitchens to the two schools encouraged the communities to take ownership of the kitchens.

He said TNT and WFP had played their part and it is left to the communities to do theirs. Suwareh thanked the two organizations for what he called their human gesture. He said the government of The Gambia has recognized the role the WFP and TNT are playing in the education sector of the country.

Grace Njie, a representative of the WFP in The Gambia - who was also with the TNT team during the tour - said her organization in partnership with TNT has built 14 toilets, 3 hand pump wells, 3 classroom blocks and many kitchens.

The delegation also visited Changel Basic Cycle, Sukuta Lower Basic and Sinchu Gundo school to see the possibilities of helping them in certain areas. The TNT delegation comprises of Ousman Sarr and Dominique Mamcarz of France; Monika Lutz and Alexander Stukenberg of Germany; and Stefania Lallai of Italy.