CORY Project: REVCEL Training for 25 Participants Begins in Janjangbureh

On July 1st, the Creating Opportunities for Rural Youth (CORY) project in The Gambia, gathered 25 rural youth across the Central River Region to start the Rural Entrepreneurial Venture Creation and Experimental Learning (REVCEL) training.

The CORY project is a wonderful initiative that focuses primarily on rural youths - See more at: http://coryproject.org/groups/nyc-nedi-and-others-provide-their-feedback-cory-gambia-project#sthash.T5p7NETw.dpuf

The CORY project is a wonderful initiative that focuses primarily on rural youths. - See more at: http://coryproject.org/groups/nyc-nedi-and-others-provide-their-feedback-cory-gambia-project#sthash.ach38iUY.dpuf

The CORY project is a wonderful initiative that focuses primarily on rural youths - See more at: http://coryproject.org/groups/nyc-nedi-and-others-provide-their-feedback-cory-gambia-project#sthash.T5p7NETw.dpuf

The training, underway at the Janjangbureh Forestry Department’s Conference Hall, involves participants in the region who are engaged in various business ventures, and farming.

It is being held under the Creating Opportunities for Rural Youth (CORY) Project being coordinated by the Global Youth Innovation Network Gambia Chapter (GYIN Gambia)- funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to enable young rural women and men to create sustainable farm and non-farm businesses by building their entrepreneurial capacities for enhanced peer learning.

Addressing rural youths, Mr. Malang Saibo Camara, Deputy Governor of CRR, has this to say " I urged all the participants have a heavy responsibility – to fully participate in the CORY REVCEL training and be ready to impart the knowledge gained on to others.

Hear him: “To whom much is give much is expected. It is an opportunity for you and when an opportunity comes we must make best use of it,” Mr. Camara said. 

“The success of this project lies entirely in your hands. You should stay focused and participate fully.”

   

He said the President, H.E. Yahya Jammeh, is not relenting in his efforts to see that young people in this country are given the chance to get out of poverty. 

Mamadou Edrisa Njie, Coordinator of the CORY Project, said the participants underwent a rigorous selection process in which 25 are selected from among more than 200 applicants.

He said similar trainings will be held in five rural regions with 25 participants in each region.

“We are starting the trainings in CRR because it is one of the biggest regions where young people are engaged in farming,” Mr. Njie said.

He explained that the training is designed in a way that will ensure “each of the participants will have to train four (4) young people and those four will have to train four more young people” in order to enhance the entrepreneurial skills of more rural youths.

Ebrima Gano, Executive Director Gambia Women’s Finance Association (GAWFA) and a Facilitator of the training, said the initiative is meant to enhance the participants skills in order for “the youths to make a difference.”

Mr. Gano said the participants will be taken through 10 modules of a hands-on training that include business identification or idea development and ensuring it is successful and sustainable – especially “businesses that will solve problems in your communities.”

Musa Keita, a VISACA APEX Animator (Field Staff), said V-Apex is one of the key implementing partners in the CORY Project “which gives you the opportunity to participate in the REVCEL trainings.”

Mr. Keita urged the participants to make the best out of the training to develop their entrepreneurial skills and be able to affect lives in their communities.

“Thousands of youth would have liked to be part of this training but they are not lucky to be part of it… So I urged that after the training you share the knowledge gained with your peers,” he said.

“In order to become [successful] entrepreneurs, you should always produce for the market and not to the market. If your products do not meet customers’ satisfaction they will not buy it.”

Mariam Saine, CORY Project Financial Controller, challenged the participants to take the training seriously.

“This project is out to support you to have dignified livelihoods,” she said. “This is very important to you and also to us - the project management team - because we initiated it but you make it happen.”

Mrs. Saine commended the participants, facilitators, deputy governor of CRR and the project implementing partners – GAWFA, Visaca Apex and Jarumeh Kafo.

Note to Editors: The REVCEL trainings are to be held in the CRR South, CRR North, Lower River Region (LRR), Upper River Region (URR), North Bank Region (NBR) and the West Coast Region (WCR).

In each of these rural regions, 25 youth are to benefit from the trainings which will take the number of trained youths under the CORY Project to 150 across the country.

These 150 youths are expected to form a nationwide association to be known as Young Entrepreneurs Without Borders (YEWB).

The training is being held from July 1-13, 2015.