Who We Are
We are the Njaboute Foundation, a Swedish/Gambian charity based in Göteborg and Gambia. We were founded in 2020 with the aim of improving the standards of living for women and girls in the Gambia. Specifically we want to target female health issues to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, outdated cultural practices and Gender Based Violence (GBV). Below you can find a summary of our aims, our methods and the foundation structure. You can also find a download page for our founding documents, which outlines in detail what we aim to do in the Gambia. It contains references to research papers that highlight some of the key issues we face.
Our aim is to create a cultural revolution in The Gambia. A change where Gambians can feel proud by improving lives.
Our Mission
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We aim to provide holistic and comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) services to underprivileged young people (aged 40 years old and lower).
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We aim to end Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the Gambia.
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Helping Gambia reach its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030. https://www.gm.undp.org/content/gambia/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html
Our Methods
We take direct action in Gambia to help improve lives. This includes:
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Community seminars and workshops on health issues, vector-borne disease, GBV, and HIV/AIDS.
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Spreading our message through TV, radio and other media.
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Lectures, bantaba (group discussions) and drama about women's issues.
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Working with family planning services and with local leaders.
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Sponsoring Gambian lead research to help inspire change.
Njaboute Foundation Structure
The Foundation is split into 2 teams operating in Sweden and in the Gambia. The Swedish Team co-ordinates projects, publishes information (for our members) and makes documents used in the Gambia to improve lives. The Gambian team works directly with educating communities on personal hygiene, women's issues/rights, the affects of FGM/C and the spread of various diseases.
In the future, we aim to expand the role of our Gambian teams to include:
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Distributing healthcare products such as tampons, pads and menstrual cups to those in need.
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Purchasing and managing medical equipment such as ultrasound scanners used in pregnancy.
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Setting up local centers where women and girls can receive care or advice on health issues.
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Pushing for further legal reforms in the Gambia to improve human rights in the Gambia.
The diagram below summarizes the Foundation's structure. Various project coordinators manage the foundations activities and field supervisors (who are a local point of contact for local communities). The project coordinators work with the program manger to highlight areas where the foundation can help improve lives. The program manager then works with the foundation officers, the executive director and the board members to decide on the foundation's focus and assign funding for projects.
Our History
The Njaboute Foundation was founded in the Kombo South district of Gambia in June of 2017. From the outset, the aim of the foundation was to improve the lives of women and girls in the Gambia. The original focus of the charity was to provide counselling, basic sexual reproductive health services, maternal nutrition and postpartum care. Since then we have increased the scope of our projects and become an international foundation.
By improving the lives of women and girls in Gambia, we aim to improve the lives of families across the country.
May 2017
Njaboute Foundation Started
The Njaboute (family) Foundation was started in the Kombo South Coast region to the West Coast region of the Gambia.
July 2017
First Event in the Gambia
The foundation holds its first event - a training workshop on family planning services for young people.
Mar 2021
Swedish Branch Founded
The Njaboute Foundation Swedish branch was officially launched in March of 2021. It was originally the collaboration of 5 people including members from the Gambia, Sweden and the UK.
Apr - Jun 2023
Gambiagrupperna & Afrikadaa Teethsavers Partnership
The Njaboute Foundation partnered with Gambiagrupperna, & Afrikadaa Toothsavers allowing us to extend our capabilities within the country.
Nov 2023
Website & Newsletter Launched
The Foundation website and quarterly newsletter was launched with the aim of spreading the Foundation's message of change and showing the work we do in the Gambia.
Meet the Board
Our board is bi-annually elected by our members to lead the charity and manage events. They work closely with the team in Gambia to monitor how projects are progressing and deciding how best to spend donations. All decisions are made via a majority vote. The board can be a maximum of 7 members and a minimum of 3 (Chairperson, CFO and Secretary). For more information on charity operations, see our Statutes here.
Abdoulie Baldeh
Chairperson
Abdoulie has a masters degree in Global Health. He is committed to improving the lives of women and girls by fighting to end all forms of violence or inhumane treatment.
Emily Glantz
Event and Grant Manager
Emily helps organize our Swedish events and grant applications. She is a energetic manager, helping the foundation reach new people and businesses.
Katarina Östling
Secretary
Katarina is a university librarian in Göteborg. She is passionate about justice and the equal value of all human beings. Now and then, she picks up a banjo/guitar and plays.
