Women of High Calibre
Friday 8th September 2006

With Amie Jobe

Nursing is a very challenging profession the world over, and The Gambia not an exception. But women are nevertheless standing up to its rigours.  It has been said that nursing has no profit yet regardless nurses are struggling hard to eliminate human suffering. Looking at the country, many youths want to get in the field of nursing and take up the challenge.

Today SHE SHE SHE meets a dynamic woman, Fatou Gaye, who is presently working with The Gambia Red Cross Society as the HIV/AIDS Co-ordinator.

Mrs. Fatou Gaye was born and brought up in Banjul. She attended Malfa Primary School in Half Die Ward, and earned spectacular results to proceed to Nusrat High School in 1974. In 1980 she went for the community health nurses course in Mansakonko, and successfully gained her certificate. She was posted to Yorobawol Health Centre in URD, Ngayensanjal Health Centre in NBD, Karantaba Health Centre in Sami, and many other health centres in the provinces.

Mrs. Gaye resigned from the Department of State for Education in 1984. She later worked for the Gambia Family Planning a Association for a year and proceeded to work for MRC for 3 years.   

She also worked for many institutions in The Gambia and abroad on health matters only. She also worked for the European Development Fund and at present works for the Gambia Red Cross Society as the HIV/AIDS Co-ordinator.

Mrs. Gaye also attended a three weeks course at a  university in Britain on HIV/AIDS and also in Asia for the same course. She also studied at the Management  Development Institute (MDI) on various courses like Training of Trainers, finance for funding etc etc.

For more details please read on:

She She She: Mrs. Gaye, as we know nursing is not an easy job. What influenced your choice of career?

Aunty Fatou: My choice of career was influenced by the Gambia Red Cross Society. Being a Red Cross volunteer I wanted to continue my humanitarian service in order to help alleviate human suffering. I believe that it would only increase my faith.

She: what are the challenges in the nursing field?

Aunty Fatou: The profession is not very easy. There are many challenges in the field, which you as a nurse has to bear. There are many challenges, which cannot be easily enumerated.

She: How do you see the profession in the country?

Aunty Fatou: Nursing is a very decent and good profession but in The Gambia nurses are not commensurately remunerated. These days nurses are fairly regarded but in those days it was seen as the last job choice.

She : What are your hobbies and interest in the field?

Aunty Fatou: My best satisfaction is caring for people, saving lives, caring for the sick and suffering. This gives you a profound feeling for humanity. As a humanitarian, which I think I am, serving in the spirit of humanity is my number one priority. Nursing is a gift from God. Even if you are not rewarded by your  country, you would be rewarded by God. A nurse never loses, as s/he cares for people, and people care for her/him. I am very happy about caring for people, as it gives me a great feeling of fulfillment.

She: As a nurse and a mother how do you see teenage pregnancy and what are the causes?

Aunty Fatou: Teenage pregnancy is a very rampant phenomenon in our society. Almost out of every 10 teenagers, at least 4 are affected by the spectre and reality of teenage pregnancy. We can say that this is caused by peer influence, curiosity, etc but whatever the case might be, girls must be careful and think about their future. Let them not be in a haste, let them wait until they are married or have reliable jobs to help themselves. This is against our tradition. It is also the responsibility of parents to discuss with their children. The Gambian norm of not talking to their children about sex matters is creating creating more harm than good.

She: As the HIV /AIDS Co-ordinator of the GRCS what are you doing for the elimination of HIV/AIDS?

Aunty Fatou: Well, the government is doing well by introducing NAS and NACP. With the help of government we have adopted new strategies, e.g., we went to villages and stayed for 14 days sensitizing people in many different forms. Since I started working with GRCS , 120 villages have been covered in LRD and Western Division.

She: In what ways can you urge Gambian women with regards to development?

Aunty Fatou: We must endeavour to work for our country. The country is ours and there is no way we can sit and fold our hands and look at people to work for us. We should not depend on our husbands. We should be independent. We the women are very responsible when it comes to family care, educating our children and so on, but the problem is we fight  in our matrimonial homes. Let’s consider each other as one…one in nationality, one in love, and one in purpose. We must join hands and support each other.

She: Thank you very much madam for sharing your ideas with us.

Aunty Fatou: The pleasure is mine.