Thank you all and once again a very successful meeting. It was indeed encouraging to see an impressive number of people sparing their valuable time to attend the meeting, this bring us more hope for a brighter future ahead.
Meeting Attendees
Modou Jobarteh, Dou Lamin Makalo, Alieu Sankareh, Kekuta Jallow (Kex), Ebrima Sankareh, Tata Dampha, Modou Barry (MB), Salif Darboe, Balla Bamba, Abdoulie Sidibeh, Modou Khan, Samba Baldeh, Kunta Sankareh, Lamin Jawo, Baba Boss Drammeh, Sarja Camara, Sulayman Sankareh, Isatou Danso Jawo, Amie D Sankareh, Salimatiou J Sankareh, Adama Jatta Camara, Jane Smith
DISCUSSION POINTS
PayPal account – The Foundation's PayPal account is now up and running and as we speak it is possible to pay into this account. Having said, we are not asking anyone to make any form of payment at the moment until such time as we open the Foundation’s bank account. Please note that as the Foundation PayPal account is currently a Business account, PayPal will levy a 3.4% plus 20p per transaction. Transaction fee is deducted from the Foundation’s account and not from the person paying into the account.
Bank Account – The criticality of opening a Foundation's bank account was acknowledged by all attendees as it will facilitate the smooth running of all the financial activities that will be undertaken by the foundation – registration, subscription and donations. Thus, we appeal to individuals with good financial records as required by the banks to come forward to help open the account as soon as possible. Ideally, we would like to setup the account such that we have a pool of signatories and at least any two of these signatories would be required to make withdrawal transactions from the Foundation’s account.
Once the Foundation’s bank account is setup, we encourage payments to be made directly to the bank account rather than PayPal in order to avoid charges. In cases where paying directly into the Foundation’s bank account is not feasible, please use PayPal.
Charity Registration – we also aim to register the Foundation as a charitable organisation which comes with many benefits. In regards to PayPal, the two examples below shows the benefits if the Foundation were to be registered as a Charitable Organisation.
Example 1:
Account type: Business
Transaction fee: 3.4% + 20p
For £50 subscription fee, PayPal will deduct £1.90, and £48.10 will be paid into Foundation’s account
Example 2:
Account type: Charity
Transaction fee: 1.4% + 20p
For £50 subscription fee, PayPal will deduct 70p, and £49.30 will be paid into Foundation’s account
Janjangbureh Development Association (JDA) – Modou Khan joined the meeting to acknowledge the excellent job everyone is done thus far. Modou and other natives of Janjangbureh have also setup a similar society in the US. They had a meeting on Sunday, the 24th of April, 2016 and Modou will update as to whether JDA will amalgamate with Janjangbureh Foundation to form one big organisation.
Just Act Gambia (justactgambia.org) – Jane Smith, the founder of a fully operational charity (Just Act Gambia) in Janjangbureh also joined the meeting. Since she first visited Janjangbureh Jane has always taken a keen interest in the development of the Town and she even has a compound in Janjangbureh where she stays during her visits. Jane echoed her delight to be invited to the meeting, she also offered to be on hand to help if required.
Elections Result – After three weeks of nominations and elections, the results are finally in. The turnout was tremendous and a staggering 42 people voted in the elections. This was a significant step in the right direction and it showed the continued progress we are making. To ensure there was a complete transparency over the process, the votes were recounted and verified by Modou Barry (MB), Salif Darboe, and Balla Bamba.
It goes without saying that there was no looser in this process and even though there is a fully fledged Executive Board now in place to take care of the day to day affairs of the Foundation as mandated in the constitution, we encourage everyone to be actively involved. Like so many alluded to in yesterday's meeting, it is up to us to sell this idea to those who are sceptical. Elections result are shown in the table below:
Please join me in congratulating our newly elected executive members who will be driving the Foundation forward for the next two years. Furthermore, thank you for your commitment during the past weeks in taking part in the election process that led us to finally electing an executive body to stair the foundation forward. Also a special thank you to Modou Barry, Balla Bamba and Salif Darboe for their time in recounting and verifying the elections result. Our newly Executive members are shown in the table below:
