Who are Give back?

There was once a painter, a pharmacist and a therapist.

Their love for the country of Gambia brought them together and they thought about how they could make a difference. The painter said "I'll make sure the schools are colorful again", the pharmacist said "I'll arrange medical supplies and medicines to reach the hospitals", the therapist said "I'll hear with the schools what the children need" and that's how the story started. Today they are a nonprofit organization called Give back and strive to make everyday life bearable for the people of Gambia.

Give back - as an association.

The association Give back collaborates with health and medical experts in both Sweden and Gambia to improve the health of the Gambian people. Give back is a Swedish association based in Solna. The association is newly formed and has conducted its activities as a religiously and politically independent association since 2019. Today they assist Gambia, but in the long run they want to expand the assistance to the whole of West Africa.

In Gambia, Give back collaborates with major organizations, healthcare experts and state teaching hospitals and psychiatric hospitals. Together, they identify and prioritize areas of collaboration such as competence assurance and hospital materials that are needed.

Vision

Give backs vision is a Gambia where those in need should receive adequate help and support. We want to do this by supporting important functions in Gambian society. Something that is very important to us is to create jobs by benefiting local entrepreneurship. We want to buy as much as possible in Gambia. By e.g. support schools, with education we can raise the level of knowledge of a large part of the children who grow up in Gambia.

Give back works on the basis of the UN's 17 global goals for sustainable development and pays special attention to the African continent. The global goals for sustainable development exist for the countries of the world to be able to achieve four important points by 2030:

Eliminate extreme poverty
Reduce inequalities and injustices in the world
Promote peace and justice
Solve the climate crisis

Gambia

Why Gambia?

Gambia is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. Health and well-being are fundamental to societal development and Gambian health care is in urgent need of resources as many people lack adequate care. Therefore, the association Give Back works to improve the health of the Gambian people and for the children to receive basic education.

The Gambia is in dire need of foreign aid and support to maintain decent living conditions for the people. Now that the corona virus continues to turn everyday life upside down, it is more important than ever that we are helped to improve public health and in this way we pave the way for a brighter future globally. Together we can act to improve public health in the Gambia.

Gambia is one of the smallest countries in the world with enormous socio-economic challenges. The population is about 2,400,000 people in an area about the same size as Skåne. Low incomes and a large housing shortage are some of the country's challenges. Education is substandard, which in turn has contributed to high illiteracy in the Gambia.

Did you know that Gambia

Called The Smiling Coast of Africa
Is a Swedish destination for 50 years

Is the smallest country on the African mainland
Has banned female genital mutilation since 2015
Has small-scale farming as the largest supply sector
Has a very low crime rate but high infant mortality

Gambia and figures

68 percent of the rural population lives below the UN poverty line (below $ 2 a day).
30% of the population as a whole live below $ 1.25 a day (2019)
43 percent of men and 65 percent of women are illiterate
The population is 2,377,676 (2019)

Since 2017, social progress has been made in Gambia. Human rights are more respected and the democratization process is ongoing. Life expectancy is increasing and nine out of ten Gambians now have access to clean water.

Agriculture

It consists mostly of small family farms that grow both self-sustaining crops and peanuts, which are the country's most important exports.

Industry

The most important industry is the processing of peanuts and fish. Due to poor infrastructure and lack of labor, the industry is hampered, which leads to the goods usually being sold abroad in a processed form.

Tourism

Tourism provides many jobs and is of great importance to the economy. The beautiful beaches and constant sun on the coast attract charter tourists.