8th October, 2016.

The Executive Committee of Sika Development Fund (SDF) hasagreed to setup a Health Care Program (HCP) in Sika and buy fishing nets forthose who have paid for their boats in full. You will recall that SDF boughtfishing boats for 7 people in 2015. Two of them have already paid for theirboats in full, while others have made partial payments. Two have not made any paymentsyet. Over all the fishermen have performed fairly good and we look forward totheir continued cooperation with SDF.

Concerning the medical care program, westarted by engaging some of the trained health personnel from Sikato hear their views and advice on the way forward, and to see if they would bewilling to work with SDF. We also consulted with one of our advisers during thediscussions. We agreed after several rounds of consultations that Ndemba KebbaJaiteh would be a good candidate. Most of you would know him. He has been inthe business for well over 20 years and has had his own drug store for manyyears. He is self-employed and that gives him the flexibility to go to Sika andstay there for as long as he wants. The deal with Ndemba Kebba is as follows:

•   SDF provides interest free loan of D41,276 to Ndemba Kebba to buy the drugs.
•   Ndemba Kebba retains any and all profits from the sale of the drugs
•   He goes to Sika and stay there for one week every month to provide health care
•   He pays back the money over a period of 18 months.

We will also provide him with 2 A4 books to keep record of patients’ treatments, and some A6 books that will be kept by the patients. We believe that keeping proper records of treatment is very important in order to ensure continuity of treatment. These books cost a total of D3590 and that will not be part of the loan agreement with Ndemba Kebba. We will advise Ndemba Kebba to charge a one-off registration fee of D15 for every new patient.  Hope that will motivate patients to take good care of the books. We also encourage him to sell the medicines to the villages at a reasonable cost in order to make health care affordable to all. We will evaluate the project after 18 months and, if all goes well, Ndemba might be eligible for further support so that he can continue to provide health care for Sika.

If you have any questions about this or any other issues, please contact the undersigned.

Finally, I would like to thank all those who have been paying their annual subscriptions every year. If you have not paid, please remember to do so as soon as you possibly can. You can find our account numbers and ways to pay or donate here

Kind regards,

Alieu SK Cham, Secretary General, Sika Development Fund

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16th September, 2016

Dear Omarand all,

This isto inform you that funds transferred to Sonko-Jileng for the purchase of fishingnets have been received and delivered to the beneficiaries as evident from theattachments. However, I will urged you all to take note of the following:

•  The amount received was D31, 320.00
•  Lang Manneh received D15, 200.00
• Abdoulie Manjang (Kunkoto) received D7,600.00
• Total Amount received by beneficiaries was D22,400.00
• Total Balance banked was D8,920.00

 You will also notice that an ID Card receipt number has been entered into the ID Card section of the “Witness Statement” portion of the form instead of the ID Card number. This is because the witness lost his previous ID Card and had to apply for one the receipt number for which has been inserted.

Therefore, this brings an end to this transaction and I thank you all for your efforts.

Regards,

Kemo Sonko, President, Sika Development Fund

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5th August, 2015

Hello Sika Development Fund Members,

You may be aware that we have just sponsored seven (7) fishing boats in Sika which will help to improve the nutritional status of the people of Sika and possibly the surrounding villages. It is our subscriptions and the generosity of many that make such sponsorships possible.

To make it easier for us to collect the annual subscriptions, the Executive Committee divided members into groups with each group headed by an Executive member. To find out whose group you belong, please scroll to the bottom of this page and download the excel file. The group heads [Sima Camara, Omar Janneh, Bintou Gitteh (aka Agi Gitteh), AmadouMbakeh Ceesay, Saikouba Ceesay (aka Seyfo),  Aieu SK Cham (aka Babalieu), Famara Drammeh, Bakary T Sonko (aka Bakary Tida), Bakary J Sonko (aka Jewru), Bakary Sonko (aka Buba Lemuna Sonko), Bonto Jaiteh (aka Mariama Jaiteh), Manta Barjo, Kemo Sonko, Omar Kumba Sonko, Malang Janneh (akaBa-Malang Janneh)] will (regularly) be  in touch with you to gently remind you to pay your annual subscription as soon as possible so that we can do much more for our folks. If you have not paid the2014 subscription, please do that too. To make this process more efficient, it’s agreed that the group heads must report on the progress they have made with their group member to our Social and Resource Mobilisation Secretary, Mr Saikouba Ceesay (aka Seyfo) on the 6^th of each month. So please do not let your group heads down. You can pay your annual subscription or donate to SDF at a bank or using PayPal.

On behalf of all, we thank you all for your support and may God be with you all.

SDF, Transforming lives by empowering people.

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27th July, 2015

Dear All,

Re: Money matters

You will all remember that weapproved the financing of fishing nets for the Fishermen in Village and also educational grants for grades7-12. However, when we approached the Fishermen, theytold us that they wanted fishing boatsinstead. Seven (7) people were identified as needing fishingboats, which are considerably more expensive than the fishing nets. At the time the discussion about fishingnets vs fishing boats was takingplace, Bakary Gitteh me that those students in grades 7-9 do not pay schoolfees and that from this year onwards, those in grades 10-12 would not payschool fees either. Given the information from Bakary Gitteh, the Fishermen’s need and my own and hopefully your own commitmentto see something done this year, I felt hat it was not necessary to bring thismatter to another vote. I assumed that you would approve it because that fishing nets and boats are within the same project category of fishing gear we had identified as worthy of support and which we could now affordas we do  not have to pay for educational scholarships for grades 7-12. Itwas my wish to support fewer than 7 boats so that therewould be some money for other projects, but it was soon realised that tosponsor less boats would be too challenging for us toallocate; they cannot share boats. Indeed Ma-Lamin Janneh(Maala) advised us against supporting less than the total number the Fishermen needed. He said that if we were unable to finance all7 boats, then we should not fund any until we can affordall 7. I wanted us to do something this year, and I assumed you shared the samesentiments. Thus I didn’t think there was any need to bring this matter toanother vote. As consequence, I recommended all 7 boatsto be financed.

On 21^st July £1256.00 wastransferred from SDF’s account in UK into the account of Maja F. Sonko (SonkoJileng) to cover the cost of 7 fishing boatsfor the Fishermen in Sika. The reason for using SonkoJileng is because they provided the best deal for SDF’s meagre resources.

Below is the breakdown of the costs:

Total cost of 7 boats:D77000.00

Miscellaneous expenses:

Return fare for Ma-Lamin Janneh topick up the money from Sonko Jileng: D140;

Cost of travel of Ma-Lamin Janneh andat least 2 of the Beneficiaries (Fishermen): D720. ThisD720 is the estimated cost of travel of Ma-Lamin Janneh and 2 other Fishermen to inspect and evaluate the standards of all 7 boats being built. This is deemed essential to avoiddisappointment;

Total cost of the boats,including miscellaneous expenses: D77,860 (being  77,000 + 140 + 720). Ithas been thought wise that Ma-Lamin Janneh and at least 2 of the Beneficiaries(Fishermen) should make regular trips (up to a maximum of4 trips) to the site (Barra) where the boats will bebuilt to ensure that they are built to their specific needs. We have decided tobear the cost of travel of the Fishermen and Ma-LaminJanneh to Barra.

Sterling equivalent: 77860/62 =£1255.81 (£1.00 = D62.00 at Sonko Jileng, at no fees charged)

Total amount deposited into SonkoJileng: £1256 under transaction reference “boats”. Pleasefind attached the transaction receipt.

Because it will be unsafe forMa-Lamin Janneh to keep whole of the money (D77860) with him in the Village, wedecided that of D22860 of the money would be paid to him by Sonko Jileng in thefirst instance. This covers the cost of 2 boats atD22000, plus his travel cost (D140) to collect the money from Sonko Jileng andup to 4 subsequent travel costs (D720) of himself and 2 other Fishermento monitor/evaluate the boats being built. It is clear toMa-Lamin Janneh that the D720 cannot be used to cover the travel cost of thefirst 2 boats without good reason.

As you can see, Ma-Lamin Janneh willneed to make subsequent trips to Banjul to collect the money for the remaining boats- we estimate he may have to make at least 3 such trips.SDF will pay for his travel costs for each of such trips, but I will ask thatthe cost of their travel to evaluate the quality and progress of the boat building be borne by us and not added to the cost of the boat.

We are assured that Ma-Lamin Jannehwill see to the smooth running of the transactions between the BoatBuilder and the Fishermen. The BoatBuilder will ONLY be paid upon satisfactory construction and delivery of the boats. On 25^th July 2015, Ma-Lamin Janneh collectedD22860 from Sonko Jileng, and working in collaboration with at least 2 other Fishermen, will begin the process of overseeing the building ofthe boats in Barra. Sonko Jileng is holding D55000 for uswhich will be collected by by installments by Ma-Lamin Janneh.