By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT
Team Gom Sa Bopa President, Killa “Ali Cham” Ace, visited the Gambia’s main prison, Mile 2, to donate gifts to inmates and guards on Friday 6th February 2021. Most importantly the visit afforded the opportunity for the Rapper/Activist, to meet the Prison Director General Ansumana Manneh and discuss the “Uplift Project”.
The “Uplift Project” is designed to stem the recycling of inmates after completing their sentence. Gom Sa Bopa members including Pa Malick Jobe and Yusef Taylor commonly known as Flex Dan were well received by the Director General. In the meeting, Killa Ace discussed the purpose of the ”Uplift Project” which is “meant to keep our brothers and sisters off the streets and out of prison”.
Killa Ace who spent some time in remand in 2019 discussed how his experiences have motivated him to commit to supporting inmates at Mile 2. He highlighted how disturbing it was to see inmates he knew being recycled in the system.
Flex Dan emphasised that besides the donations of gift parcels Gom Sa Bopa are also thinking about how we can reduce the recycle of inmates because that will reduce the congestion inside prisons and make the work of Prison Officers easier.
The discussion touched on providing sufficient support to inmates who have come to the end of their term while in prison to enable them to engage in employable opportunities. “An idle hand is the devil’s playground”.
Director of Prisons, Mr Manneh concurred that whenever you see a happy prison officer you know that the prison is not congested. He recommended that Team Gom Sa Bopa sends a letter to the relevant authorities (Ministry of Interior) to plan a way forward and engage in discussions to see what can be done to assist prisoners completing their sentence integrate and contribute meaningfully to society.
Gom Sa Bopa concluded by donating some gift parcels to the inmates which included sugar, milk, garri and tea. Menstrual pads were also donated to the inmates who struggle to get such basic commodities and food. For the guards, some masks were donated to keep them safe from the Covid 19 Pandemic.
According to President Killa Ace, “our aim is to assist up to 300 inmates if possible”. The Artist wishes to thank his supporters on this project especially the fans who bought tickets to see him perform.