Yusupha Njie who initially intends to travel with his friends through the backway to Europe has now forgone his dream to focus on carpentry.
Mr Njie was convinced by his friends, Lamin and Omar to travel together but he was unable to get the required money to pay for a seat on the boat.
” I would have died but fortunately, I Didn’t go with my friends. I intended to join but I had only 15 thousand dalasis which is not enough for a ticket” he said.
At a nearby carpentry workshop in Bakau, Yusupha begins his carpentry apprenticeship as an alternative way to earn a living.
” I now decided to join my uncle to learn carpentry. I drop out of grade nine with only two credits. I failed both English and Mathematics. That is why it was difficult to further pursue an educational career”
It’s better late than never, Yusupha is no more thinking of joining a boat to Europe after the boat disaster that killed his friends.
According to him, he planned to embark on a campaign to discourage young people travel through the backway.
Hundreds of Gambian youths have died in the backway from different communities such as Bakau, Kartong, and Gunjur this year.
