Executive Meeting - April 4th, 2010

Attendees: Pa Joof, Samba Johm, Cherno B. Jallow, Bakary Jallow, Alhagie Saibo Drammeh, Alh. Sellou Jallow, Momodou Salieu Jallow and Momodou B. Krubally  

Chairperson: Pa Joof  

Secretary: Momodou Krubally and Bakary Jallow

Agenda:

1. Update from Alh. Sellou Jallow on his observation on the ground
2. Mosque’s project – Women’s section & Bathrooms update?  Any updates on Dawda
3. Fundraising proposal updates.  Should we move forward on calling for each compound in Basse to donate $100.00 towards the mosque refurbishment?
4. Registration?  Where do we stand
5. Update on proposed “Naweetan” donations
6. Next general meeting.  When should we hold one
7. Church on the list of projects.  Should it be removed?
8. Board of Directors suggestion and recommendations
9. A.O.B

Update from Alh. Sellou Jallow on his observation on the ground? Mosque’s project – Women’s section & Bathrooms update?  Any updates on Dawda  

Alh. Sellou’s reported that the toilets at the central mosque are currently not in working order.  His understanding is that they are all full and currently abandoned.  He was not sure on the total number of toilets but suggested that we focus on renovating them as a start of the Central Mosque rehabilitation. 

Members suggested digging a sucker-way next to the toilets to facilitate draining them when they get full.  Most members liked this idea and continued discussing the style and amount of sucker-way needed.  It was however agreed upon that the experts on the ground will be in a better position to make those decisions. 

Discussion proceeded onto how and who will be handling the purchase of materials needed for the renovation.  It was again agreed that we will be working with Abdourahman Jallow as agreed upon at the last meeting.  BA representative on the ground will get needed materials form Abdourahman after which he will bill us.  Our representative on the ground will confirm the cost and also ensure that we are getting the best price for items purchased.  A receipt will be issued for each purchase and forwarded to BA for accountability purposes.

Further discussions revealed that a current resident of Basse, Mr. Hamidou Jah had once partially renovated the Central Mosque and the Graveyard.  Mr. Bakary Jallow volunteered to reach out to Mr. Jah for more information/ideas and the possibility of him working with our team on the ground.  The understating is that since Mr. Jah had once already invested in the mosque, he is in a better position to give us advice and possibly assist our reps.    

Regarding Dawda Sankareh, Sellou has not been able to speak with him since his return from the Gambia .  Also Dawda just returned from the 2010 “Safara” tournament.  Pa Joof and Sellou will reach out to him to secure the 2009 local membership dues collected in Basse.  They will speak with Dawda on his role as a project manager and the way forward.   Also Cherno B. Jallow will reach out to Michael Secka to get more detail information/update and the estimated cost of the toilets renovation.  Cherno, Pa and Sellou will communicate their findings via email by Friday, April 9, 2010.  

Fundraising proposal updates.  Should we move forward on calling for each compound in Basse to donate $100.00 towards the mosque refurbishment?  

The idea in question here is a suggestion to have each compound in Basse with descendants overseas donates $100.00 toward the Central Mosque rehabilitation.  Some members were not very comfortable with this idea.  Some recommended that we look into other ways of raising funds without placing the burden on families back home.  The difficulty in coordinating such a large effort was also questioned.   It was finally agreed upon to look into other ways of raising funds for now and possibly revisit this suggestion in the future. 

Bakary Jallow suggested we start raising funds internally via the Executive committee like we did for the “Naweetan” project and gradually reach out.  He pledged $100.00 and each attendee matched his pledged amount translating to €75 (euros) and £65 (pound) for our European Union and UK colleagues respectively.  MB will reach out to the rest of the executive team to see if they are interested in joining this campaign

Cherno B. Jallow suggested that we solicit funds via writing letters to possible donors.  MB suggested that each member in attendance send Cherno the names and contact of five potential donors we can reach out to.  Members agreed to provide these names by Monday, April 5, 2010.  

Registration?  Where do we stand?  

We currently cannot register BA Inc in the Gambian because the law does not allow an organization name to begin with the name of a Gambian village or town.  Pa Joof will look into seeing if we can use “The’ in front of Basse Association or using the name” The Association of Basse” for registration purposes in the Gambia.  

Regarding the logo, again the law does not allow Associations to use the Gambian flag in their logo.  Suggestions are to remove the flag from the logo and replace it with a handshake.  Mr. Joof will re-send the two suggestions to the executive team.  MB will send a list of the executive members with their contact numbers for Pa Joof to update and distribute accordingly. 

Pa Joof will also send out a request for executive members to send in their bio profile to update the website.  

Update on Proposed “Naweetan” Project: 

A total of $510.00 plus the cost of two trophies worth about €80 (euros) was received from the “Naweetan” fundraising drive with one pledged donation pending.  We have at hand $510.00 and will wait to hear from Mr. Ousainou Krubally on his proposal for the “Naweetan” project. 

Members agreed to make the “Naweetan” project a yearly tournament with the goal of forming an all-star team to play in either the second division or first division national tournament.  Ous will work with the local committee on how to sustain this project.  He will give us a report at the next meeting. 

Ous was not present at the meeting due to some miscommunication regarding the meeting time.   

General Meeting:  

Given that we have already started some work on the ground; the scholarship program, with a few in the pipeline, members agreed to hold a general meeting on Sunday, May 9, 2010.  More information to follow.  

A suggestion was made for members to do their homework and come to meetings prepared to come to a “solution rather than just diagnosing”.  Members are encouraged to use the email system to discuss issues to help them get a better understanding and or more information to help them come to a decision.   

Church on list of Project.  Should it be removed?  

Members went into extensive discussion on this issue.  The core discussion was to either keep the church project on the project list on the website or remove it as some members already requested.  At the end, a vote was taken with a tie result.  MB will reach out to the rest of the executive members to hopefully help resolve this matter before the general meeting. 

Board of Directions suggestion and recommendations:  

It was agreed upon to not have a Board of Directors until the end of the first term of the newly elected officials.  For now Steering Committee member that are not in the executive body and other members interested in serving will be part of sub committees being setup. 

AOB:  

Our European colleagues suggested that we consider changing the meeting times and dates to accommodate them rather that the current setup which favors those of us in North America.  This was quickly agreed upon and the next meeting will reflect this request. 

MB will send a list of items to be followed-up on.  Members are urged to complete their follow-up assignment and report their findings to the group via email.  The meeting was adjourned at 3pm US Eastern time.