Gambia: Lawmakers Approve Oıc's Orphan's Day

Based on the recommendation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, lawmakers of Gambia have overwhelmingly voted for a motion seeking the recognition and commemoration of the 15th day of Ramadan as Orphan's Day.



The lawmakers held the extraordinary session Wednesday to declare the 15th day of Ramadan as Orphan's Day in Gambia as recommended by the OIC for it member states and international humanitarian organizations.



The OIC in June appealed to all its member states and humanitarian organizations to undertake all kinds of relevant actions to raise awareness on the issues of orphans and their needs, on the occasion of the Orphan's Day in the Islamic World, which was set for the 15th of Ramadan, after a resolution was passed in Conakry in 2013.



"The issue and plight of orphans, worldwide, and with particular emphasis on the plight of orphans in the Islamic Ummah [Muslim community] is a matter of great concern to individuals, governments, the international community and humanitarian organizations and our great leaders of the Islamic Ummah" said Gambia's foreign minister, Neneh MacDouall-Gaye, who tabled the bill before lawmakers.



Neneh MacDouall-Gaye added the needs of orphans in the Islamic world struck by disasters were immense and the "responses still remain inadequate".



The Gambian lawmakers unanimously welcomed the motion describing it as "timely" and "relevant".



"In 2003, The Gambia social welfare department has done a survey which revealed that about 65, 000 orphans and vulnerable children are in Gambia and I am sure that figure has increased by now," the country's deputy speaker, Fatou Mbaye, said.



Gambia is preparing to host the OIC summit in 2018 and the president of the small West African nation surrounded by Senegal on all three sides.



Gambia's president, Yahya Jammeh, unilaterally declared his country an Islamic state in January though the country, constitutionally, still remains a secular state.



The OIC consists of 57 member states spread over four continents and its motive is "to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony". -