On the margins of the just concluded 48th Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad, Pakistan, the Chief Executive Officer of The Gambia OIC Secretariat Mr. Yankuba Dibba had an audience with the Founder and Chairman of Global Charity Muslim Hands.

The objective of the courtesy call, which took place at the Pakistani headquarters of the world-renowned charity organization, was designed to explore a possible partnership between the two organizations to support Madrassa students in The Gambia.

OICGambia Secretariat's Madrassa project is aimed at improving employability and access to conventional job markets for students graduating from Islamic/Arabic schools in The Gambia.

Despite constituting about 25% of the education system, CEO Dibba observed that Madrasa graduates struggle to integrate into the formal sectors.

"It is against this backdrop that OICGambia is pushing to add value to their skill set to make them competitive in the job markets", Dibba stated.

Sheikh Syed Lakhte Hassanain, the Founder and Chairman of Muslim Hands welcomed the initiative and immediately pledged the fullest support of his organization. Syed revealed that his organization has a strong connection to The Gambia stating that Gambians have been involved with the Muslim hands from the beginning.

The two leaders discussed concrete steps to take to build and roll out the partnership.