Starfish International,
The Gambia
About Starfish International
Mona Partner Since 2019
Founded in 2008, Starfish International began as a grassroots effort centered on a community library and after-school mentorship for girls, and has grown into an integrated organization advancing health, agriculture, and education as mutually reinforcing pillars of community development.
Mona supports the
Starfish Business Skills Center. The Skills Center provides vocational certification to girls and young women, enabling financial independence and allowing them to contribute to the betterment of themselves, their families, and their communities. This program is now the focus of a collaboration with the country's Ministry of Higher Education.
The Challenge
According to the United Nations Development Programme, The Gambia ranks 174th in poverty out of 187 countries worldwide with 60% of the population earning less than $1.90/day. 70% of Gambians are farmers and face hunger during the rainy season. The population is also young with 60% under the age of 25. Only 55% of the people are literate (lower for women).
The Solution: Starfish International Programs
Starfish Skills Center
Serving 200 young women ages 15–25, the Skills Center offers a 3-year certification program in four tracks (tailoring, hairdressing, arts and crafts, and hotel management) to enable them to earn an income, lead a life of their own choosing, and contribute to the upliftment of their families and communities. The Skills Center serves single mothers, students with disabilities, and young women who had previously paused their education due to financial constraints and sociocultural barriers that hinder girls’ advancement.
The Skills Center was founded by Mama Kujabi, a strong, independent, and passionate woman. Her story is an inspiring one and another incredible example of a woman who has overcome tremendous obstacles to uplift herself, her family, and her community. She is a determined woman of her own making. Despite facing seemingly insurmountable challenges throughout her early life, she raised three daughters by starting a small tailoring business to ensure they received the best possible education.
She knows how her skills changed her life and she wants that for every single one of her students.
STARFISH PLEDGE
I am not the product of my circumstances. I am the composite of all the things that I believe and all the places I believe I can go. My past does not define me. I can step out of my history and create a new day for myself. Even if the entire culture is saying you cannot. Even if every single possible bad thing that can happen to me does, I can keep going forward.
Awa's Story
As Awa, one of the Skills Center’s students, shares in our new short film, “Sometimes it takes nearly an hour to reach Starfish, but I don’t mind. I know where I am going matters.” Experience Starfish's essence for yourself by watching Awa's Story: A Day in the Life.
How we help
Mona Foundation has partnered with Starfish International since 2019. We support the development of Starfish Skills Center, an integral part of the Starfish International organization.
The Skills Center is working to be financially self-sufficient by 2033. With the support from Mona Foundation, the Skills Center expanded its infrastructure to nine rooms, including an income generating hairdressing salon, restaurant, and a large hall that can be rented out for special events.
2024 Results
- 200 girls and women trained in tailoring, hairdressing, arts and crafts, and hotel management
- 22 teachers trained
- 50 students completed internships
2025 Plans
- Provide
100 scholarships
- Construct a 6-room AirBnB designed to mirror the standards of real-world accommodations, providing students in the Hospitality and Housekeeping track with practical, hands-on experience and income generation for Starfish
- Total Need: $71,000
Stories & Updates
Anna's Story
Unable to pursue formal education, Anna’s life transformed through skills training at the Starfish International Skill Center. In three years, she mastered tailoring, launched a business, and now supports her family financially. With graduation ahead, Anna dreams of empowering women by starting a workshop to train aspiring designers, crediting her success to her teachers and Mona Foundation's support.
"The Starfish Skill Center has given me more than just a trade... it has given me the confidence to believe in myself, the tools to support my family, and the hope to dream bigger than I ever thought possible." - Anna
In January 2023, the Skills Center celebrated its first cadre of 5 graduates. The graduates are now being supported to establish their own businesses to become financially independent and to realize their highest aspirations while contributing to the betterment of their communities.
In her commencement speech, Mama Kujabi paid tribute to the graduating students and all supporters, and specifically mentioned that “if it weren’t for Mona Foundation's support of scholarships for 57 students, we would have had to close the Center during COVID19.”
Madeline Isatou Mendy (Mama Kujabi) is the Founder and Director of the Starfish Skills Center. Divorced and a mother of three girls, Madeline always dreamed of founding a Skills Center for young girls to enable them to elevate themselves from oppression and social or familial inequities. Lovingly known by all as "Mama Kujabi", she supported herself and her three daughters by starting her own small business -- but she didn’t stop there.
Her strength of vision and fortitude in the face of adversity is now having a real impact for the girls in her community. Because of Mama Kujabi’s resilience and ingenuity, hundreds of girls and youth do not have to experience the hardships that she did.
As of 2023, one of her daughters is a physician in The Gambia, another is in a Master's program in the US, and the third is finishing secondary school.
Perseverance
StarFish International provided the following update in an email to Mona Foundation on May 13, 2020.
“As the Coronavirus has imposed a lockdown situation in many countries, Starfish International had released its students and staff to stay home two days before the government of The Gambia announced the ‘stay home’ regulation on the 18th of March, 2020. Since then, both staff and students have been working from home and participating in activities through virtual online sessions. As far as the Skill Center is concerned, some of the operations launched by the center to join in the fight against COVID-19 and to lessen the consequences of the pandemic on both the Skills Center students and staff include soap making, mask making and continuing to pay the staff...
One of the Skill Center's most significant achievements was purchasing two sewing machines for the sewing classes. These machines helped with the production of masks in these critical times and made the job much easier for the organization."
“We would like to recognize and sincerely thank the Mona Foundation for the immense role they have played in the sustenance and development of the Skills Center.”
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