ITTOG

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
We are recruiting staff for a newly built 22 room boutique hotel due to open in June 2023 .
We are looking for suitable and qualified staff in these specialized areas:
• Hotel Manager, Receptionist, Maintenance Supervisor , Restaurant Supervisor , Room Staff/ Cleaners and waitresses .
All applications must be addressed to the Head Of School , Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia , West African Insurance Institute complex, KOLOLI on or before 30th April 2023.

2nd phase of the” No Women Left Behind “ project was launched this morning at the WAII . The event Wes graced by Hon Fatou Kinteh , Minister of Women , Children and Social Welfare , Victoria Garcia , Project Coordinator Ethnic from Spain , Mr Naffy Barry , President Womens Chamber of Commerce , Ngonneh Panneh , Youth Empowerment Programme among other dignitaries . The project is meant to build capacity in business skills and Information technology among other subjects . The board of directors wish to thank our partners Ethnic and the Catalan development Agency for funding the Project , People and Places for both financial support and volunteering personnel , Gender Platform and womens Chamber of commerce for their partnership in this important programme .
Special thanks and appreciation to Hon Fatou Kinteh for her continued support to ITTOG and the project .

Day 2 of the programme of our visiting team Ramassa of Catalonia started with the visit to the Real de Banjul headquarters by officials of the team followed by the football match in the afternoon at the Box Bar Stadium in Birkama . Real de Banjul won the match by 7 goals to 0 . The stadium was packed full with spectators from all over the country .

ITTOG is honored to be the host of A . E Ramassa football club of Catalonia , Spain . The club is a 4 th division club and is visiting The Gambian not only to play football but to engage in a project helping The Kalilu Foundation . The Kalilu Jammeh foundation started after Kalilu returned from the back way travel to Spain looking for greener pastures. He returned and found his village abandoned due to climate change . He started a school orphanage that attracted many homeless children who are now enjoying free schooling through support from Friends from Spain . The Ramassa football club have raised some money which they will donate to the Kalilu foundation during their visit to The Gambia . The programme for their visit includes playing a friendly football match with Real de Banjul a team which I am a founder member and rose to a Team Manager of the club . It was during my tenure that we won the Guinness cup . The visitors and real held a press conference this morning to brief journalist about the history of their visit and their programme of visit . ITTOG welcomes Ramassa football club and wish them all the best . These are pictures from the press conference attended by the President of Real de Banjul Football club and their executive members .

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
We are recruiting staff for a newly built 22 room boutique hotel due to open in June 2023 .
We are looking for suitable and qualified staff in these specialized areas:
• Hotel Manager, Receptionist, Maintenance Supervisor , Restaurant Supervisor , Room Staff/ Cleaners and waitresses .
All applications must be addressed to the Head Of School , Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia , West African Insurance Institute complex, KOLOLI on or before 5th April 2023.

The motivated speech by our guest speaker Malleh Sallah CEO Tamala chain hotels .

Alhamdulilah for witnessing another milestone in ITTOG . Celebrating 15 years of dedicated service in the tourism industry . I wish to take this opportunity to thank Parents , Sponsors , Friends and all those who found time to attend the ceremony . Congrats to the awardees and graduates . Congratulations and God bless you all .

The second phase of the ‘ No Woman left No Woman Left Behind “ project kick start today with orientation. On the program for the 30 women . We welcome our volunteer teacher from the UK Michele James from Peope and Responsible volunteering - people and places . She is assigned to assist in the training of Business skills and IT which we hope at the end of the course , the students will be able to stand on their own . Thanks to the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation. for the funding and of the project .

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
We are recruiting staff for a newly built 22 room boutique hotel due to open in June 2023 .
We are looking for suitable and qualified staff in these specialized areas:
• Hotel Manager, Receptionist, Maintenance Supervisor , Restaurant Supervisor , Room Staff/ Cleaners and waitresses .
All applications must be addressed to the Head Of School , Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia , West African Insurance Institute complex, KOLOLI on or before 29 March 2023.

MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL
January 4th 2023 was a historic day to celebrate in the life of The Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia.
The date marks 15th years of success in TVET education that has touched the lives of many tourism professionals who passed through this noble institute of learning that have given knowledge and skills generally to young people to serve in the tourism industry both locally and internationally.
As we celebrate 15 years of success, we also learned from the challenges we endured and those we will overcome with patience and commitment for now and for years to come, with the support of many individuals and organizations.
In acknowledging those who contributed to our success we cannot forget the pioneers who laid the foundation that formed the pillars of our success: Thanks goes to South Nottingham College now central college Nottingham College for the financial, technical and moral support they gave us for a period of 8 years, with the support of their able and dedicated staff: Helen Wilcockson, John Grey, Adam Beazley, Louise Mantle, Imran Meherban and the entire team from the college. .
Special gratitude goes to our Gambian partners who also laid the foundation of ITTOG and without whom, we would not have been where we are today. Thanks to Late Kaliba Senghore, Alieu Secka, Lamin Bojang, Maimuna Jatta, Francis Mendy, Shenna Carlislie, Alhagie Bojang, Nyanya Jagne, Nyanya Jobe, Aminatta Bah, etc .
It was 15 years ago that I decided to join my visionary partner Dr Adama Bah to come together to offer our over 70 years of experience added together.
Both my Chairman, Dr. Bah and myself started at the bottom of the ladder: Dr. Bah from being a waiter to Front office and HR Manager to an Assistant Manager to Project Manager to an International Tourism Consultant; with me, starting from a hotel laborer, dish washer, receptionist, D.J, Hotel Manager, Director of Tourism among other key positions in the sector, is a testimony that we have wealth of experience to share.
As the saying goes, “birds of the same feathers fly together “. We are indeed birds of the same feather that are committed in sharing our knowledge and that wealth of experience with those who value our expertise. This institution gave us and continue to give us that opportunity to share our knowledge and quota towards the development of tourism in The Gambia and for the benefit of Gambians in a sustainable way. We are humbled by such an experience. Over the years , we trained and graduated thousands of students, some of whom are heads of important sectors both in The Gambia and internationally.
All Mighty God/ Ya Allah, we are happy and contended that you have given us the ability and foresight to be able to do this in 15 years and we thank you and pray that this institution will grow from strength to strength. In your only mercy, we pray, Amen.
GRADUATES
As we celebrate 15th years of existence, we celebrate this day with 69 graduates in the following respective field of study:
Travel and Hospitality Level 1, Travel & Tourism Intermediate Level 2, Cookery and Pastry, Amadeus Booking System and Cabin Crew & Airport Operations.
AWARDS
It is also customary that each year during our graduation, we recognize six deserving Gambians some of whom are pioneers in The Tourism industry and others that have played a significant part in the development of tourism in The Gambia.
We are deeply honored to recognize the following personalities:
• Mrs Mamie Ndure Njie: 1st Gambian Woman to Establish a Restaurant “Take Away” Service.
• Mrs Luciana Sambong Awumee , 1st Gambian Female Food & Beverage Managress .
• Mrs Fatou Joko Bojang , 1st Gambian Female Housekeeper .
• Mr Paul Marone , 1st Gambian Hotel Manager
• Mrs Ndey Cham Pioneer: 2nd Generation Craft Market Vendor
• Mr Sainey Singhateh: 2nd Generation Craft Market Vendor,
GENERAL OPERATIONS
This academic year we experienced very low numbers in the various courses that we are offering and this created some financial bottlenecks.
However, project we had for 2 years now did help. Over the past year we had sponsorship for 50 students for Event Planning & Management funded by The Youth Empowerment Project and also 30 students of The “No Woman Left Behind “sponsored by the Catalan Agency for cooperation and Development based in Barcelona, Spain. We have also secured sponsorship from The National Hospitality Service of The United States an amount of $5,0000 for sponsorship through a Gambia brother Ousman Conteh who serves as Vice President Operations in The Same company. We are grateful and thankful to Mr Norman Leslie 1st President of the Company for his generous donation and consideration . We are grateful and thankful to these two partners for supporting us through these sponsorships.
Our focus this academic year is to kick start the second phase of the “No Woman Left Behind” project that would focus on training the students in business and computer skill with mentorship programmes that would enhance their business skills. Thanks once more for the support from the Catalan Agency for Cooperation and Development.
As we have not been teaching Business skills and IT, we had to appeal to our partners in UK, People and Places Volunteering organization to help by providing us with the volunteers to develop the curriculum and content manual for us to be able to implement this programme.
We are happy to report that this was successfully done and we continue to have volunteers who will help us in the business mentoring programme. I am happy to introduce to you our present volunteer helping the “No Woman Left Behind” project to achieve this. She is Michele James from the UK.
We thank People and Places volunteering organization for such a support. Just to add that we have been with this organization since they started their programmes and they have been very valuable to the development of ITTOG. They have not only supported us with volunteers in skills transfer but they supported us financially too.
We intend to kickstart a new course in the Performing arts after the curriculum was validated by The NAQAA. We feel that teaching Performing art would fill a big gap that is not in existence in the Gambia. We are indeed committed in filling the gap and have signed an MOU with Ecole National des Art in Senegal to support us in this area.
Again, we wish to take this opportunity to thank all those who contributed to our 15 years of valuable service to our people and country.
Special thanks to our graduation sponsors Gambia Tourism Board, TAFF Africa Global , Royal Insurance, Alieu Secka , Pa Modou Sarr , Azis Khan, Trust Bank Limited ,Unique Group, Njie BP Family , Bunna Njie and Charbel Hobeika.
I cannot leave without thanking our host, the West African Insurance Institute, The Director General and his staff are angels, they treat us very well over here and we pray to God, Allah for this cordial relationship to continue.
Thank you everyone for your time in joining us on this important occasion to be held on Saturday 25th March 2023 at 12.Noon . God Bless you all.

Sheikh Tejan Nyang,
Head of School.

The cookery class of today was to prepare breakfast for the Njobbens , Jagnens , Jengenens and above all the Faalens . Enjoy your breakfast . Sheikh Tejan Jeng , The menu has no bennachin . Lol My jarbat Amie Gaye is the chief cook In charge . well done Amie .

ITTOG is honored to have received sponsorship of $ 5,000 from The National Hospitality Service based in the United States .The amount was presented to the Head of School Sheikh Tejan Nyang by The Vice President in Charge of Operation Ousman Conteh who established the contacts between ITTOG and the National Hospitality Service . The company had earlier last year donated some books and other materials to the Institute . The Board of Directors wish to thank the President of the Company Mr Norman Leslie 1st for the donation and the continuous support given to our institution . Special thanks to Vice President Operations Ousman for his support in building the human resource base of his countries tourism industry . God bless you all .

Today was a field day for out students studying Cabin Crew and Airport operations . It’s always a pleasure to visit The Air Rep Services where students are oriented on the handling and operations of airline services . I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Managment of ARS for the encouragement and support they have been given us over the years . Special thanks to The Musa Family , Ben, Mariam and his team for your support . God bless you all .

The 2nd practical session of the cookery and pastry class took off today with the pastry , rice and potato disses. The faalens , Njoobens, Jagnens and Tejan Jengs sisters and brothers are invited. Thanks to Chef Kalifa Ceesay and Mama Cham for their guidance .

First aid training is key in everybody’s life especially in the service industry . We have been luck to have a good partnership with The Gambia Red Cross Society who are always available to assist in the training of our students . This time around , we had the Cabin Crew and Airport Operation and Intermediate Diploma in Travel and Tourism classes in attendance . Thanks to Director Bro Alhassan Senghore , Gassama and team for facilatating the training . God bless you all .

Display of food prepared by the new cookery and pastry class under the able hands of chef Karfa Ceesay and Mama Cham . Congratulations.

BREV FRA GAMBIAS SMILENDE KYST TIL KLASSE 1971/72 FANA FOLKEHØGSKOLE, NORGE:
Salam til dere alle,
Det er en stund siden jeg sendte deg min serie med kulturelle leksjoner og praksis fra mitt land, Gambia, The Smiling Coast of Africa.
For snart et år siden mistet jeg min kjære mamma i en alder av 95. Jeg er "Taw" som betyr den førstefødte i familien. Det er ikke veldig vanlig i livet at folk flest vet når de skal dø. Moren min var eksepsjonell da hun fortalte meg i kode at det var søndag hun skulle svare på anropet hennes. Utrolig at hun gjentok SØNDAG TO GANGER TIL MEG.
Gambia med en befolkning på nesten 2,5 millioner. Landet som hadde en befolkning på 500.000 i 1965 under uavhengigheten. Storfebestanden ved uavhengighet var mer enn den menneskelige befolkningen, tro det eller ei.
Min historie vil ikke være lang denne gangen, da fortellingen om den kulturelle praksisen allerede er gjort for meg av min dyktige og dynamiske universitetslektor Francis Mendy.
På denne trofaste dagen da min mor gikk bort, satt jeg ved Banjul likhuset og ventet på at liket skulle bli gitt sine endelige rettigheter før de siste bønnene i moskeen. Mens de satt utenfor likhuset sammen med andre, var det andre korps ved likhuset som også ble forberedt til begravelse.
Jeg observerte at en rekke kvinner fra den etniske gruppen Manjajo kom inn og ut av likhuset med poser med gjenstander, og jeg innser at når de går inn i likhuset, kommer de ikke tilbake med innholdet i posene. Det var der og da jeg spurte, og fortellingen er det jeg vil dele med dere i denne serien.
Jeg lærte noe nytt, og det er din tur til å lære enda en kulturell leksjon fra den smilende kysten av Gambia.

THE MANJARGO CONCEPT OF DEATH AND THEIR FUNERAL CEREMONIES/RITUALS
The Manjargo tribe is a West African ethnic group primarily residing in Guinea Bissau, Senegal and the Gambia. It is a major tribe in Guinea Bissau, forming about 20% of the population. Most of them hold to traditional religion that centers on the spirit of the dead or the past ancestors. They earn their living through palm wine tapping, processing palm oil from the palm kernel, subsistence farming and animal husbandry. A small percentage is known to be engaged in fishing, while some of the males are sea farers.
CONCEPT OF DEATH
According to the Manjargo culture, death is seen as a transition to another stage in the life of the person. Consequently, when a person dies, it is firmly believed that the person is gone to join the ancestors or the spirits. Manjargos believe that those who die are with the ancestors and are spirits, commonly referred to as BALOGUN. During the process of divination, they will plead and request from the Balogun for favors. Consequently, the spirits are central in Manjargo culture.
FUNERAL CEREMONIES
The Manjargo concept of death, coupled with their fervent believe in the spiritual world, is the foundation of their various funeral ceremonies and has a tremendous influence in shaping their approach to funeral ceremonies. However, the intensity of the ceremonies will be highly influenced by the age of the deceased i.e. below 40 and unmarried, the ceremonies will be done moderately. However, if the deceased is an elderly person with family and is 40 and above, the funeral will be very elaborate and based on their believe that the dead are going to join the past ancestors. Consequently, the funeral rites are seen as a celebration and not mourning. The ceremonies are performed in the following order.
THE DAY BEFORE THE SLATED DAY FOR THE BURIAL
This ceremony is done if the decreased is an elderly person. A pig will be slaughtered in the evening, and depending on the financial status of the deceased family, a bull will be also slaughter. A divination ceremony will be performed at the entrance of the house of the decreased. During the process, alcoholic beverages such as palm wine will be poured, including the blood of animal’s slaughter. During the process the elders will seek blessings and protection from the ancestors, and the deceased person. This ritual is also a celebration of the role and achievements of the deceased as well as a mourning of his passing. Mourners will spend virtually the whole night eating, drinking and dancing.
THE DAY OF THE FUNERAL
On the day of the funeral, elders will clean and dress the deceased body and place it in a coffin, where available. In rural areas, a coffin may not be available. In such cases, the body is r***d in a locally woven material and placed in a mighty grave with different compartments. Before closing the coffin or the grave, close relatives are given the opportunity to pay their respect and also to come with the items for the decease to give to their ancestors. These items will normally consist of shirts, blankets, trousers, hats, etc. this part of the ritual is always chaotic as all items cannot fit in the coffin or the grave. Ones the coffin is closed, they proceed to the grave for the burial. In the event that a coffin is not available, the r***d body will be placed in the grave and all the items meant for the past ancestors also placed in the grave. Before proceeding from the compound to the grave a male goat will be slaughtered at the entrance of the house. After the burial ceremony the mourners will then proceed back to the house of the deceased for an elaborate celebration which will involve dancing, drinking, eating, and playing traditional tribal music. This will go on till late at night.
POST BURIAL RITUAL
In Manjargo culture, there are two post burial rituals that are considered to be imperative. These two rituals are centered on the following issues.
1. Consultation with the deceased about the circumstances leading to his/her death commonly known as CHAUSE UHPOME
2. Celebration of his past life commonly known as LASS UHOPME
Being mindful of their deeply rooted belief in death and funeral rituals, coupled with their manifest belief in the past ancestors and the spirits, the importance of these 2 post funeral rituals cannot be overemphasized.
CHAUSE UHPOME
This is considered to be a very important post funeral ritual in Manjargo culture, bearing in mind their believe that death is a transition to another world i.e. spirit. This ritual is done to establish the circumstances leading to the death of the deceased or any issue that the immediate family may want to clarify with the deceased. The ritual is officiated by an elderly male person known as NAPENEH, a custodian of shrine, known as UCHAI. This is a very elaborate ritual and attracts a very high cost. Consequently, there is no specific time frame to conduct it. Some families may conduct it within one week after the funeral while others conduct it after some years. During this ceremony a bull, a goat, and a pig will be slaughtered. There must also be an abundant availability of alcoholic beverages plus 2 or 3 bags rice and the entire ingredient that goes with the cooking. The ritual will be followed by eating, drinking, and dancing.
LASS UHPOME
This is a ritual that is done to celebrate the life of the deceased and also to seek protection and guidance from the past ancestors and the spirit. It is performed after the CHAUSE ritual. However, the time frame varies, depending on the financial status of the deceased family. Some families will perform it the following day after the CHAUSE ritual, while others may take as long as 5years, like the CHAUSE ritual, it entails slaughtering a bull, a goat, a pig and abundant assortment of alcoholic beverages.
CONCULSION
The concept of life after death and the associated funeral rituals are deeply entrenched in the cultural beliefs of the Manjargos. Likewise, the power and role of the deceased ancestors are also central in the culture of the Manjargos. They hold the firm belief that the ancestors\spirit have the power to bring good or bad fortune to them. The Manjargos are known to be manifestly passionate about death and funeral rituals, to the extent that they have strong contingency plan for such an eventuality. Most of their life saving is set aside for such eventuality. Death and funeral rites are dramatic event in Manjargo culture.

The Cabin crew and airport operations class just ended a 3 day Air Marshal course with Mr Bojang a retired air marchal specialist . Thanks to Mr Bojang for finding time to help train young aspiring student in this profession . We hope and pray that very soon The Gambia will soon have a female Air Marshal specialist .

The Cabin crew and airport operations class just ended a 3 day Air Marshal course with Mr Bojang a retired air marchal specialist . Thanks to Mr Bojang for finding time to help train young aspiring student in this profession . We hope and pray that very soon The Gambia will soon have a female Air Marshal specialist .

The Cabin crew and airport operations class just ended a 3 day Air Marshal course with Mr Bojang a retired air marchal specialist . Thanks to Mr Bojang for finding time to help train young aspiring student in this profession . We hope and pray that very soon The Gambia will soon have a female Air Marshal specialist .

Institute of Travel and Tourism of the Gambia is enrolling students in Amazing courses, Amadeus booking systems to Cabin crew & Airport Operations. Certificate and Diploma Courses in various areas of Travel, Tourism and Hospitality.

🇬🇲

Founder and principal of ITTOG Mr Sheikh Tejan Nyang, together with the president of Botswana Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi and the Minister of Tourism Philadelphia Nani Kereng and Kwakye Donkor CEO of African Partners at the ATLF forum meet this morning and had a lengthy discussion in strengthening relations. The Africa Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) is a Pan-African dialogue platform that is a gathering of Africans and stakeholders in African tourism joining forces to promote inter-African tourism.
Africa tourism partners in collaboration with the UNWTO, BDO and the government of the republic of Botswana through the Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) will host the 5th edition of the Africa tourism leadership forum (ATLF) and awards (www.tourismleadershipforum.africa).
The Africa Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) is a Pan-African dialogue platform. It brings together key stakeholders of Africa’s travel, tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors to network, shares insights, and devise strategies for intra-Africa travel and tourism growth across the continent, whilst enhancing the brand equity of “Destination Africa’’. It is also the only Forum of its kind in Africa that highlights tourism as a major economic pillar to diversify African economies. The Forum is convened by Africa Tourism Partners and BDO South Africa. This 5th Pan-African dialogue platform brings together key tourism public and private sector leadership and other stakeholders from across Africa and the rest of the world to share insights, and devise strategies for intra-Africa tourism growth.

Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG) | LinkedIn

The Many Reasons to enrol at ITTOG Institute of travel and tourism of the Gambia Are unlimited. ITTOG Stands for quality assurance in producing professionals in the said field of Travel, Tourism and Hospitality, The institute over the years produced outstanding professionals.
The institution is duly registered and accredited as a training provider by the NAQAA of The Gambia. ITTOG has had lots of international acclaim from winning Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award 2012 for contribution to people and culture and in 2014 shortlisted to the top 3 by the World Travel and Tourism Council Tourism for Tomorrow Awards for responsible tourism projects.

Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG) | LinkedIn Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG) | 90 followers on LinkedIn. Travel and Tourism TVET Education | The Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG), was founded and established in 2008 by Dr. Adama Bah, Sheikh Tejan Nyang and Helen Wilcockson through links with South Nott...