By: Foday Manneh

The prestigious annual awards hosted by the Fatu Network, dubbed ‘the TFN Heroes Award,’ is set for its third edition this Saturday, May 13, 2023, recognizing and honoring outstanding and inspiring personalities in The Gambia who have impacted positive change in their respective field of trade in the country throughout 2021.

Ten different categories have been opened for nominations, and the winners of each category will be awarded on the night of Saturday.

“This is a big event, not a small one, but honestly speaking, we do have the cooperation of everybody — the government, the ministries buying tables and public enterprises, and even individual support as well,” the TFN CEO Fatu Camara told TAT.

“But It is a costly event, and when you do an event of this magnitude, you deal with a lot of foreign exchange because we have to send money to Senegal. This time, foreign exchange is really bad. We lost over a million dalasis, unlike last year when the exchange was stable,” she added.

While she noted that there would be a high-security presence, the TFN boss also assured an unforgettable night.

“We write to the office of the IGP, and they come in time. So we get a lot of support for this event. We have new nominees, including many young people making good impacts. We have superstar Youssou Ndour who will be performing tonight,” she confirmed.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Camara clarified that she has no influence on the selection procedures of the awards and urged the public not to associate her with such, while she thanked Gambians for their steadfast support annually.

“This award, I am not on the award committee. Our committee nominates people first based on the nominations sent to them. Then, Gambians nominate all these people. After that, the Gambians think they are doing a good job and nominate them,” Fatu clarified.

“The committee will later sit over it and come out with the winners. It has nothing to do with me or the Fatu Network. I know some of those who did not win in the past few years stopped talking to me because they think it is me, but I know about the winners like everyone, and that is at the event,”

Meanwhile, three finalists for each category have been announced, and the following categories will be awarded on the night; Agricultural Leadership, Diaspora Engagement, Education Prize for Excellence, Green Award, Health Servant, The Philanthropist, Exemplary Youth Award, Trailblazer (Disability), Person of The Year, and one special award called Posthumous.