The Gambian Youth Organization (GYO) was founded in 2002 by Momodou Sawaneh as NYC Gambian based non-profit organization with a vision to harness the rich experiences of first generation immigrants and share these experiences with young and arriving generations with a view to creating a responsible, contributing and active members of the community. GYO’s founders took the opportunity to challenge the perception, misconception and stereotypical views and project a Gambian Youths with a moral sense of community belonging. GYO’s goal is to inspire youth to build on positive change within our communities and bring forward our rich diverse cultural heritage to New York. GYO wants to channel the power harvested from our shared positive experiences with a vision to increase: access to educational resources for the community, access health education and information, organize cultural outreach programs through social events and gatherings and cultivate a sense community partnership. GYO's culture took a shift in early 2020 when Covid19 merged as world pandemic. The organization started to cater food pantry programs to help mitigate food insecurity in the South Bronx. Just recently, GYO led Emergency Relief efforts to raise over 1 million dollars to help victims and families of Bronx Fire at 333 183rd streets. The funds raised helped mitigate housing issues, clothings, foods and unmet needs for the victims. GYO strive to provide continuous services to the community at all time whenever needed or necessary.
