Rosamond Fowlis

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Rosamond Arorunkah Fowlis , MBE (born October 3, 1910 in Bathurst, now Banjul ; died August 20, 1994 ) was a Gambian educator.

Family and education

She was born to Henry George Fowlis and Naomi Fowlis and belonged to the Aku group . Fowlis was unmarried.

She attended Dobson Street Day School and Methodist Girls' High School (now the Gambia Senior Secondary School ). In 1929 she received a grant from the Government, which enabled her at St. Joseph's Convent in Freetown ( Sierra Leone ) Home economics ( domestic science ) to study.

Teaching activities

In 1931 she returned to Gambia and taught at Dobson Street Day School , Methodist Girls' High School and at Yundum College (now Gambia College ).

In 1937 she co-founded the Gambia Teachers' Union and was president of the organization from 1941 to 1944. During this period the establishment managed a pension fund for teachers ( Teachers' Provident Fund ) and the appointment of members of the union in the Gambian Board of Education . Fowlis himself was a member there at the beginning of the 1950s and was particularly committed to the education of girls.

From 1943 to 1947 she studied in Great Britain at the Leicester College of Domestic Science in Leicester .

Upon her return she was appointed Domestic Science Organizer and promoted the school subject of home economics, which eventually became compulsory at her insistence. She is convinced that the subject helps young women to become self-employed and thus become more economically independent. In 1950 she wrote a monograph on healthy eating. In 1951 she opened a Domestic Science Center and later a Home Craft Center in Kaiaf .

The 1952 Baldwin Report on Education , which evaluated the Gambian school system, heavily criticized Fowlis and suggested that she be replaced by a European teacher. After protests from the population, these considerations were dropped. In 1953 she was one of five women on a commission to advise the British governor on amendments to the constitution.

In 1965 she stopped teaching.

Further commitment

Fowlis was a founding member of the Women's Corona Society charities , the Gambia Women's Federation (which she chaired in the 1960s), the Gambia Women's Contemporary Society, and the Busy Bees .

In 1923, Fowlis joined the Gambia Girl Guides Association . After more than a decade of inactivity, it succeeded in the mid-1940s to expand its activities significantly and to double the number of members. In 1955 she was appointed the first Gambian Chief Guide Commissioner . The organization was also active inland.

In 1958, Governor Percy Wyn-Harris accepted her into the Preparatory Committee for Elizabeth II's 1961 Visit .

Around 1983 she was chair of The Gambia Society for the Blind (now The Gambia Organization of the Visually Impaired , GOVI).

Awards

In 1953 she was made a member of the Order of the British Empire . For her commitment to the Girl Guides, she was awarded the honorary title Life President of the Girl Guides Association in 1963 . In 1991 she received the Order of the Republic of The Gambia (Member) .

In 1985, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Girl Guides, she was honored with a stamp.

literature

  • Hassoum Ceesay : Gambian women: an introductory history . 1st edition. Fulladu Publishers, Gambia 2007, p. 39, 47, 69-71 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Arnold Hughes, David Perfect: Historical Dictionary of The Gambia . Scarecrow Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8108-6260-9 ( google.de [accessed January 29, 2019]).
  2. ↑ Jeggan C. Senghor: The Very Reverend JC Faye: His Life and Times: A Biography . AuthorHouse, 2014, ISBN 978-1-4918-6981-9 , pp. 96 ( google.de [accessed on January 29, 2019]).
  3. ^ West Africa . West Africa Publishing Company Limited, July 1983 ( google.de [accessed January 29, 2019]).
  4. ^ The London Gazette, May 26, 1953. Retrieved January 29, 2019 .
  5. ↑ According to Ceesay, Gambian Women: Member of the Most Grand Order of the Republic of The Gambia (MRG)
  6. ↑ Stamp: Rosamond Fowlis, Leader (Gambia) (Girl Guides, 75th Anniv.) Wed: GM 603, Sn: GM 592. Retrieved January 29, 2019 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Fowlis, Rosamond
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fowlis, Rosamond Arorunkah
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Gambian teacher
DATE OF BIRTH October 3, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Bathurst, now Banjul
DATE OF DEATH August 20, 1994