The Foundation was founded in December 2013 by Gambian Lawyer Malick H.B Jallow Esq. to further children’s rights through the Juvenile Justice System.

The Malick Jallow Foundation for Children (MJFC)  is a non-governmental, non-profit, impartial and non-partisan organisation located in Banjul, The Gambia, with a mandate to promote and protect the rights of children in The Gambia through the provision of legal support and assistance to indigent children in conflict with the law as well as building a preventive strategy to address the root-causes to why such children get into conflict with the law.

To that end, the Institute aims to improve the effectiveness and implementation of Domestic, African & International Human Rights instruments on rights of children and enhance their capacity to play a meaningful and fundamental role in the socio-economic development of The Gambia.

In order to carry out its mandate in a timely and effective manner, the Institute shall undertake the following activities:

  1. Building a preventive strategy to ensure that children do not come into conflict with the law. To that end the institute will organise training courses for stakeholders in the protection and promotion of children’s rights, engage in grass-roots sensitisation on domestic and international human rights instruments governing children’s rights and the relevance of such principles, amongst other things.
  2. Improving access to the juvenile justice system by providing and facilitating the provision of legal aid to indigent children in conflict with the law. This includes mobilising funds to provide adequate legal representation for such children. The institute will also provide training for legal aid agencies to enhance the effectiveness of their work.
  3. Work closely with the enforcement mechanisms for African treaties pertaining to children’s rights, train children’s rights stakeholders in the procedures of such mechanisms and adopt strategies to enhance impact of the decisions and jurisprudence of such mechanism at the domestic level.
  4. Publish newsletters, periodicals, and books that seek to disseminate awareness of the Institutes activities and relevant activities of key stakeholders in the juvenile justice system.
  5. Provide legal representation for Children in conflict with the Juvenile justice system at the Children’s Court.
  6. In addition to the activities outlined above, the Institute shall have the power to undertake any other activities consistent with its mandate.

The institute is fully registered as a non-profit making charitable organisation with the Ministry of Justice of the Gambia and has legal personality.