AAITG Newsletter April - June 2010

Rights to end poverty

Message from the Editor…………………………..1

AAITG Board of Directors Inaugurated and CSP III launched……………………..1

Activistas embark on the journey to end hunger…4

Successful Activista training in The Gambia…5

ActionAid conducts MESST Workshop………..6

Sponsorship staff receive training……………7

Story of change……………9

The Board of Directors of ActionAid

International The Gambia (AAITG)

and the agency‟s third Country

Strategy Paper, CSPIII (2008 - 2012)

were respectively inaugurated and

launched on Monday 9th August, at

a colourful ceremony at the Kairaba

Beach Hotel. The board, which

comprises experts from diverse fields

of study, was inaugurated by the

Minister of Finance Abdou Kolley on

behalf of the Gambian Head of

State, President Jammeh. The

Minister of Interior responsible for

NGO Affairs Ousman Sonko

launched the agency‟s third

Country Strategy Paper (CSPIII).

The inauguration of the board is a

major milestone towards AAITG‟s

internationalisation process which is

aimed at increasing the agency‟s

own accountability and legitimacy

In this Issue

1

ActionAid International The Gambia

Message from the

Editor

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the second

edition of the AAITG

newsletter, the highlight of

which is the inauguration of

our Board of Directors and

launching of the third

Country Strategy Paper,

CSPIII which are major

milestones in the history of

ActionAid International The

Gambia! The Board

comprises experts and

professionals from diverse

fields of study and

professionalism and was

inaugurated at a colourful

and well attended

Contd. on page 2

The Board of Directors of AAITG inaugurated and its CSPIII launched

AAITG Board members L-R Mr. Abdoulie Barry, Dr. Ahmed Tijan Jallow, Mrs. Naffie Barry, Mrs. Bintou Suso, Mrs. Amie Bensouda, Mrs. Janet Sallah-Njie, Mr. Baboucarr Buoy and Mrs. Ndey Secka

at both the national and

international levels in the fight

against poverty and injustice at all

levels.

AAITG Country Strategy Paper III

Contd. on page 2

Message from the Editor

Contd. from page 1

ceremony on August

9th at the Kairaba

Beach Hotel. AAI

International Director

for West and Central

Africa Tennyson

Williams was present to

provide guidance and

support as well as

Olutayo Olujide –

HROD Coordinator for

West and Central

Africa. AA Senegal‟s

Country Director Musa

Faal and AA Guinea

Bissau CBI Manager,

Carlos Rui Rubero

travelled all the way

from their respective

countries to lend moral

support. We have more

details inside.

Also in this edition, we

report on the Journey

To End Hunger. In

August, 500 young

adults embarked on a

2 kilometre walk to

raise awareness on the

one billion hungry

people in the world

today. The Journey to

End Hunger, which was

also held in other parts

of the world, follows a

successful sub-regional

Activista training at the

Gambia Pastoral

Institute in March 2010

sponsored by MS

ActionAid of Denmark.

We also have details of

the workshop on

photography, child

message collection

and communication

Contd. on page 3

AAITG Board of Directors of inaugurated…

Contd. from page 1

AAITG Staff and partners at the inauguration of the Board and

launching of CSP III

Activistas at the inauguration of the Board

At the launching ceremony, Abdou Kolley noted

The Gambia‟s un-relentless efforts to achieve

socio-economic advancement for all Gambians.

„It is a government that believes in genuine

partnership, such as that which we have found in

ActionAid, and which we believe would continue

to grow‟, he said. He expressed confidence that

with the board‟s experience and expertise, it

would be of great support in providing strategic

guidance to the organisation and its effective

governance.

Whilst launching CSPIII, Ousman Sonko

emphasised the importance of project

sustainability in the communities well after NGO

financing has elapsed. This, he said, requires

judicious pre-planning, effective resource

mobilisation and community participation.

Minister Sonko

therefore solicited the

continued

collaboration of all

NGOs especially

Mr. Abdou Colley, Minister of

Finance

Mr. Ousman Sonko, Minister of

Interior

ActionAid in

complementing

government‟s efforts

towards the fulfilment

of Vision 2020.

Soon after the

launching, the Chief

Executive Officer of

ActionAid International

Joanna Kerr made a

video call to the

meeting from her office

in Johannesburg.

Speaking on a large

screen placed in front

of the audience, she

noted that this was

Contd. on page 3

2

AAITG Board of Directors of inaugurated…

Contd. from page 2

more than creating a National Board. It was a way

of linking over fifty national organisations into a

federation. The CEO urged the Board to be mindful

of its legal and financial responsibilities and

emphasised the need for a clear understanding of

the constitution and ActionAid‟s new global

international strategy.

Mr. Tennyson Williams, AA International Director for

West and Central Africa was also in attendance

giving guidance and leadership to the process. „The

future of ActionAid International The Gambia now

rests on your shoulders‟, he told the board members.

He said that the Board is a reflection of our

connectedness with the communities, our honesty

and being accountable. He told members to work

together with the AAITG management to ensure

that the agency delivers on its mission and vision

and becomes an affiliate in the not too distant

future. In recent times, the number of hungry people

in the world has increased from 850 million to over 1

billion.

(L-R) Dr. Kujejatou Manneh AAITG Executive Director and Mr. Tennyson

Williams AAI International Director for West and Central Africa

ActionAid‟s Country Director Kujejatou Manneh in

her speech, challenged all development agencies

and governments in both developed and

developing countries to review intervention

strategies and to work together in the fight against

poverty and hunger.

The goodwill message delivered by the FAO

Resident Representative Dr. Babagana Ahmadu

highlighted AAITG‟s vast experience in areas of

interest to FAO, noting that FAO considers AAITG as

Message from the Editor

Contd. from page 2

organised by the

Sponsorship

Department, as well as

the MESST workshop

with the Global Fund

Round 8 partners.

We are confident that

you will enjoy reading

the articles and will

continue to be part of

the making of this

newsletter by sending

us your contributions

and feedback. Happy

reading!

one of its most crucial

partners in the

implementation of

community-based

programmes. „Our long

association with AAITG

has made it very clear

to us that AAITG is one

of the most

experienced, credible

and reliable CSOs in

this country‟, he

concluded. The

goodwill message from

the government came

from Momodou Mbye

Jabang from the

Ministry of Agriculture

who cited ActionAid‟s

support at the

continental, sub-

regional and national

levels. Mr. Jabang

made mention of the

agency‟s support in

the formulation of the

Agriculture and Natural

Resources policy, the

governments

participation in the

CAADP and the

formulation of the

ECOWAS Common

Agriculture policy. At

the field level, AAITG

has supported the

development of

women‟s horticultural

gardens, the

establishment of the

Packaging and

Marketing Centre in

Banjulunding and the

setting up of the Rice

Mill in Jaahally Madina

for rice farmers. Other

messages came from

Omar Satou Sallah of

Group Juboo

groundnut marketing

association in Fass,

Upper Saloum, Aja Mai

Bojang of Brufut

Women Horticultural

Garden and Ousman

Yarbo, Executive

Director of TANGO.

Mrs. Janet-Sallah Njie,

the newly elected

chairperson of the

Board on behalf of

board members,

thanked ActionAid

International The

Gambia for giving

them the opportunity

to contribute to the

development of the

country. She expressed

joy at the trust and

confidence bestowed

on them and promised

to live up to

expectation.

The ceremony was

attended by the

Secretrary to Cabinet

who was also

Contd. on page 4

3

AAITG Board of Directors of inaugurated…

Contd. from page 3

representing the President,

AAITG partners, representatives

from UN agencies, members of

the diplomatic corps, the

Secretrary to Cabinet, Members

of the National Assembly,

religious leaders and senior

government officials. The

occasion was punctuated with

songs and drama performances

from the re-knowned Kabakel

and Nyakoi cultural groups.

Kabakel Cultural Group

Later in the afternoon, the new

Board held its first meeting at

the Kairaba Beach Hotel and

were taken through AAI‟s

Internationalisation process and

milestones on Associate

progression by the Regional

HR/OD Coordinator Olutayo

Olujide. She also presided over

the election of key board

officials. Lawyer Janet Sallah-

Njie was unanimously elected

Chairperson and Dr. Ahmed

Tijan Jallow her deputy. The post

of Treasurer unanimously went

to Mr. Abdoulie Barry, Head of

Finance at the Medical

Research Council.

First meeting of the Board members

The Gambia joined the rest of

the world on Monday 9th August

2010 in commemorating

Journeys to End Hunger. The

event is held annually when

youth all over the world raise

their voices to global decision

makers and the lack of action

towards the fact that one billion

people go to sleep hungry every

day. In The Gambia more than

500 youth and children activists

took to the streets to raise

awareness through a carnival.

The Activistas walked for about

two kilometres from the Buffer

zone in Tallinding in the Kanifing

Municipality to Abuko Upper

Basic School in the Western

Region.

According to youth activist

Ousainou Jallow, „the carnival

was one of a kind with a lot of

young people in their red T-shirts

showing solidarity for the one

billion hungry people in the world

and at the same time raising

awareness for members of the

community to come out and

give their solutions to end

hunger‟.

There was a lot of fun and

excitement from the general

public and the Activistas as

they enjoyed music and a

display of a cultural

masquerade called hunting.

Two Activistas, Ebrima and

Siaka gave out powerful

messages in the local

languages while on board the

vehicle.

Later at the school lawn of

Abuko Upper Basic School,

there was a lot of entertainment

from drama troupes on the

theme UP WITH JUSTICE DOWN

WITH HUNGER. All participants

later converged at the school

basketball lawn to sign up to

end hunger. A symposium was

organised as part of the event.

One of the resource persons

Njaga Jawo from the National

Women Farmers Association

(NAWFA) dilated on women‟s

ownership and control over

land which was the main theme

for the 2008 cross country

caravan of the HungerFree

campaign organised by

ACTIONAID in collaboration

with the National

Contd. on page 5

4

Over 500 Activistas embark on the Journey to End hunger in The Gambia

Activistas displaying their banner during the journey to end hunger

5

Over 500 Activistas embark on the Journey to End hunger in The Gambia

Contd. from page 4

Alliance for food security. He

pointed out that women have

access to only 10% of the land

area in the Gambia and yet

they produce almost 70% of

what we eat. „You can imagine

that if women have more land

they will be able to feed the

whole of the country‟, he said.

Mr Buba Khan Food Rights

Manager of ActionAid

International The Gambia also

spoke at the occasion saying

that world leaders have made a

lot of promises that they are not

fulfilling and therefore the

young people have to remind

their leaders to fulfil those

promises. Mr Alhagie Kebbeh

Chairman of National Alliance

for Food Security spoke about

the responsibilities of Civil

Society Organisations who

should put pressure on

governments to put in the right

policies to combat food

insecurity.

The event was one of the

activities of a week-long

campaign against world hunger

and endemic poverty that

resulted from a regional training

seminar for Activistas held in

March 2010 at the Gambia

Pastoral Institute along Kairaba

Avenue.

Activastas displaying their messages

By Ousainou Jallow, AYCAH Coordinator By

In the buzzling city of

Serrekunda these days, young

people are sharing a hand sign

and joining voices in the slogan

Down with Hunger – Up with

Justice! The event that has

sparkled this energy and

change in the young activistas

is the Campaign and Leader

Training Seminar, a training

carried out by MS ActionAid

from 20th to 27th of March

2010.

The seminar, held at the

Gambia Pastoral Institute in

Kanifing, focused on promoting

skills in campaigning and

volunteer leadership among

West African youth from The

Gambia, Nigeria, and Sierra

Leone. From day one it was

clear that the participants from

all countries gladly adopted the

ways of learning that are

special for MS ActionAid: Non-

formal learning and

participatory methods, which

aim to include all participants in

shared learning processes.

The small African huts that made

out the class rooms were

covered with papers showing

common brainstorms and

shared ideas. Often you would

see the participants engaged in

vibrant discussions on

democracy, scarce resources,

and advocacy. As one of the

participants mentioned: “This is

so different from the boring

presentations that we normally

combine with seminars in West

Africa. In this way people get

involved and have to think on

their own”.

The seminar was officially

opened by Omar Badjie, Head

of Programmes at ActionAid

International The Gambia on

behalf of the Country Director. In

his address, Omar stated that

said youths face a lot of

challenges among which is their

little or no input in the decision-

making processes. He therefore

called for popular participation

among the youths on public

issues including the climate Contd. on page 6

Successful Activista training in The Gambia!

Participants at the training – from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Denmark and The Gambia

Successful Activista training in The

Gambia! Contd. from page 5

change debate.

According to Mr. Badjie,

the impact of the youth

would hopefully lead to

a reverse in these

disturbing situations.

“Commitment and

support will help us

attain the aims and

objectives‟, he

concluded. Alhagie

Kebbeh, Director of the

National Youth Alliance

for Food Security

(NAYAFS) and

international president of

AYCAH expressed similar

sentiments, noting that

this is a wake-up call to

youths to get

challenged in many

ways, especially on their

ability to act, reflect and

participate in processes

of campaigning and

youth leadership.

Simone Hagensen, a

representative from

Denmark, said they seek

to get to the core issues

responsible for the

causes of hunger in the

world, especially in the

developing countries,

the most affected by

hunger. She noted that

since the youths are the

future leaders, they will

help to develop skills in

planning and organizing

campaigns, volunteer

leadership, project

planning and

management,

communication,

mobilization of

volunteers and have

tools to work with

documentation and the

new media. The former

AYCAH Cordinator

Sanna Bah also spoke at

the ceremony.

During the week the

young Africans worked

together in teams to

plan and carry out

campaigns on world

hunger. The campaigns

were based on

workshops that the

participants attended,

focusing on

communication,

volunteer leadership

and campaign

planning. The learning

from the seminar was

used as input for real life

campaigns that took

place in The Gambia,

Nigeria, and Sierra

Leone. These real life

campaigns are part of a

global campaign,

Journeys to End Hunger.

Maria Spliid of MS

ActionAid, Denmark

contributed to this

article.

ActionAid International

The Gambia convened

a meeting of

programme

stakeholders in the

Global Fund Round 8

for HIV/AIDS in June to

access its grant with

the Monitoring and

Evaluation Systems

Strengthening Tool

(MESST) developed by

the Global Fund. The

meeting focussed on

identifying gaps in work

plans and update the

monitoring and

Evaluation (ME) plan. It

was held in

consultation with

program stakeholders

at the Jerma Beach

Hotel.

Addressing the

meeting, Dr Kujejatou

Manneh Jallow,

ActionAid Executive

Director reminded

participants of the

collective commitment

by all stakeholders to

halt and reverse the

prevalence of

HIV/AIDS from 2.8% to

2% by the year 2013.

According to her, this

requires a strong

monitoring system

both at PR and SR

levels. “The MESST is

not only a condition

precedent for the

second disbursement

of funds for grant

implementation, but

will also help us

achieve our targets as

planned,” she said.

„The achievement of

this lofty goal requires

our collective,

sustained and timely

efforts which cannot

be done without a

strong programme

monitoring and

evaluation systems

and structure‟, she

emphasised.

Earlier, Mr. Alieu

Jammeh, the Director

of the National Aids

Secretariat, NAS,

6

ActionAid Conducts Monitoring Evaluation Systems Strengthening workshop with The Global Fund

Round 8 Grant with Partners

AAITG staff and partners at the MESST workshop

MESST workshop with The Global Fund Round 8 …

Contd. from page 6

spoke of the three

ones principle: one

Coordinating body,

one Monitoring and

Evaluation system and

one Financing

Framework which he

said, is the basis of the

MESST. He therefore

urged all the Principal

and Sub-Recipients of

the Global Fund to

give the consultant

their undivided

attention.

Almost seventy

participants attended

the workshop which

was facilitated by an

international M+E

consultant based in

Freetown, Sierra

Leone, Dr. Saidou

Hangadoumbo.

For three days,

participants were

exposed to the MESST

tool which will enable

them to critically assess

the national M+E plan,

the data

management

capacities and data

reporting of all PRs and

SRs. At the end of the

workshop, participants

came up with a

costed action plan to

address the gaps

identified.

The revised action

Plan, the M&E plan

were submitted to The

Global Fund for

approval. Thus on the

16th August 2010 the

Global Fund, Fund

Portfolio manager for

West and Central

Africa, Ms Sonia

Eugenie Florisse gave

approval to the

document. She noted

that the M&E process

was well organised

and provided good

inputs to AAITG‟s M&E

plan which she says is

comprehensive and

captures the main

components of the

Global Fund

requirements.

Sponsorship Staff receive training on Photography, Child message

collection, Communications

Participants at the training

Community volunteers and coordinators of

ActionalAid International The Gambia on Friday

6th August 2010 concluded a week-long training

workshop in photography and managing

sponsorship communications at the Kunta Kinteh

Camp in Albreda in the North Bank Region.

The main focus of the training was on

photography but other areas such as child

message collection, the role of sponsorship in

AAITG and the importance of communications

were also covered. AAITG sponsorship staff

including those at the head office in Kanifing and

in the field attended the training which was

facilitated by Lamin Jallow of Susu Photo

laboratory.

Delivering his opening statement at the training,

Mr. Lamin Barro, Head of Sponsorship in Action Aid

International The Gambia told participants who

came from the three Development Areas (DA)

that the objective of the workshop was to improve

on what is being done at the DA and CP levels.

“What is needed in sponsorship is timely, quality

and accurate performance in photography,

messages collection and report writing, ″ said

Barro. He urged all to strive hard to meet the

standards set for sponsorship.

Mamie Ceesay the sponsorship coordinator at

Action Aid International The Gambia called on the Contd. on page 8

Participants at the MESST training

7

volunteers to take the work very seriously as their

work is a very important part of the whole

sponsorship. “If you do your message collection

well, with proper follow ups avoiding breaking up

of links, which is what is ideal,″ she said, “then

business will be okay with us.”

Also in attendance were Joana Mendy,

Sponsorship Officer for DA 9, Sutay Njie,

Sponsorship Coordinator for DA 8 and 11, and Mr.

Madi Ceesay, Sponsorship Communications

Manager.

Lamin Barro later dilated on the role of

sponsorship. He told participants that sponsorship

is all about fund raising. It provides all the regular

income for Action Aid International The Gambia

(AAITG). Sponsorship , he went on, enables

Action Aid (AA) programmes to make long term

plans .

Currently AAITG has over 9000 sponsors to service,

thus it is our responsibility to research, write and

send good messages and reports to these, Mr.

Barro said. He urged them all to live up to the

values of Action Aid.

Sponsorship Staff receive training on Photography, Child message collection, Communications

Contd. from page 7

Mamie Ceesay, the sponsorship coordinator told

the volunteers that a child‟s message is the most

important communication that a sponsor

receives from the relationship. Supporters are very

much interested in the children they support and

the community volunteers form part of the link

between the sponsors and the communities.

She told them that the message allows supporters

to develop their relationship with the child they

support. Child messages develop a healthy

relationship between the two, Mamie said.

She detailed the features of a child message

which she said should be legible, short and direct

to the point. Mamie reminded the field workers

that where a child‟s message is inadequate, the

volunteer‟s comments should complement.

Ms. Ceesay told the volunteers that they are

responsible for continuous sensitization of the

community members and parents before any

major sponsorship field activity eg, child message

Contd. on page 9

8

Cross session of participants

Sponsorship Staff receive training on Photography, Child message collection,

Communications

Contd. from page 8

collection. They should also

ensure they collect clear and

complete information about

those children who are

withdrawn or absent .

Madi Ceesay, the Sponsorship

Communications Manager

delivered a paper on the

importance of a good

communication. He told the

participants that good

communication is said to take

place, when a message is sent

from one point and is received

at another point and is

understood by all. He told

participants that every

communication must capture

the who, what, where, when,

why, and how.

They were advised to be simple

and direct to the point in their

message collections and when

making comments.

The lead trainer, Lamin Jallow

from the SUSU Photo Laboratory,

took the participants through

various parts of the camera

helping them to first know what

each part is used for. He told

them that it is important to first

know their camera, and always

check the battery and other

parts before shooting pictures.

The group was taken out to the

village for practical

photography, focusing mainly

on shots of landscape and

portraits. These were self

critiqued with suggestions and

professional input by Jallow. The

session ended with participants

all equipped with skills and

knowledge about the camera

and general photography. By Madi Ceesay, Sponsorship Communication Manager

9

Lamin Jallow, lead trainer presenting on photography

Story of Change

Women and Land: Tambasangsang Kambeng Kafo in the Upper River Region of The Gambia

Fanta Fatty, a farmer in URR

Fanta Fatty is a woman farmer

and belongs to an association

called Tambasangsang

Kambeng Kafo (One Voice

organisation of

Tambasangsang). The group

comprise 250 women, all of

them farmers, and is located in

the Upper River Region of The

Gambia.

Fanta and her group have

started farming activities on a

newly acquired piece of land.

The land was given to them

after members of the group met

with the regional Governor, the

Contd. on page 10

Story of Change Women and Land…

Contd. from page 9

district Chief and the Alkali of

the village to demand for their

right to own and control land.

This comes after many years of

advocacy and campaigns by

ActionAid The Gambia including

the HungerFree campaign.

In the Gambia, women

generally have access to

farmland but very few have

ownership and/or control,

particularly in the uplands. This

has increasingly become

important with women‟s

increased participation in the

production of upland cash

crops like groundnuts, sesame

and upland rice. The uplands

form the bulk of the farmland

area in the Gambia and are

almost all controlled by men.

Women are only allowed user

rights through marriage. Men

would always allocate land to

the women after they have

selected all the land they can

manage. The land allocated to

the women is often of poor

quality, very far away from their

homes and allocation is often

done late in the season.

Women farmers listening to speeches concerning their plight at a meeting in Brikamaba, Central River Region (CRR)

The latter is important because

the rains last for only three

months in the year. Thus it is

important to start early in order

to optimally benefit from the

short rainy season in terms of

increased production and

productivity.

The lack of ownership has also

made it difficult for women to

invest in improving the quality of

land as there are no guarantees

that the same land would be

available to them in subsequent

years. As a result, production

and productivity levels of

agricultural produce are low

and improved techniques of

production are poorly adopted.

In addition, markets and

marketing facilities are

inadequate, literacy levels are

low and there are poor resource

mobilisation and management

skills, leading to increased

poverty. With the newly acquired piece

of land, Fanta and her group

are planting rice, sesame and

maize. They plan to grow coos in

the coming year and fruit trees

like cashew, oranges, bananas,

and mangoes around the

garden to enhance food

production and productivity.

„We can use this land forever‟

says Fanta. „Our children, our

grand-children and even our

great grand- children can use

this land when we are no longer

around‟.

Despite the joy of the

Tambasangsang Kambeng Kafo

at the ownership and control

over the land, the group is

faced with a number of

challenges that need to be

addressed urgently. Currently,

there are no wells on the

farmland. Fanta and other

members of the group have to

fetch water from nearby farms.

This entails a lot of drudgery

because they have to draw

several bucketfuls of water each

day from far-away wells.

Moreover, the lack of a fence

around the farm means that

wild animals can stray in to eat

whatever is being grown,

leaving the women helpless and

devastated. If the drive towards

food security is to be taken

seriously, then the provision of

boreholes, fencing materials,

seeds, fertiliser, tractors and

power tillers cannot be more

urgent. „When we have

boreholes, fencing materials,

power tillers, seeds and all that

we need, we will show the

people that we can grow

enough to feed our families and

the people in the area. We can

pay for our children‟s fees,

clothe and educate them,

Fanta concludes.

Women farmers in CRR and LRR

10

0

11

0

AAITG BOARD MEMBERS

Mrs. Janet Sallah-Njie Chairperson

Dr. Ahmed Tijan Jallow

Vice Chairperson

Mrs. Naffie Barry

Mr. Abdoulie Barry

Treasurer

Mrs. Amie Bensouda

Mr. Baboucarr Buoy

Mrs. Bintou Suso

Mr. Dominic Mendy

Mrs. Oley Dibba

Mrs. Aji Haddy Saine

Mrs. Ndey Secka

ActionAid International The Gambia PMB 450 Serrekunda Tel: 4392004 / 4392244 / Fax: (220) 4392425

Email: Jainaba.nyang@actionaid.org / Mohamedlamin.touray@actionaid.org

EDITORIAL BOARD: Jainaba Nyang-Njie

Kebba Sima

Omar Badji

Momodou Wuri Jallow

Kadijatou Jallow

Almamo Barrow

Mohamed L Touray