Concern Unvivesal newsletter

CONCERN UNIVERSAL NEWSLETTER The Gambia & Senegal

*** Update on Micro Gardening activities***Report on Oxfam America learning Workshop***UNDEF Monitoring Report on Local Government Act***

December - January 2012/2013 UPDATE ON MICRO GARDENING PROJECT ACTIVITIES

What is it?

Micro gardening is a simple form of soil less food production that is well suited to urban areas. It is similar to hydroponics but with much lower start up costs making use of ground nut husk – a waste product. CU has pioneered adaptation of this technology into Gambia mostly in Banjul area.

Micro gardening reaches URR… CU’s local partner, Wuli and Sandu Development Agency (WASDA) in Upper River Region has benefitted from a demonstration point on the micro gardening technology. The site is used as a training tool for students and as a show garden for Basse’s inhabitants. The site has been visited by a number people, including recently by the US Ambassador who expressed his positive appreciation for the technology. The next step is a demonstration in urban Basse.

Concern Universal, Ousman Dan Fodio St., PO Box 2164, Serrekunda. Tel: (220) 4494473 Editor: Husainatu Kargbo email:husainatu.kargbo@concern-universal.org

Photos: this page and cover: Students of Bakau and Old Jeshwang Lower basic and Islamic boarding schools (Photos by photographer Jason Florio - http://www.thegambiablog.co.uk)

Latest situation in supported schools CU’s GAMHORT project is supporting selected urban Gambian schools to produce more food through the introduction of the micro gardening technology and training of 250 students and garden masters.

Students and teachers are excited by the technology. The project also targets people living with HIV, the blind and disabled. A new method uses organic approaches. The project is supported by UMCOR.

Would you like your own Micro Garden?

Mr Cherno Jallow trained by CU is a specialist and private entrepreneur of Micro gardening currently working as a provider of tables, inputs and accessories. In addition, he can deliver semi-organic vegetable growing packages of any type to his customers, and provides technical training, follow up, repairs for micro gardens.

You are invited to order your tables through the following contact details: Telephone: +220 7655501; Email: cjallow13@yahoo.com or Abdoulaye Seck at +220728335 Email:abdoulaye.seck@concern-universal.org

Concern Universal Celebrates 20 years of operation in the Gambia It with great pride we look back into our development work for the past 20 years since 1992, when a partnership was established with St Joseph’s Family Farm that bought Concern Universal to Gambia.

The main emphasis has been on rural development and food security. In 2002, CU began to support cross border communities on the borders with the Casamance region of Senegal to promote peace, economic stability and rehabilitation. Since then several large and many smaller projects have been carried out in both the two countries and we now have more than a dozen long term local partners.

In this vein, CU together with our local partners were implementing projects in:  Sustainable agriculture and food security  Disaster Risk Reduction  HIV and AIDS awareness raising and prevention  Marketing and enterprise training and networking  Partner development and capacity building We would like to thank all our hardworking staffs both past and present, partners, donors for all your supports over these years! We look forward to continuing to contribute to sustainable development and poverty alleviation in Gambia and Senegal.

Concern Universal, Ousman Dan Fodio St., PO Box 2164, Serrekunda. Tel: (220) 4494473 Editor: Husainatu Kargbo email:husainatu.kargbo@concern-universal.org

Report on Oxfam America Learning Workshop Dakar workshop with Oxfam America

Disaster Risk Reduction

Ismaila Jarjou and Manfred Bojang from Concern Universal, attended a leaning workshop in Dakar conducted by Oxfam America. The main focus of the meeting was to enable partners learn from each other and to carry out Midterm review of OA and partners in response to the 2011 crop failure that hit the Sahel region of West Africa. CU was the partner for The Gambia.

441 households in Kombo South District of West Coast Region are the current focus of CUs final activity in the Sahel Emergency response.

Households are receiving cash transfers and a package of WASH interventions. Some of the benefits of this includes: 90% of women report that they are now using better practices with cleaning of their water storage containers and use of a second vessel to scoop out water for drinking – preventing contamination - and many are adopting a simple method of hand washing that prevents hand contact with the water.

Project Supported by Oxfam America.

Concern Universal completes cash transfer partnership with WFP and NDMA in URR.

Important lessons were drawn out that are feeding into planning for the drought recovery phase and for future humanitarian interventions.

The cash transfer project in URR has now been completed. A final impact assessment showed many benefits of cash transfers versus providing food directly. It is hoped that the lessons learned from this pilot with WFP will be applied in future humanitarian interventions in the Gambia. For more information and a copy of the report contact Manfred Bojang. Project supported by USAID/OFDA and WFP.

Farming as a business for women

Staffs of Concern Universal A separate meeting with OA humanitarian coordinator, project officer and CU staff.

Discussions were focused on the ongoing partnership between Oxfam and CU.

Horticulture training for 150 women is underway at 6 sites in West Coast Region. Emphasis is on soil and nursery preparation, seed selection and transplanting. The aim is to help women take on farming as a business. The project is a women’s empowerment project and is also focusing on gender sensitization and giving women the skills and confidence to engage local authorities to better meet their needs. Supported by AusAID. Photo: women learning new methods to sow seeds at Evergreen Family Garden, Mandinaba.

Networking and learning This is one example of CUs wide networking activities. CU also joined a lessons learned workshop on the Gambia humanitarian response to the emergency organized by WFP and the NDMA.

Concern Universal, Ousman Dan Fodio St., PO Box 2164, Serrekunda. Tel: (220) 4494473 Editor: Husainatu Kargbo email:husainatu.kargbo@concern-universal.org

Strengthening Advocacy Capacity for Civil Society in The Gambia This project is raising awareness on decentralization laws that are poorly understood and little implemented in the Gambia.

Monitoring is underway for this UNDEF supported project. M&E strategies used are: • FGD (Focus Group Discussion) with the help of a guideline to facilitate • Score Cards • Collection of information based on people impression

The Forums are very educative and need to be wide dot include directors and permanent secretaries for greater interaction and understanding of the subject. These policies have some legal implications and as such their presentation should be done by a lawyer who can easily relate the document to appropriate sections of the law.

Based on findings all the groups confirmed that the policy presented “local Government Act Amended” is very key in their work as it is obligatory for civil society organizations to operate within the decentralization structure and framework. They now understand the importance and some of the gaps seen during the implementation process are related to people attitudes.

During the group discussions there was a lengthy arguments based on the geographic location and relationship with category to government officials. Some examples are: According to the Governor of URR “ the benefits of increase in awareness, is too apply it.

Therefore I ask Mr. Danjo & Concern universal to provide technical support to URR TAC to take the lead to request transfer of some functions from government to Basse Area Council”

Thank you to some of CU main supporters in our Gambia and Senegal program mentioned in this newsletter:

The sensitization should go further to the districts and community levels to enable the public fully understand what is happening as oppose to what is in the act. Other policies should also be look as e.g. the Land Act, Environmental Policy, and Gender Policy etc. that have a great bearing on development interventions in rural areas.

The greater Banjul groups believe that TANGO should endeavor to take opinion of members periodically on issues of immediate concern and develop advocacy agenda. The advocacy framework developed by TANGO with support from the projects was described as very good.

Concern Universal, Ousman Dan Fodio St., PO Box 2164, Serrekunda. Tel: (220) 4494473 Editor: Husainatu Kargbo email:husainatu.kargbo@concern-universal.org