Concern Universal Gambia-Senegal Annual Report 2012

Country Summary:

Celebrating 20 years’ sustainable development in The Gambia and Senegal

Senegambia SENEGAL

Expenditure by Category

The GAMBIA Serrekunda

Central River

1% 3% 5%

North Bank

Banjul

Upper River

Lower River Western

23%

43%

Senegambia

SENEGAL 25%

Annual report 2012 GUINEA BISSAU

Concern Universal Concern Universal Senegambia is one of nine Concern Universal country programmes. Concern Universal is an international development organisation tackling poverty from the grassroots. We create opportunities for people around the world to improve their lives and shape their own futures. By building skills and connecting people at all levels in society, we help communities deliver practical solutions with long term impact.

Working with partner organisations, we support community projects that improve livelihoods, reduce vulnerability and promote greater equality. To achieve this, we also influence policy, pioneer business partnerships and engage public support for our approach.

Our Vision: A world where justice, dignity and respect prevail for all Our Mission: To work in partnership to challenge poverty and inequality. We support practical actions that enable people to improve their lives and shape their own futures.

Concern Universal The Gambia & Senegal P.O. Box 2164 Serrekunda The Gambia

Grants to Partners

Staff Costs

Project Activities

Office

Transport

Equipment

Concern Universal Senegambia is a leading international development and humanitarian aid organization, specialising in Disaster Risk Reduction and Food Security and natural resource management. We work closely with local communities and Gambian organisations to understand and respond to priority needs. focus on building the capacity of Gambian organisations, and businessled solutions that mobilise resources and encourage entrepreneurialism.

Funding Partners Australian Agency for International Development British High Commission, Banjul Canada Fund ECOWAS European Union Fondacion De France Irish Aid Isle of Man Government Japan Oxfam America UMCOR United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) United Nations World Food Program (WFP) USAID / OFDA World Bank WWDP

In 2012, we worked with 17 local partners, the Government, civil society and the private sector; Channelling around 50 million GMD ($1.5m USD) of development aid to help almost

Contact: tel: +220 4494 473 fax: +220 4494 474 email: tony.jansen@concern-universal.org Website: www.concern-universal.org/gambia

Concern Universal, 21 King St, Hereford, HR4 9BX, UK. Tel +44 (0)1432 355111. www.concern-universal.org. Registered as a Charity No: 272465

35,000 people improve their lives. for people, for good

Concern Universal: :

We are guided by our experience of 20 years’ practical development in partnership with Gambian people and organisations to focus on these areas. They represent where we understand that we can help the most people in the most important ways.

Senegambia

Welcome

Improved agricultural productivity and farm incomes

As we celebrate 20 years in the Gambia, the team have been reflecting back on all the achievements we have made together with the Gambian people over this period. For example, in 2002, our MOU with The Department of State for Agriculture enabled us to extend support to the people of Cassamance. The success of the SMILE project, first launched in x helped women’s cooperatives to produce vegetables in the dry season, not only closing the hunger gap, but meaning they could enter the tourist market. Building on this, SMILE B established a water drilling consortium for small farmers and women cooperatives. And it was from this strong base of year-round, quality, local production that ‘Gambia is Good’ (GIG) was formed and has since developed into an independent private sector social enterprise.

In 2012, Concern Universal continued to focus on agriculture and natural resource management, helping Senegambians strengthen their resilience to a changing climate. We continue to seek African and particularly domestic market opportunities and see sustainable agriculture as the best approach for reaching the largest numbers of the poor.

Crops in the Sahel are grown close to their limits of tolerance, relying on natural rainfall which is highly variable. Last year we have felt particularly acutely the disastrous effects of even small changes. The sub region is facing increasing challenges but I am confident and positive about the opportunities. With your support, Concern Universal is well-placed and determined to continue to support the people and organisations of Senegambia to achieve sustainable development.

In a country where almost everyone relies on agriculture of one form or another, we focus on helping the poorest farmers earn a decent living. Gambians have witnessed dramatic changes in climate over the years, which informs what we do and how we do it. We support people to: improve horticultural, livestock and agro-forestry practices; have access to potable water; access to new markets for Gambian fresh produce; to promote micro gardening; to take on new initiatives such as reduced fuel wood use through piloting improved fuel efficient stoves.

Since 2004, the Gambia is Good initiative has been providing market opportunities for smallscale Gambian farmers, helping them grow from subsistence farming to commercial enterprise. It has also been particularly successful in raising awareness to a wide range of people about the opportunities for small and medium sized farmers. Gambia is Good has won multiple awards based on the impact that it has made. In 2012 GiG became an independent social enterprise under the umbrella of global horticulture business Haygrove, with our continued strategic involvement.

Another highlight of our livelihood program has been improved dry season rice production. In 2012, we provided four diesel pumps, installed 1270 metres of canal network and rice seeds and training to enhance productivity of 19hectares of land under community managed dry season rice production. This has enable the communities to produce rice all year round, increasing their yields by 45.5% per hectare over the national average of 7 tons. This meant that 3,584 people reduced their hungry season from 8.5 months to three months.

For more information on our impact last year, visit xxxxxxx

Disaster Risk Reduction and Response The Sahel region is drying up. Seasons are less predictable and extreme weather is increasingly prevalent. So we are committed to helping build Gambia’s resilience and capacity to respond to disasters over the long term. This has two main thrusts – building the capacity of partners to form networks that can assess and respond to disasters and raising awareness and communities’ own capacity to prepare and strengthen their resilience.

In 2012 we contributed to the response to the Sahel Drought. The 2011 drought was unprecedented in scale – affecting millions across the Sahel. Crop yields dropped by 50% in the Gambia and the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) assessments identified and supported some of the 400,000 people without enough food in the Gambia. We were an active partner in NDMA forums, participating in national assessments and assisting with implementing a series of targeted relief efforts.

While our footprint is smaller than the big UN agencies, we were able to push forward innovative responses to the Sahel drought – the most severe since the 1980s. We partnered with the World Food Program, WASDA, NACCUG and NDMA to help 20,000 people with a pilot of cash transfers to the most vulnerable people, allowing them to choose what they buy and invest more of it in the local economy rather than food aid based on imports. Our programme also involved improving latrines and integrated WASH programs; community-led selection of the most vulnerable households for assistance; housing reconstruction from flooding and community risk mapping. The Concern Universal blog documented this innovative response www.concernuniversal.org/blog).

Tony Jansen Country Director Gambia - Senegal

Results Food Security

impact

6,359 lives

Health

impact

14,811 lives

Rights

impact

5,083 lives

Skills

impact

1,018 lives

Vulnerability

impact

5,998 lives

In total 33,269 people in Gambia and Senegal were directly assisted to improve their lives

New partnerships in Senegal In 2012 we focused on building new strategic partnerships in Senegal with the aim of benefitting more people. We are developing innovative links with NGOs, private sector organizations and donors to upscale our work in agricultural livelihoods, peace building and capacity building in Senegal in coming years. Our focus in this troubled region of Senegal is on livelihoods. We integrate livelihoods with community linkages, capacity building and indirectly peace building. We have strong and well connected partners and have been able to focus our efforts on livelihood programs in ‘Foni’ area of Casamance – areas considered hotspots in the conflict. An increasing focus is on forest conservation connected to increased community control over and sustainable utilization of forests. An example is the Kioudoube Community Forest, In Kataba-un district.

“Before, people didn’t trust one another but this project has brought unity, especially amongst womenfolk. People before were cutting trees and taking things from the forest who were not from the community, but this community forest has given us the opportunity to protect the forest resources for the people who live here so we can live from it and benefit from its resources.”

Jonkunda Ceesay (Kioudoube Community Forest Committee and community resident)

Building Capacity

Building the Capacity of Gambian and Senegalese Organisations We believe that strengthening civil society is vital to building a sustainable, equitable Gambia.

So we raise the profile of Gambian Civil Society organisations and improve people's understanding of how they can help them achieve their development aims.

We supported The Alliance of Non-Government Organisations (TANGO) to establish an advocacy unit for its 72 Gambian members. We produced and shared advocacy framework materials to support members in developing their own advocacy campaigns. We also produced and distributed an advocacy booklet and a perception study on NGOs, documenting public perceptions on the role and contribution of NGOs in national development in their program planning. In addition we are offering continued support to TANGO to engage with government and use the media to discuss some policy issues (such as local government Act, Value Added Tax, NGO Bill, Population policy).