Promoting Women's Socio-Economic Rights

ActionAid International The Gambia

Promoting Women’s Socio-economic

Rights

in Niamina East, Niamina West and Niamina Dankunku Districts, Central River Region (CRR), The Gambia

Interim Narrative Report 2015

EU Funded0 Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

LIST OF ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS ...... 2 DESCRIPTION ...... 3 ASSESSMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION ACTIVITIES ...... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE ACTION ...... 3 RESULTS AND ACTIVITIES ...... 5 SIGNING OF MOUS WITH IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS ...... 5 PROJECT LAUNCHING ...... 6 BUDGET AMENDMENT ...... 7 SENSITISATION AND AWARENESS GENERATION MEETINGS...... 7 TRAINING ON LEADERSHIP SKILLS ...... 9 LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN DANKUNKU ...... 9 LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN CHOYA ...... 9 LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN NIAMINA EAST DISTRICT (KUDANG) ...... 9 CONDUCT STAKEHOLDERS SENSITISATION SEMINAR ...... 9 HOLD CONSULTATIVE MEETINGS AND POLICY DIALOGUE ...... 10 TRAINING ON BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SKILLS...... 10 OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING: ...... 11 EMERGENT ISSUES AND LESSON LEARNED DURING THE THREE-DAY PERIOD ...... 11 BASELINE SURVEY ...... 12 MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP ...... 13 CONDUCT QUARTERLY MONITORING VISITS ...... 13 TRAINING ON WOMEN’S GROUPS ...... 13 THE CONCEPT OF EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN AND THE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES LINKED TO THIS CONCEPT ...... 14 BASICS OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE ...... 14 BENEFICIARIES/AFFILIATED ENTITIES AND OTHER COOPERATION ...... 17 BENEFICIARIES: ...... 17 RELATIONSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT ...... 17 IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: ...... 17 LINKS AND SYNEGIES: ...... 17 PREVIOUS EU GRANT: ...... 17 VISIBILITY ...... 18 ANNEXES ...... 19

List of acronyms & abbreviations

AAI ActionAid International AATIG ActionAid International The Gambia ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution AGM Annual General Meeting CRR Central River Region CSO Civil Society Organization CSP Country Strategy Paper EC European Commission EU European Union EUR Euro FLAG Female Lawyers Association of The Gambia GBV Gender Base Violence HRBA Human Rights Base Approach LRP Local Right Programme MDFTs Multi-Disciplinary Facilitation Teams NaWFA National Women Famers Association NGOs Non – Governmental Organizations

DESCRIPTION

1.1. Name of Coordinator of the grant contract: Pansaw Nyassi

1.2. Names and title of the Contact persons: Omar Badji (Executive Director, AAITG) and Katarina Macejakova (ActionAid)

1.3. Name of Beneficiary(ies) and affiliated entity(ies) in the Action: Femal Lawyers Association, National Women farmers Association, People of Niamina East, Niamina West and Niamina Dankunku Districts

1.4. Title of the Action: Promoting Women’s Socio-economic Rights in Niamina East, Niamina West and Niamina Dankunku Districts, Central River Region (CRR), The Gambia

1.5. Contract number: 2013/332-031

1.6. Start date and end date of the reporting period: 1st February to 31st December, 2014

1.7. Target Region: Niamina East, Niamina West and Niamina Dankunku Districts, Central River Region (CRR), The Gambia

1.8. Final beneficiaries: About 10,000 people including rural women, men, children, community leaders, and households and the larger civil societies

1.9. Target groups1 (if different from 1.8): 3,660 rural women who are members of 122 smallholder women farmer groups, traditional and national leaders, and along with 30 people from 5 media houses, 5 civil society organisations, 10 micro-finance institutions, and relevant government ministries and departments such as agriculture, local government, trade and the judiciary

1.10. Country in which the activities take place (if different from 1.7):

Assessment of Implementation of Action Activities

Executive Summary of the Action

Promoting women’s socio-economic rights in the Niamina East, Niamina West, and Niamina Dankunku Districts in the Central River Region (CRR) project began in

1 “Target groups” are the groups/entities who will be directly positively affected by the project at the Project Purpose level, and “final beneficiaries” are those who will benefit from the project in the long term at the level of the society or sector at large.

February 2014 with primary support from the European Union (EU). The overall aim of the project was to respond to the EU’s objective of Promoting Gender Equality through Political, Social and Economic Rights for Women with an action objective to contribute to gender equity in the Gambia, by promoting women’s access to socio- economic rights and economic empowerment. The project is being implemented in three districts in the Gambia; Niamina East, Niamina West, and Niamina Dankunku Districts in the Central River Region.

The project is a capacity building intervention aimed at strengthening civil societies to support women’s economic empowerment and equal access to socio-economic resources. The project has four main results; 1 Women are aware of their socio- economic rights and have knowledge of how to make their voices heard in economic decision-making. 2: Women’s groups and networks have access to information, services and resources for economic empowerment. 3: Women are aware of their rights to access agricultural land and micro-credits. 4: Linkages between CSOs and key line ministries in charge of women’s socio-economic rights are strengthened.

In the first year of the project the following keys activities were conducted; a) Inception Phase activities: contract review and amendment, signing of MOUs, project launching in communities b) Baseline survey: information gathering and situational analysis c) Trainings for Women’s groups: group formation, business planning & management, vocational skills, women’s rights and legal framework d) Community sensitisation and policy dialogues e) Message development workshop: message development and pre-testing of messages f) Media talk shows: live community radio programmes g) Monitoring and supervision

A total of 347 women from 107 women groups spread across the three districts were trained in the first year, and the key output from these trainings is that women are more informed and knowledgeable about their rights to access economic resources, developing business plans know how to engage with Micro finance institutions. A total of 44 traditional and community leaders have been sensitised on the communal benefits of promoting and fulfilling women’s rights, and they have made commitments to support women groups in securing lands for agricultural purposes.

All project outputs have carried the EU logo, t-shirts, publications, Stickers and banners. The media events, presentations, workshops, press conferences, interviews: radio and television have articulated the role of the EU Delegation: in

4 terms of financial and programme support. Communication between the project and the implementing EU Manager has been excellent in this first year. RESULTS AND ACTIVITIES

2.2.1 EU Project Start up Activities

2.2.1.1 Inception workshop for ActionAid staff held on the 12th – 14th February 2014 at Ocean Bay Hotel

A three-day staff inception workshop was held for AAITG staff at the Ocean Bay Hotel between 12th and 14th February 2014. The objective of the workshop was to enhance staff understanding of the donor requirements and guidelines for project implementation. ActionAid’s EU Donor Manager and Regional Partnership Coordinator for West Africa facilitated the workshop. The methodology used for this workshop was mainly presentations, group work, practical demonstrations of grant management and discussions on the fundamentals of the project implementation processes.

2.2.1.2 Inception workshop with Project Partners, 4th -5th March 2014 at CIAM Conference hall with 24 participants

An inception workshop for partners was conducted for two days between the 4th and 5th March, 2014 at the CIAM conference hall. This workshop was attended by 24 participants who were core in the implementation of the project. AAITG, NaWFA and FLAG were represented by 12, 7 and 5 programme staff respectively.

This workshop created a common understanding on contract terms and conditions for implementation of the project, project management structure and related processes for efficient and effective running of the project including reporting requirements. The opening session was followed by presentations and discussions relating to key aspects of the project. The second day of the inception workshop was focused on presentations and discussions on the fundamentals of the project implementation process.

2.2.1.3 Signing of MOUs with Implementing Partners, at ActionAid on 28th March, 2014

ActionAid International The Gambia on Friday 28th March, 2014 signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the National Association of Women Farmers (NaWFA) and the Female Lawyers Association of The Gambia (FLAG) being the two key project partners. The signing ceremony took place at the ActionAid conference room in Kanifing, attended by 15 staff from FLAG, NaWFA and ActionAid.

Under the MOU, NaWFA is responsible for trainings on women’s leadership, vocational skills and supporting women to link with micro finance institutions to enhance their access to micro credit schemes. FLAG on the other hand is

5 responsible for training of women’s groups and networks on advocacy, human rights and legal frameworks as well as the provision of legal aid services. In addition, FLAG is responsible for training media practitioners on socio-economic rights.

2.2.1.4 Project Launching held on 2nd April 2014 at Jareng with 200 participants.

The Launching ceremony of the project took place within the project intervention area in Niamina Jarreng village in the Central River Region on Wednesday 2nd April, 2014. At a colourful ceremony attended by over 200 people from the communities, the EU delegation in The Gambia, National Authorising Officer Support Unit (NAOSU), local dignitaries, AAITG staff and key partners (NAWFA and FLAG). The former Governor of the region Ganye Touray officially launched the project.

The three-year project aims to contribute to gender equity in The Gambia by promoting women’s access to socio-economic rights and economic empowerment in the Niamina West, Niamina East and Niamina Dankunku districts in the Central River Region. It directly targets rural women, traditional and national leaders, media houses, civil society organisations, micro-finance institutions, relevant government ministries and departments.

In his launching statement, Governor Touray noted that the project would complement efforts aimed at developing the region by saying , “socio-economic rights are a vital aspect of the human rights agenda for women; denying them access to, for example, land and other economic resources, means violating their rights.”

The EU Charge D’ Affairs, Madam Agnes Guillaud, spoke about poverty and gender inequality which she said still persists in The Gambia “Despite the government’s strong commitment, women still continue to face discrimination in access to social and economic rights”.. She therefore called on all to work collectively, at the community, district and national levels for the success of the project.

ActionAid International The Gambia’s Executive Director Omar Badji described the occasion as the beginning of a journey aimed at positively changing the lives of vulnerable people in the society particularly the women farmers “This also marks the beginning of a significant and strategic relationship between Action Aid International The Gambia (AAITG) and the EU in The Gambia. It will also strengthen the relationship between Action Aid, NAWFA and FLAG” Badji said.

Women constitute over 40 per cent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries, and over 50 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. In The Gambia more than 60 per cent of smallholder farmers are women, providing women with secured rights to land and reliable access to production resources would play a critical and significant role in enhancing their productivity, self-confidence for more effective and meaningful participation in decisions that affect their lives.

It is expected that at the end of the project, the women will be aware of their socio- economic rights and have knowledge on how to make their voices heard in economic decision-making. Women’s groups and networks will be able to access information, other services and resources for economic empowerment and become aware of their rights to access agricultural land and micro-credit facilities. Through this project, linkages with CSOs and between CSOs and relevant government departments will be further strengthened.

2.2.1.5 Budget Amendment

Following the inception workshop and the review of MOU, AAITG has realized some inconstencies in some of the budget lines requiring amendments. As such, ActionAid officially submitted a request for a budget amendment to the EU on the 4th April 2014. This was approved by the EU and communication was received to that effect dated 28th April 2014 from the EU Dakar office which oversees The Gambia office.

2.2.2 SENSITISATION AND AWARENESS GENERATION MEETINGS ON EC PROJECT AT DISTRICT LEVEL, held on 23rd, 24th and 25th April 2014 at Kudang, Dalaba and Dankunku

ActionAid International The Gambia and partners, National Women’s Farmers Association and Female Lawyers Association The Gambia carried out a 3-day sensitization from (23rd to 25th April 2014) in Niamina East, Niamina West and Niamina Dankunku Districts of Central River Region South.

One of the start-up activities for implementing this project was to carry out community sensitization on the project with a view to adequately informing women direct beneficiaries and the community stakeholders at large on the project concepts, activities and the role of various stakeholders in the implementation of the project.

It was deemed necessary to carry out this activity with a view to raising awareness on the project concept, mobilize and motivate stakeholder participation at beneficiary level as a way to prepare the ground for smooth implementation of activities. The communities were hence sensitized and mobilized in advance to identify and inform the participants at the sensitization meetings.

The 3-day sensitization meeting on the project started in Kudang from the 23rd April and ended in Dankunku on the 25th April 2014. The activity targeted participants from local community based institutions at Village, Ward, District, MDFTs, Traditional Leaders and Village Savings and Credit Associations (VISACAs). Members of these institutions are the target beneficiaries as well as stakeholders in the implementation of the project.

The Specific objective is to sensitize 150 (50 participants in each of the 3 districts of Niamina East, Niamina West and Niamina Dankunku) on the project initiatives and their roles in the project.

Through a brain storming exercise in order to motivate participation, the presenter asked the participants what their expected roles are in the project. The following issues came up.  Women’s groups and their leadership should embrace the project and work hard to promote achieving the project objectives  Enhance solidarity and sharing of information amongst women with a view to empower and enable them take lead roles in addressing their priorities  Women should endeavor to acquire new vocational skills that are viable to improve and uplift their socio-economic status  Men, women and influential traditional land owners should advocate for women’s access to and ownership of land for agricultural and related socio- economic activities

During general discussion sessions, the participants observed and highlighted the following issues that militate against women’s advancement.

 Generally the project concept was appreciated, accepted and embraced by majority of the participants. The meeting observed that despite the numerical strength of women in the productive labour force, they are socially and economically disadvantaged and underprivileged.  Land owners including Village Heads (Alkalolu) are willing to give land to women for agricultural and related socio-economic activities. The project will further support all women’s groups that acquire land to register such land in their names to avoid it being reclaimed by the previous owners. So far 37 women groups have acquired land which sizes range from 1.0 to 5.0 hectares from Niamina East, Niamina West and Niamina Dankunku districts.  Notwithstanding there were some pockets of male counterparts who felt that women could access land if they wish, but it would cost them enormous task of clearing virgin forests to own land as was raised in Dalaba village.

In conclusion, generally all the meetings went well as planned. The discussion topics were relevant and brought to light issues militating against women’s advancement. The discussions also focused on strategies such as intensifying discussions at various levels including household level with a view to create greater awareness on the subject matter. Most importantly, men and women have begun to see each other as equal partners and willing to provide the necessary local/community support.

At all the three sites it was emphasized that women’s rights issues cannot be separated from community issues and should be greatly embraced. However to successfully achieve desired results on sustainable basis, the need for both men and women to change attitudes was highly echoed. Under this activity, a total of 131 people were sensitised in the three districts, as can be seen in Annex A.

2.2.3 TRAINING ON LEADERSHIP SKILLS, held at the three Districts with 144 participants

A Five-day training on group leadership and management aimed at building capacities of 144 women in leadership skills and ensure assertiveness was conducted in each of the three Districts. This training was very useful as attested to by most of the participants. It has helped to identify their weaknesses such as lack of holding regular general meetings, absence of term limits for officials, lack of respect for group bye-laws, inadequate record keeping particularly with regards inventory of equipment/assets, minutes of meetings, and financial transactions among others.

At the end of the training participants indicated that they have learnt a lot and that they commit to use the knowledge and skills to bring about good governance in their respective groups. This was manifested after six months of the training when almost all the Apex groups held their AGMs and elected new officials as stipulated by their constitutions. Men were also part of the training as some of them are members of the women groups whilst some are within the communities and render support to the groups such as record keeping, writing letters and taking minutes during meetings.

The training Module can be seen on Annex B.

Leadership Training at Dankunku, Niamina Dankunku District held on 12th – 16th May 2014 with 44 participants

This training was attended by a total of 44 participants (29 females &15 males) and extended over a period of five days - 12th to 16th May 2014.

Leadership training at Choya, Niamina West District held on 9th - 13th June 2014 with 45 participants

This training was attended by a total of 45 participants (32 female & 13 male) extended over five days from 9th to 13th June 2014.

Leadership training at Niamina East District (Kudang), 45 participants from 11th – 15th August 2014

Leadership training, the third in series was carried out in Niamina East from 11th - 15th August 2014 with groups that have been working with NaWFA over the years. Two women and 1 man represented some villages while in other villages all the participants were women. A total of 35 Women and 10 men attended the training representing about 78% and 22 % respectively.

2.2.4 CONDUCT STAKEHOLDERS SENSITISATION SEMINAR ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS AT CLUSTER LEVEL, held at Jareng on the 19th May 2014 with 30 participants

This meeting was held on the 19th May 2014 at Niamina Jareng for 30 participants (17 females and 13males).

The purpose of the meeting was to increase acceptance of women’s rights and its promotion among key stakeholders in the target communities; sensitize stakeholders and community gate keepers on the importance of the project in their communities; create an enabling environment for project implementation in the project sites and to elicit support of stakeholders in project implementation. This was achieved as many of the stakeholders who participated understood what women’s rights meant and their misconceptions were cleared.

One of the outcomes of this stakeholder sensitisation was that potential male advocates for women’s rights were identified amongst the district’s decision makers. Greater understanding and empathy of women’s issues was also achieved and these male advocates acknowledged their previous lack of support for women’s rights but promised to change as they now have fresh perspectives on the issues..

2.2.5 CONSULTATIVE MEETINGS AND POLICY DIALOGUES ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS AT DISTRICT LEVEL WITH 129 PARTICIPANTS

The purpose of this activity was to create better understanding of women’s rights among community leaders and district authorities. This was implemented with the notion that a better understanding of the rights of women will lead to its effective propagation and thus provide opportunities for women’s rights protection and fulfillment. Participants at the three district meetings were informed that women’s rights is a cross cutting issue which affects everyone in the society and it is in light of this that AAITG has decided to partner with FLAG and NAWFA with support from EC to promote such issues.

The meeting took place at three different districts for a period of three days (1st – 3rd June 2014) and brought together 129 community leaders and district authorities.

2.2.6 TRAINING ON BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SKILLS, held at all three Districts at different dates with 134 participants.

The training for the Niamina East District was conducted in Jareng village from 26th to 28th May 2014 and was attended by 44 participants all females. The one for Niamina West was held in Choya village from the 16th to the 18th July 2014 with 45 participants (42 females and 3 males). The final set of people trained were from Niamina Dankunku District and was held in Dankunku village from the 15th to the 17th October 2014 with 45 participants all females.

Despite the intervention of individuals and other stakeholders including farmers and the government, it is still very difficult to convert the menace that hinders proper management of businesses. The aims and objectives of both farmers and other stakeholders in their realization of successful business management and marketing of the agricultural products would prove impossible if the stakeholders themselves

10 do not understand the phenomena of management and marketing strategies to be in place to successfully manage and market one’s product to potential customers. The aforementioned issues necessitated the provision of such a training to discuss the meaning and concept of management and marketing to enhance success in businesses.

Business management skill is an essential ingredient to the success or the survival of every person, entity or an organisation that is ready to venture into business. However, the requisite skills to properly do business need to be learnt even though some people have got certain intrinsic skills which can better be substantiated by training.

It is not possible to effectively manage business in the absence of certain basic skills. As a result, business Management Skill Training for the women of the three districts was factored in this project to help enhance women’s capacity in managing their individual and group businesses.

A total of 134 out of the targeted 135 people from the three districts benefitted from this training.

OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING: The objectives of the training among other things constituted the following:  To equip participants with requisite skills, knowledge and attitude required for participants socio-economic empowerment.  To enhance participants managerial skills especially their entrepreneurial skills  To facilitate new/ hybrid of women entrepreneurs in CRR-South as part of the overall strategy of women’s socio economic empowerment process  To increase participants’ understanding on issues related to enterprise management and enterprise culture with a view to improving their managerial skills..

B. TRAINING METHODOLOGY: The training took the form of a brain- storming exercise, group discussions, group work, presentations, lectures and case studies.

Emerging Issues and Lessons Learned

This training has proven to be a step in the right direction as part of the overall strategy of empowering women in CRR. It has increased and aroused participants’ interests and appetite in entrepreneurship activities. One of the highlights of the training was a session on “Generation of Business Ideas” where participants were asked to brainstorm and list various forms of businesses in their environment. It was interesting to note thatcrop production and other agricultural activities were not mentioned as businesses. It was a learning experience for the participants that farming is a business and that the principles associated with any form of business

11 can be applied to farming. These include record keeping, profit/loss analysis, income and expenditure analysis, etc.

The second learning curve was a session on planning, in which there was a debate on what comes first between capital and business plan. Interestingly most participants voted for capital only to change during the presentation and group work that followed upon realization that a plan is what is required first before one is able to determine the capital requirement of one’s business. Follow-up and related issues that emerged about planning included the fact that for one to start a business does not require much or huge capital. Some participants have indicated that they start their business with capital ranging from D200 (Euro 4) to D500 (Euro 10) and Today most of these businesses are more than 10 years old with a total capital of D10, 000 (Euro 200) to D20, 000 (Euro 400)and these provided them with a source of employment.

The training was an opportunity for most participants to share their experiences and motivate one another as well as increase their off farm related economic activities.

The training module can be seen in Annex C while the pre and post-test on all the trainings can be seen on Annex D.

2.2.7 BASELINE SURVEY

The baseline survey has been contracted out and the draft document was submitted for review and comments were incorporated. A validation workshop was organised that brought together partners and other experts to scrutinise the document which is now finalised and been used by the project. The document has a lot of facts and figures that is helping in the project implementation and will be useful too during project evaluation.

In summary the baseline survey revealed that 96% of the women in the project area are farmers with an average income of less than D5000 (EUR 100) per annum. Despite the large number of women farmers, about 47% have access (but not ownership) to land mostly in the swampy areas for rice cultivation. It also revealed that women have low awareness on their socio-economic rights such as access to education, land ownership and health care. With regards to access to finance, 23% of the women live in communities with formal financial institutions such as MFIs (VISACAs) but only 14% are part of these MFIs and only 6% of that has access to microfinance services. However, about 2% have access to credit through non formal systems such as traditional money lenders. In terms of women’s groups/networks, the survey revealed that about 81% of the women join groups for community development while 11% join the groups for the benefit of access to savings and credit and the rest for other purposes. In addition 56% of the women expressed willingness to seek redress for the violation of their rights through their groups/networks.

2.2.8 MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP AND PRE-TESTING OF MESSAGES DEVELOPED, 23rd – 25th July at CIAM with 28 participants

AAITG, FLAG and NaWFA gathered 28 participants from Gambian media and specially selected CSOs (all with a stake in promoting women’s socio economic status), with the intention of developing appropriate media messages for the EC funded project. Participants were taken through the role and scope of the project in order to have a better understanding of the project and the target groups. This was done to make sure that the intended messages were developed so that it will contribute to achieving the desirable outcome at the end of the 3-year life span of the project.

Four groups were selected at random and were given themes on which messages were to be developed. The messages developed were pretested at various beneficiary communities including the women farmers to find out if they will have the desired/intended impact on the target population. The messages were improved by incorporating all the relevant views and comments from the women and beneficiaries during the pretesting exercise The messages developed is being compiled in a booklet form and will be used in future advocacy and sensitization activities.

2.2.9 QUARTERLY MONITORING VISITS

Community stakeholders (beneficiaries) and staff of the collaborating partners of the project carried out Monitoring and Evaluation exercise in the project implementation area. The two Monitoring exercises done during the reporting period were carried out in the three Districts namely Niamina Dankunku, Niamina West and Niamina East. The project field staffs as stakeholders on the ground, beneficiaries and communities were all consulted.

As an in-built project activity, these Monitoring visits helped to determine progress made with regards implementation, identification of successes, good practices, challenges and the way forward. It also helped to guide programme implementation and ensured that targets were met in a timely and cost effective manner. One key outcome of the visit was the team supported a group to open an account with an MFI and also advised the women groups to send the right representatives that will be able to give proper and timely feedbacks from project activities.

2.2.10 TRAINING ON WOMEN’S GROUPS ON THE 2010 WOMEN'S ACT AND OTHER LEGAL FRAMEWORKS

Training One: Dankunku District Thursday 11th September 2014 – Sunday 14th September 2014 with 29 women

Training Two: Niamina East District – based in Jareng Thursday 18th September 2014 – Sunday 21st September 2014 with 27 women

Training Three: Niamina West District – based in Choya Thursday 25th September 2014 – Sunday 28th September 2014 with 29 women

This training was conducted to increase women’s knowledge about the existence of the legal framework such as 2010 Women’s Act, domestic violence and sexual offences Act of 2013 and other national and international Women’s Rights instruments (CEDAW, the African Protocol). This has helped to equip them with the knowledge and skills to claim for their socio-economic rights. The women were taken through all the provisions made in the law to support and empower women as summarised below.

The Concept of Equality between Men and Women and the Rights and responsibilities linked to this concept

The training elaborated on the concept of Equality between men and women as specified in the legal instruments to enhance the understanding of women. The training re-enforced that rights goes with responsibilities to their families, partners and the communities. A key outcome of the training is that the concept of 50/50 really was understood by women to be about partnership and complementarity between spouses and not competition.

Basics of Access to Justice

The training explained the types and roles the different courts within the legal system. In recognition of the traditional setup, it was stressed that it is important to seek appropriate legal advice to know which cases to take to the conventional Courts or other kind of legal assistance (even in ‘informal’ situations where ADR or traditional solutions would be sought). In addition, information on how the Cadi Courts (Sharia Law) works, the Personal Law and appropriate contacts for legal assistance/advice from local to national was shared. Furthermore, the training discussed laws on protection from violence, special protection for the elderly, the Disabled, particularly vulnerable Persons and rights for widows.

In conclusion, the training ended in a practical and informal session in the form of question and answer within the legal context. This provided the opportunity for the women to understand the basic general legal reasoning behind their rights as well as the general principles underlining the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA). This session helped the project staff to know the relevant and critical issues to focus on in subsequent trainings on laws and other legal instruments to better equip the women to be able to claim for their socio- economic rights.

2.2.11 LIVE RADIO TALK SHOWS ON ISSUES RELATING TO WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT, Brikamaba Community Radio, CRR

As part of the sensitisation activities to create awareness on promoting women’s socio-economic rights, a live radio talk show was organised to share information on the project and to empower women. The radio talk show was divided in two parts, first part was on sharing information that seeks to improve women’s socio- economic rights and the second part allowed listeners to phone in to share their views or ask questions.

Each radio talk show was centred on a topic on issues affecting women as relevant to the project outputs. Examples of some of the topics were as follows: women in decision making, rights of women to own land and the rights of the girl child to go to school. From the radio talk shows held so far, a range of 5 to 15 calls were received with comments, questions or requests for inclusion in the project.

2.2.12 TRAINING ON VOCATIONAL SKILLS, 27th to 31st October, 2014, at Jareng with 15 participants

The training aimed at improving the technical skills of those already practicing tie- dye/batik and soap making. The specific objectives were to train participants to acquire skills on improved techniques in tie-dye/batik material production and soap making and improve on the quality of products.

A total of 15 women representing 15 groups in Niamina East were trained and some of them in turn trained other women in their various groups within the community. The fifteen participants were nominated by their groups to represent them. Most of these participants had already attended the leadership and the business management training and the vocational skills training was given to them to enhance their entrepreneurial skills.

The methodology employed was the participatory adult training approach which encouraged interaction between trainers and learners through the following techniques: theory, group work, demonstration, one-on-one approach and reflection sessions.

Generally the activity was designed to equip women with life skills that will improve their livelihood and strengthen their social status in the community. Two months after the training, some positive outcomes have been seen on the benefits of the training as one of the groups has established link with a microfinance institution by opening of a savings accounts with proceeds from the production of tie and dye materials and soap.

2.2.13 QUARTERLY MEETINGS WITH IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS, MICRO FINANCE INSTITUTIONS AND MINISTRIES OF AGRICULTURE AND WOMEN’S AFFAIRS, held on 4th December with 60 participants

Sixty women entrepreneurs in the Central River Region have met with representatives of micro finance institutions, MFIs. The meeting, which is the first of its kind with the women, took place in Niamina Jareng with representatives from Reliance Financial Services, the National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions (NACCUG) and the Gambia Women’s Finance Association (GAWFA).

In his opening remarks, the Executive Director of ActionAid emphasized that the presence of the MFIs was a demonstration of their commitment to the advancement of women. On the importance of the meeting, He noted, ‘this is the first time such a gathering is taking place as far as I can remember. If we link up with the MFIs, then our work will be made much easier’, he said. He therefore urged the women to share contact details with the MFI representatives present and to disseminate the knowledge and information acquired with other women who are unable to attend and the groups they are representing at the meeting.

At the meeting, all three micro finance institutions made presentations on their work and how they can support the women. The question and answer sessions which followed was a strong indication of the women’s readiness to improve their businesses. ‘Can individuals access loans or is it just the group that can benefit? ‘When will you be coming to our villages?’, ‘If a group does not have money in their account, will you work with them?’ How high or low are your interest rates charges?’ These were some of the questions that were asked by the women at the forum.

‘I am happy to have attended this meeting’, says Yama Touray of Jockul village. We have been trained in business management already, so it is important to know how we can access loans to expand our businesses’

Fatou Secka of Sinchu Alaji in CRR stated, ‘I have benefitted a lot from this meeting and I want to thank ActionAid. This is the first time we are having such a meeting and it is very important to us. On my part, I will spread the message when I go back to my village’, she concluded.

The Head of Programmes and Policy reiterated ActionAid’s commitment to empower women in its quest to eradicate poverty. The speakers also included partners and the President of NAWFA.

The meeting was the first forum to familiarise the women with MFI service providers and created necessary linkages to facilitate access to microfinance services. Though the women have not yet accessed loans, but have started savings with the MFIs.

3. Beneficiaries/affiliated entities and other Cooperation

3.1 BENEFICIARIES: Beneficiaries are committed and participating fully as they are convinced that the project will change and improve their lives.

3.2 RELATIONSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT: ActionAid’s relationship with the government of The Gambia is good as it contributes immensely to the development of the Gambia through livelihoods improvement for the poor to compliment government efforts. ActionAid’s annual plans and reports and audited accounts are shared with government and other stakeholders as part of the organisation’s commitment and obligation for ensuring accountability and transparency. ActionAid is also always consulted and invited to participate in government activities, workshops and committees at national and local level.

3.3 IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: The implementing partners are really pulling along and their capacity is indeed being enhanced as intended by the project. Example, a vehicle was bought for each implementing partner to facilitate their movements in reaching out to the women in the project areas but also towards satisfying their other institutional requirements. Their capacities are being built through on the job training and coaching continually in both programme implementation and financial management.

LINKS AND SYNEGIES: This project is in sync with other interventions which AAITG and other partner agencies are embarking on within and beyond the project intervention areas towards delivering on HRBA. The project helps to further build on and strengthen AAITG partners in developing and undertaking resilience building interventions in all AAITG LRPs and beyond. Good practices and lessons learnt have been disseminated to other regions and used in AAITG’s advocacy initiatives elsewhere beyond the project intervention sites (AA operates in over 45 countries globally). The Agro Ecology and Resilience Building project (MACF) being implemented currently by ActionAid International The Gambia gave them labour savings devices for farm and off farm use. In addition, there is a link to West Africa Agricultural Productivity (WAAP) Project as most of the beneficiaries of the EU project got free farm inputs from the project.

3.4 PREVIOUS EU GRANT: There was no previous EU grant at ActionAid International The Gambia.

4. Visibility

All project outputs have carried the EU logo, t-shirts, publications, stickers and banners. The media events, presentations, workshops, press conferences, interviews: radio and television have articulated the role of the EU Delegation: in terms of financial and programme support. Communication between the project and the implementing EU Manager has been excellent in this first year.

The European Commission may wish to publicise the results of Actions. Do you have any objection to this report being published on the EuropeAid website? If so, please state your objections here. There is no objection, it can be published anywhere.

Name of the contact person for the Action: Omar Badji

Signature: ………………………………………

Location: The Gambia West Africa

Date report due: Not Specified

Date report sent: April 2015

ANNEXES

ANNEXE A: TABLE OF PARTICIPANTS DURING THE SENSITISATION AND AWARENESS GENERATION MEETINGS

Table on Participants The turnout for the meetings was impressive. Despite the fact that the president was on Dialogue with the people’s tour, 131 out of 150 targeted participants attended the meetings representing 87% of the targeted number (150). More women 54% attended the meetings as can be seen from the table below.

PARTICIPANTS TO MEETINGS

VILLAGES MALE FEMALE TOTAL

Kudang 11 25 36

Dalaba 19 6 45

Dankunku 20 30 50

Totals 60 71 131

ANNEX B: CURRICULUM OF TRAINING ON LEADERSHIP SKILLS Module one: Group formation

Under this module participants were taken through different types of groups, how to form a group and explaining the importance of groups, why communities form groups and the functions of groups. Also covered under this module were the membership criteria and the roles of members.

Module Two: Group Leadership This module covered the following topics, types of leaders, leadership qualities, functions of a leader, and conflict resolutions. Also covered under this module were community participation, its importance, outcomes, meetings, why groups organize meetings, types of meetings, importance of meetings and procedures of successful meetings

Module three: Group Management Under this Module, 3 sub-topics were covered. These were Planning, Organising and Decision making. The training discussed what these 3 phrases mean, what and how to plan and organise, and the decision making processes relevant in group functioning. It also covered accountability, monitoring and evaluation as key areas in the processes.

Module four: Record keeping and administration The training also equipped participants with added knowledge and skills in administering group activities. Emphasis was placed on record keeping, its importance and the types of records. Who should keep what type of record within the group set up was also discussed

Module five: Community Participation. Under this module the participants were taken through the concept, importance and strategies of enhancing community participation.

Module seven: Financial management and resource mobilization. Under this topic, participants were equipped with added knowledge and skills in financial management, critically looking at resource mobilization, types of resources (human, physical and financial) resources to be mobilized and by whom, the budgeting aspect, financial control and the type of records as relevant to group functioning

Module Eight: Conflict Resolution Topics covered under this module included the definition of conflict, types of conflict, identification and analysis of conflict. The trainers put emphasis on the management of conflict which involves taking preventive measures and working to resolve any conflict once negative behavior is experienced.

Module six: Advocacy, lobbying and negotiation skills The participants were taken through the definition of lobbying and negotiation, why it is important to lobby and negotiate.

There were some slight changes in the planned activities as the original plan was to cover the three districts during the months of May and June 2014 but eventually only two of the districts were covered. This change was due to the fact that, all the three partners in this project are targeting the same beneficiaries which requires the partners to review their activity plans so that the beneficiaries will not be overloaded with trainings.

ANNEX C: CURRICULUM OF TRAINING ON BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SKILLS

MODULE ONE  Introduction of participants  Pre-test for Trainees  Introduction to BDS/ Enterprise Management  Business Record Keeping and various or types of records relevant to entrepreneurs  Overview of Business Environment & Enterprise Culture and Knowing Your Business

MODULE TWO  Understanding the Local Economy and Business Opportunities & Idea Generation  Understanding key business/concepts, planning, etc.  Business Entity Concept  Financial management

MODULE THREE  Marketing and four Ps of marketing (price, product, place and promotion)  Market segmentation  Market research / feasibility study and its essence  Post-Test questions  Evaluation of the Training

ANNEX D: THE ANALYSIS OF THE PRE AND POST-TEST SCORES OF PARTICIPANTS

In all the trainings, pre-test and post-test exercises are always conducted and are indicated in the table below:

TRAINING PRE-TEST EVALUATION POST-TEST EVALUATION

LEADERSHIP 50% 90%

BUSINESS 40% 95% 85% LEGAL 20%

This has shown that learning has taken place during the course of the trainings and not only learning has taken place but participants’ perception about key issues has changed with a new look and position regarding their leadership, management styles and legal provisions.

ANNEX E: PICTORIAL OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS OF THE PROJECT

Ganye Touray, former Governor of CRR delivering the launching statement

A cross-section of participants at the Launching Ceremony

Omar Badji, Executive Director of ActionAid International The Gambia delivering the welcome remarks

EU Charge D’ Affairs, Madam Agnes Guillaud delivery a statement at the launching ceremony

Batik/Tie & Dye Skills training for women at Niamina East

Participants display their batik

The Chief of Niamina Dankunku

Participants at sensitisation exercises across the three Districts

Participants at different trainings

Participants at the pretesting of EC Posters on Women’s Socio-economic advancement

AAITG Documentation29 March 2015