Meet Thiam, Podor Program Manager

Continuing in our series, we would like to introduce you to another member of our team who works on the ground in Senegal every day to build resilient, thriving communities. We think they are pretty amazing and are sure you will agree. This is the tenth in a series introducing the people that make it all possible. (Click here to see others in this series.) Meet Thiam, Podor Program Manager.

Thiam joined the Andando team in 2018.

Hamedine Thiam, goes by Thiam (pronounced Cham), joined our team in 2018.

He is an only child and grew up in Donaye Walo in the norther Podor region of Senegal. When he was only five years old Thiam’s father died but he was fortunate to have a close family and his grandmother stepped in to help. He attended elementary school in his home village and continued on to high school in Podor.

With a real knack for mathematics, Thiam moved to Dakar and received technical training from Maurice de la Fossee with a specialty in accounting.

A photo of Faty and Thiam from their wedding in 1980. They are celebrating their 43th wedding anniversary this year.

He met and married his wife, Faty Thiam, and they have celebrated over 40 years together. They raised their seven children (4 boys and 3 girls) in Dakar where Thiam worked for various financial institutions.

A respected member of the community Thiam (pictured right) builds and maintains relationships with community leaders to ensure the long-term success of our programs.

With extensive experience in accounting Thiam excelled as a trainer in microfinance and rural development. After 34 years, he retired and returned to the Podor area. Their oldest son stayed in Dakar for work. Their other children returned with them to get married, work, and go to school. Fun fact: Thiam’s granddaughters attend the high school Andando constructed in Donaye Taredji!

Putting his skills and experience to good use he joined the Andando team to manage our Podor microloan program. Now he coordinates the Podor Region programs and provides accounting support for all of the Andando initiatives.

Thiam listens to the needs and ideas of our program participants to improve our initiatives to better serve communities.

“My passion in life is to be of service for the good of society. My hope is for Andando to continue to grow in Senegal in order to fight malnutrition, strengthen health and education, and reduce unemployment and the heavy work of women.”

— Thiam, Podor Programs Manager

Thiam brings his decades of accounting experience to help teach financial literacy skills to our women’s gardens.

When he is not working Thiam manages the family’s poultry farm and agriculture activities. He also enjoys listening to and watching soccer and wrestling.

Your support enables Thiam to help his fellow citizens. Thank you for investing in their future!

Click here to meet other staff.

The Best Time To Plant A Tree?

Established trees in the Lamarame Garden help fortify the soil and protect from harsh weather conditions.

…was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now! This old proverb still rings true, especially for our work in Senegal’s northern region of Podor. This part of the Sahel has been devastated by deforestation, and with climate change leading to longer hotter dry seasons, it feels like the Sahara Desert is right next door.

The village of Belel Kelle, in the northern region of Senegal, experiences longer and hotter dry seasons due to deforestation and climate change.

Starting a garden in this environment is a leap of faith and planting a tree is an act of defiance, that we need not accept what is, we can create a better life for ourselves and the world around us.

At the Ouro Madiaw Garden established trees, such as mangoes, papayas, and bananas, improve the soil while protecting the people and crops from harsh conditions.

Trees are the foundation of every Andando garden. They protect people and crops from harsh conditions, raise ground water levels, build new fertile topsoil, and create permanent barriers against livestock. Trees keep Andando gardens flourishing year after year without any synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, and help infrastructure to last as long as possible so that upkeep is gradual and manageable at the local level.

Live-fencing provides the same soil regenerating benefits as other trees while also creating a permanent barrier against livestock and making upkeep gradual and manageable.

To date Andando has established over 50,000 native trees in our gardens and surrounding communities. That’s not only incredible for our partners but represents a huge amount of carbon sequestered out of the atmosphere!

Planting and tending to the seedlings sheltered inside the Tree Nursery in Keur Soce. A second nursery will be built in Podor, the northern region of Senegal, next month.

We are breaking ground next month on a new tree nursery in Podor so that we can expand and accelerate our tree planting program. This location will soon produce tens of thousands of trees year round helping to jump-start new gardens and allow Andando to begin reforesting this vital region on the front lines of climate change. The time is now, and we are excited to get to work!

From the Director - April 2023

It’s always exciting to report the new things that Andando is doing, new projects, new partner communities, bigger impact numbers, etc. I want to take the opportunity today though to give you a little insight into what happens after the fanfare ends.

Celebrating our successes with the garden leadership from our Podor Region gardens.

We talk a lot about walking with the people of Senegal for the long haul and we mean it. Our programs are concentrated together both to maximize their impact and to make sure that we know about the challenges our partners face and can help them to find solutions. This is why after 15 years of doing this work 100% of Andando’s gardens, schools, and health posts are still operational. Our impact numbers are impressive but I’m equally proud that as we’re growing, we aren’t leaving any of our communities behind.

Keur Ngor Marone - our first-ever garden is still thriving!

To this end, after listening to the needs of our gardens, we are providing additional support this year to help modernize all infrastructure to our current designs. Over the years we’ve learned a lot about best practices for our projects, and sometimes that means that we need to go back and update older work so that it can stand the test of time.

Something as small as upgrading old valves helps prolong the life of infrastructure and conserve vital water resources.

This goes for all of our sectors, and we are also working this year to renovate one of our oldest health posts, Thiamene Taba. This post is heavily utilized, seeing over 2,000 patients last year alone, but their roof has started to leak making it difficult to provide quality care.

Visiting one of our very first health posts, Thiamene Taba, constructed over 10 years ago.

Thanks to the help of Altrusa International of Albany we are replacing their roof with a new stronger metal sheeting that is part of our standard design now.

By establishing and maintaining strong relationships, we work with the local communities to ensure projects are successful for the long-haul. Fatou Thiam is the midwife at Thiamene Taba, and first alerted us to the needed repairs.

We want all of our projects to last for many years to come so that they can create truly lasting change in our partner communities. Your continued support allows us to do this while still growing to reach more people in need.

Andando Receives Climate Smart Commitment Grant from Rick Steves’ Europe

We are thrilled to announce that Andando has been awarded a $30,000 grant, through Rick Steves’ Climate Smart Commitment, for the construction of a tree nursery and agroforestry center in the Podor region of northern Senegal, West Africa. Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. Their Climate Smart Commitment is an initiative to help mitigate the environmental impacts of travel by investing in non profits that work directly on climate smart agriculture, conservation, and agroforestry in underdeveloped countries. We are excited to join this initiative and provide a way for thoughtful travelers to create positive lasting change through their journeys around the world.

Communities in Podor are enduring longer, hotter dry seasons as a result of deforestation and climate change.

The Podor region, on Senegal’s northern border with Mauritania, is on the front lines of the climate crisis and represents a particularly vital area for ecological conservation. Hundreds of years of destructive colonial agricultural practices, deforestation, and overgrazing have led to severe top soil loss and increasing desertification of the region. This coupled with higher temperatures and disrupted rainfall patterns, due to climate change, makes life extremely difficult for the people who live here.

The site of an Andando garden before construction.

The same location 5 years later after establishing over 800 beneficial trees!

Andando’s primary tool to support communities and restore local ecology is our women’s cooperative garden initiative. Our gardens create lush oases’ in harsh landscapes, and provide permanent sources for income and nutrition for thousands of women and their families, all while sequestering substantial amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere. This is possible because Andando gardens do not use any pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers, relying instead on a host of regenerative permaculture techniques, including the establishment of at least 500 beneficial and native trees in each garden!

A proud garden member in the Kouthieye women’s garden showing off her plot which is filled with beneficial trees.

Our Keur Soce Tree Program Manager, Francois, surveying the nursery after a day of seeding.

The tree nursery and agro-forestry center that we are building with this grant will help Andando to establish more women’s gardens at a faster pace. We set a lofty goal of reforesting 100,000 native trees over the next two years which will allow us not only to support our own gardens but to plant a substantial number of trees in the surrounding communities to fight deforestation and climate change. We are already well on our way with over 15,000 trees started in our Keur Soce region so far this year. Once the new Podor tree nursery is operational as well, we expect to meet and even exceed our goal! After over a year of preparations we are excited to be breaking ground in May!

““This grant from Rick Steves’ Europe is allowing us to do something that our partner communities in northern Senegal have been wanting to do for years.  There is so much excitement around this project that the Chief of Donnaye Teredji, the village where the tree nursery will be located, doubled the size of the plot they’re giving us in the hopes that Andando will have room to increase production in the years to come.” ”

— Garrison Harward, Andando Executive Director

Our sincerest thanks to Rick Steves’ Europe for their generous contribution to this project. We will be sure to keep you updated as construction begins and as we continue to expand our programs to fight climate change in the Sahel, for the benefit of our partner communities and all of us around the world.

Click here to learn more about our women’s cooperative garden initiative.

NYC Showed Up for Andando!

Congrats to the First, Second, and Third place teams of our Inaugural Pétanque Charity Tournament!

A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who supported our first NY fundraiser! We are now 1/3 of the way towards building a new rural health post.

Were you unable to attend the fundraiser? No problem, you can still help us reach our goal. Donate today to bring life saving healthcare to another remote community in Senegal.

Health workers at the Mbidi Health Post who are dedicated to keeping their communities healthy and thriving.

Even Health Posts Need a Little First Aid Too!

The First Aid Cross is an internationally recognized symbol of neutrality and protection.  Those seeking first aid or care know they can take comfort and safety inside the walls of a health facility.  This is what Andando health posts provide in rural communities, a place where locally trained professionals can render appropriate aid and comfort for those needing help.  But over time, even the structure itself needs a little first aid too!

The health post at Thiamene Taba is one of Andando’s first health posts, constructed over 10 years ago.

The village of Thiamene Taba is home to one of our first health posts constructed over 10 years ago.  The design is simple: a raised concrete floor to prevent seasonal flood waters from entering the building, brick walls to provide protection from the harsh heat and wind, all sheltered by a metal roof that keeps out the heavy rain and punishing sun.

Fatou Thiam is the midwife at Thiamene Taba. She is pictured here in front of the health post built over 10 years ago with some of the neighborhood kids.

Fatou Thiam is the midwife at Thiamene Taba and she shared with us how the health post helps her keep her community healthy; “It’s very good for the population here because before people use to give birth in their rooms and we would meet them there.”

After faithfully serving the community and surrounding villages for over 10 years the roof at the Thiamene Taba health post has developed leaks which make it virtually unusable for several months every year:

“When it rains you cannot assist anyone with a birth. If someone has an injection that needs to be done they have to go maybe seven or eight kilometers to Keur Soce to get their injection. If they have any first aid needs they go to Keur Soce. That’s what we mean and how it is here Please help us, we need help.” ”

— Fatou Thiam - Midwife at Thiamene Taba Health Post

Thankfully members of the Altrusa Club of Albany and the Altrusa International Foundation were excited to help fund the roof repair, “Altrusa of Albany is very happy to support Andando. It is amazing to us what they are able to do with the funds we give them. The recent gift will fix the roof on the Thiamene Taba Medical Clinic.  It is SO important to maintain the health clinic because it is the only medical care within many miles and the only way people have to get there is to walk. Thank you Andando for all you do!” said Linda Tedisch, International Chair Altrusa Club of Albany.

Repairs are underway and Fatou is looking forward to resuming services in the center.  Check back for updated photos.

Andando Receives Grant from The International Foundation

The International Foundation has awarded a $25,000 grant to Andando! The purpose of this grant is to build an innovative STEM focused school garden at the newly constructed Keur Soce High School, which we finished building earlier this year. The International Foundation funds “US-based non-profit organizations who partner with poor communities in the developing world to improve their health, education and incomes, while strengthening local capacity to sustain their benefits.”

The first photo of the fully complete Keur Soce High School. These 8 classrooms serve over 1,000 students who previously had to travel far distances to continue their education or, more commonly, had to drop out of school due to a lack of resources.

This grant will help to pay for the construction of a substantial one-acre teaching garden that will be used to facilitate practical lessons in biological sciences, mathematics, and business skills while substantially improving the food security of the student population. 

Selecting a site with community leaders for the first-ever teaching garden which will be incorporated into the new Keur Soce High School.

In a first for any high school in Senegal the garden will also incorporate an integrated aquaculture fish farming system.  Fish are a staple of Senegalese cuisine and increased dry land fish farming has the potential to greatly benefit inland economies and food security without contributing to over-fishing of coastal water or polluting watersheds.  

During a hands-on training, participants in our aquaculture project learn how to assess fish for health and growth.

Andando currently operates 38 women’s cooperative gardens in Senegal which produce over 500,000 lbs. of organic produce each year.  As with our other gardens we will provide the school with a trained local garden technician to help to establish the garden and fully integrate it into school curriculum.     

“The International Foundation’s support will help students at Keur Soce High school to gain invaluable practical experience and learn skills that will set them apart as they continue their educational and professional careers.”

— Garrison Harward, Andando Executive Director

Madame Marone and her students in one of the new classrooms at Keur Soce High School. 

Indeed, due to Andando’s continued investment in this school the Education Ministry has decided to designate Keur Soce High School as a science academy that will feed directly into a new Agricultural University in the regional capital Kaolack.  Andando is proud to be partnering with such prestigious institutions to substantially increase the quality of science education in the region for years to come.  

Andando is a US-based non-profit organization that works to alleviate poverty through community development in rural Senegal. Learn more about Andando at www.andando.org.

About The International Foundation:
The International Foundation was created in 1948. Like other early foundations, our purpose was “to promote, foster, encourage and further non-profit, non-sectarian and non-political educational, medical, philanthropic, humanitarian, scientific and literary enterprises of all kinds.”

In its many years of grant making, the International Foundation has worked with thousands of US-based 501(c)3 organizations to bring knowledge, resources and compassion to individuals and communities around the world. Our strategic mission has evolved in concert with the exponential growth in the United States non-profit sector and rapid evolution of the discipline of international development.

“At the core of our mission is the concept that charity alone isn’t enough. We must take charity to a level that delivers measurable and sustainable change that is “owned” by the project participants and that leaves broad, lasting benefits. We prioritize the principles of self-determination, local engagement, and sustainability, both as means to and ends of our philanthropic goals. More and more, this requires grant-maker and grantee to share a common view of the challenges, optimal solutions, and ultimate objectives of our partnering efforts.”

How to Build a Health Post in the Desert

Two of the health care workers who will continue to serve their community in the new health post at Seno Bowal.

Access to health care is an essential component of our holistic approach to helping communities thrive.  When health resources are inadequate or inaccessible, routine medical needs can turn deadly.  This is especially true for pregnant women and their children. Senegal has the 47th highest infant mortality rate and the 35th highest maternal mortality rate in the world.  Fortunately, Senegal has a robust healthcare system with qualified doctors, nurses, and midwives who can drastically improve positive health outcomes for rural communities.  The problem isn’t expertise or personnel, it’s infrastructure, and this is where Andando comes in.

As with all of our projects, a new health post starts with a conversation.  We meet with regional Health Ministry doctors to discuss their needs, and together we identify underserved areas in need of infrastructure.  Next comes the first of several visits to prospective villages. 

We meet with women, midwives, and village elders (video above) to hear their stories and learn about their needs and desires for improvements.  Once a village is tentatively selected, we verify with the Health Ministry that trained personnel will be assigned to the post upon completion, and we sign agreements with the village for the use of land and water and their contribution to assist with construction.  

The health post at Seno Bowal will be replaced with a new structure with running water, electricity, and private rooms.

One of the health care workers inside the existing health post at Seno Bowal. The existing buiding will be replaced with a new structure with running water, electricity, and private rooms.

A waiting area outside the health post at Seno Bowal. The existing building will be replaced with a new structure with running water, electricity, and private rooms.

The excitement really begins when we secure funding and can start construction.  We are currently building a new post in the community of Seno Bowal which is funded 100% by a generous donation from Hub City Church.  They have sponsored many of our health posts and we cannot thank them enough for their continued support!

Delivery of construction materials such as concrete and rebar to the new building site for the Seno Bowal Health Post.

Water for mixing concrete has to be brought in by donkey cart until the site can be plumbed.

Bricks are formed and cured on-site. These will be used for the foundation and walls of the Seno Bowal Health Post.

We are still in the initial phase of building bricks and laying the foundation, but in just a few short months this post will have running water, electricity, multiple rooms for consultation, delivery and recovery, and will be a game changer for access to medical care for 12 villages with over 4,000 people. We will keep you updated as construction finishes and all the benefits to the village and surrounding areas start to come to fruition.

From the Director - On the Ground in Senegal - January 2023

Enjoying the company of some of our Keur Soce based staff. We have a great team on the ground in Senegal who are incredibly knowledgeable and fun to be around.

Thanks to the incredible generosity that our community showed last year at our fall gala fundraiser and through our year-end giving campaign, we are able to hit the ground running in 2023! I am currently in Senegal working with the team to finalize plans for our yearly projects which will include at least four new gardens, a health post, and two new schools.

Seynabou, one of our technicians, will manage our new STEM focused teaching garden at Keur Soce High School.

At the request of Keur Soce High School, we are also building our first ever school garden this year. The administration wanted to improve their science curriculum, and together we decided that a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) focused teaching garden, with an integrated aquaculture system, would help to give students valuable skills for their educational and professional careers.

Gorgui, a technician in Podor, is our new regional Tree Program Manager and will oversee the construction of a new permanent tree nursery and training center in Podor.

Seynabou Ndao, one of our phenomenal technicians who we profiled last year, will manage the project and help teachers to develop a new garden-centered STEM curriculum. Seynabou has a degree in physics and chemistry from the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, and we are so excited to see the positive impact she will have as a resource and role model for students.

In Podor another one of our technicians Alassane Ba, who goes by Gorgui, is stepping up as our new regional Tree Program Manager. This year we are constructing a permanent tree nursery and training center in Podor in order to combat severe deforestation and desertification in the region. Our tree nursery and Gorgui’s work will help to strengthen our gardens and the ecology of our partner communities against the effects of climate change.

It’s a joy to be able to share not only our exciting projects for the coming year, but also how our staff is growing as they take the lead to improve our programs in Senegal. We are so proud of them! Your continued support makes this, and everything Andando does, possible. Jerejef - thank you!

Winter, the Perfect Season for Gardening!

A woman transplanting seedlings into her plot at Ndiawara Garden.

The new year is upon us, and winter has sunk its cruel claws thoroughly into our lives here in America.  But while most of us are bundling up against freezing temperature, snow, and bitter winds, over in Senegal it’s the most pleasant time of the year.  Senegal is also in the northern hemisphere so its “winter” is the same time of the year as ours, but over there winter is know as the cool dry season.  The rains have finished and won’t return until May or June, and the intense heat of the hot dry season is still months away. 

This winter garden in the community of Ouro Madiaw (in the Podor region) is enjoying highs in the low-90s ˚F (32 ˚C) and thriving!

Capitalizing on the mild temperatures, this is the time of year when most gardening activities take place.  Our women’s gardens are taking full advantage of the season planting just about every vegetable you can think of.  Lettuce, and daikon radishes are very popular during this time because they grow quickly facilitating multiple harvests before the heat makes these more delicate crops too difficult to grow.  This is also the best time of year to plant papayas, bananas, and cassava roots which will be important boosts in income and nutrition at the end of the rainy season when the gardens are much less productive.  

We are constantly getting updates from our technicians on the ground in Senegal and during this season the pictures we get are incredible.  Giant basins filled with lettuce going to market, 50 lb. sacks filled with radishes, or eggplants, or peppers, and piles upon piles of onions. 

Sometimes its hard to believe the production numbers in our reports. How can one garden produce thousands of pounds of produce month after month?  And then you see a picture of a single papaya tree yielding 150 pounds of fruit.  The women we work with are incredible farmers!

Our new gardens from last year are working through their first seasons and its fascinating to watch their humble beginnings knowing what their plots will look like in just a few short years. 

The Ndiawara Garden is our largest with 300 members!

Our partner community of Ndiawara had a larger than average gardening group so we decided to make a larger garden there so that all of their 300 members could have a plot. Now it looks like a full-blown farm.  We can’t wait to see the incredible harvests this large group will be able to achieve.  Hats off to all of their hard work! Now put that hat back on before you get frostbite!

A Tale of Toilets and Triumphs: Improving Education in Rural Senegal

The final two classrooms nearly complete at Keur Soce High School.

December in Senegal marks the start of the cool dry season.  The hard work of harvesting rainy season crops is finished, families are starting their seasonal vegetable gardens, and kids are settled into the rhythms of a new school year.  It’s a steady time of year, with lots of work to be sure, but more measured with less heat and a definite air of abundance from the harvest.  This is also the time of year when a lot of Andando’s yearly projects come to fruition, especially in our education sector.  We are thrilled to share that in Podor our new classrooms at Ndiawara Middle School, and Donaye Teredji High School are finished and classes have already started in these beautiful new buildings.   This is our second year partnering with both of these schools and we are already seeing incredible benefits from the improving conditions.  After building the first set of classrooms last year we visited and discussed with the administrations to evaluate the needs of each school.  Both reported increased enrollment and we decided that rather than moving on to another location we would stick with these schools to finish another set of classrooms to meet the full needs at each location. 

Students gather outside their classrooms at Donaye Teredji High School, where 100% of the students who took the advanced S2 science course, held in the new classrooms we constructed last year, passed their exams!

When talking with the principal of Donaye Teredji High School we also learned that 100% of the students who took the advanced S2 science course, held in the new classrooms we constructed last year, passed their exams!  Because of this tremendous success the administration has decided to offer the highest high school level science course, S1, this year.  This is the first time this course has been offered in the region outside of Saint Louis, which is over 120 miles away!  Very few families have the means to send their children away for school, especially to large cities, so when courses aren’t offered locally that usually means the end of a student’s education in that subject.  We are thrilled for these students’ accomplishments and are so happy that the classrooms we were able to construct are helping them to continue their education. 

The last two (of eight) classrooms in the final stages of construction at Keur Soce High School.

In Keur Soce we are putting the finishing touches on the last two classrooms of Keur Soce High School.   This new two story 8 classroom block is being praised by everyone from students and parents to educators and even the Education Ministry for the quality, and speed of the construction.  Taking on an infrastructure project this large was a new and daunting task for Andando but with diligent planning and management from our staff and partners we got it done and the results are amazing! Here’s what one of teachers, Mr. Touré, had to say about it:

Mr Touré, Life & Earth Science and Math teacher in Keur Soce Schools since 2005

“We started the school with two classes and I was fortunate to be there when it started… If today we have a high school, it’s thanks to Andando. And we’re very thankful to you who provided us with classrooms the way they should be with floors and walls well made. Before, the classes we had were shelters with lots of dust. The effects of the dust on the kids and their clothes was so bad. Now that we have the clean floors, that we can work without getting dirty, we say bravo to Andando.”

— Mr. Touré, Teacher at Keur Soce High School

BEFORE:

Temporary classrooms constructed on dirt floors left teachers and students exposed to the elements.

AFTER:

New classrooms are elevated above the dirt with concrete floors & walls, and a durable metal roof - protecting students and classroom furnishing from the elements.

Mr. Touré went on to tell us that because of the increased enrollment at the high school and the excellent conditions of the new classrooms, the Education Ministry has decided that this high school should become a regional science academy that will feed into a new university in the regional capital of Kaolack.  This is huge news for the students of this region and will provide many more options and resources for them to continue their education.  With this news in mind we have decided to continue our commitment to this school and next year we will construct our first school science garden here with an incorporated aquaculture training program.  The garden will be used to facilitate practical lessons in science, statistics, and business and will be a source of extra income for school programs and will increase nutritional options for students and their families.  This will be the first high school in all of Senegal with an aquaculture program, giving students here a huge leg up in their educational and professional careers after graduation. 

Access to sanitary bathrooms has a huge impact on the quality of life of students and can help to increase student attendance and enrollment, especially for girls.  UNESCO estimates that 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their menstrual cycle due to lack of facilities or sanitary products. [Photos: Latrines under construction, and completed —shiny, and new, and ready to use.]

The last thing we want to talk about is a little less romantic, but no less important.  Classrooms and gardens are great but one of the most important things that students need to get through a successful day at school is a bathroom.  Access to sanitary bathrooms has a huge impact on the quality of life of students and can help to increase student attendance and enrollment, especially for girls.  UNESCO estimates that 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their menstrual cycle due to lack of facilities or sanitary products. 

UNESCO estimates that 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their menstrual cycle due to lack of facilities or sanitary products. 

This is hugely detrimental to their education and increases the chance that they will drop out of school prematurely.  Installing sanitary bathroom facilities with running water at our partner schools is an essential element of Andando’s education sector.  Keur Soce High School currently has only 4 toilets for the entire school with an enrollment now of over 1,000 students.  We are in the process this year of building an additional two blocks of toilets, 4 for girls and 4 for boys, helping all the students there to have the facilities they need to continue their education. 

Students in one of the newly constructed classrooms at Donaye Teredji High School.

Donaye Teredji High School has an even larger enrollment this year of over 1,300 students and are in desperate need of more bathroom facilities.  This was a project that we had planned to start next year in 2023, but because of the tremendous success of our yearly Auction Gala we are able to begin construction immediately.  We are very often operating at the limits of our capacity and your support truly makes a difference in what we are able to do with our partner communities. Thank you so much for helping to provide the facilities these students deserve so they can thrive and gain the education they need to help lift themselves and their communities out of poverty. 

Senegalese Basket Sale Fundraiser

Just in time for the holiday season! Get that artisan Senegalese basket you've always wanted! Stock up for holiday gifts!

December 8-10
1:00 - 6:00p

Third Block Wines
15192 Jefferson Hwy 99E SE
Jefferson, Oregon 97352

*Pick up or local delivery (Salem, Albany, Lebanon, Corvallis) only. Shipping may be available, purchaser to pay shipping costs.

Questions? crystal@andando.org or 541.224.7990 (call/text)

All proceeds benefit our education, health, and agriculture programs. 

Message from a Microloan Recipient [Video]

Our oldest program, microloans provide interest-free loans to farmers and their families and continues to yield great results. We firmly believe in helping the whole village and our programs complement each other to help break inter-generational cycles of poverty.

Entrepreneurs are vital to growing local economies but access to credit is extremely difficult and expensive in rural areas. This year we provided 100 zero interest loans to farmers helping them to purchase needed supplies at the start of a particularly early rainy season ensuring their success and a good harvest for their families.

Hear directly from one of our microloan recipients, Issa Ndiaye, on how the microloan program has benefited him and his family. (Click here to watch the video in YouTube.)

“Before Andando I used to go and try to get money to prepare myself for the rainy season, sometime I was late, when it rained I didn’t have the seeds ready and in the ground. But since I have been working with Andando I have all my items ready, ready before the rains, so all my crops produce faster.”

— Issa Ndiaye, Microloan Recipient

Meet Moussa, Garden Technician

Continuing in our series, we would like to introduce you to another member of our team who works on the ground in Senegal every day to build resilient, thriving communities. We think they are pretty amazing and are sure you will agree. This is the tenth in a series introducing the people that make it all possible. (Click here to see others in this series.) Meet Moussa, Garden Technician.

Moussa joined the Andando team in 2019.

Moussa Diouff (pronouced Moo-sa) joined our team in 2019. He is the second oldest in his family with three brothers and two sisters. He grew up with his family in the village of Nguédj near Thies, about 165 kilometers (100 miles) from Keur Soce.

Working alongside a fellow intern, Moussa (left) in 2019.

Moussa excelled at school and attended high school in a neighboring village, which means he could stay with his family while he continued his education. He performed so well he was invited to attend University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar where he studied physics and chemistry.

With a strong science foundation, Moussa wanted to really challenge himself and transfered to another institute that specialized in agronomy, the science of soil management and crop production.

“I was ambitious to be trained in agronomy, and in the end I became a scientist. The science is almost the same. I just practice what I learned, and brought it here.”

— Moussa, Garden Technician

Mousssa (far left) with other Andando staff members in Keur Soce, October 2022

After graduating, Moussa joined our team as an intern in 2019. He brought with him an extensive knowledge of soil health which is a perfect fit for our agriculture and market garden program. He was first assigned to Mbaylar Market Garden and is now the technician for both the Kouthieye and Battra Wolof gardens, helping the women there to improve their yields and soil health.

Moussa with his wife, Ndèye.

Moussa and his wife, Ndèye, have two daughters: Aminata (3 years old) and Adja (less than one year). His family compound is quite far from Andando’s headquarters in Keur Soce, and when asked if its difficult to be away from his family for work he said, “When there is a holiday or a gathering, I go so we can be together. It’s the job. I am ambitious and I wanted to have a good job.”

Moussa’s oldest daughter holding her little sister.

When he is not working Moussa manages the family’s livestock, raising sheep, and enjoys keeping active by running every morning.

Your support enables Moussa to help his fellow citizens. Thank you for investing in their future!

Click here to meet other staff.

From the Director - October 2022

We are excited to introduce our NEW Executive Director, Garrison!

Celebrating a good lettuce harvest with some of the garden participants in Keur Ngor.

My name is Garrison Harward and I could not be prouder to be speaking to you as Andando’s new Executive Director. After nine years of dedicated service Lewis has decided to move up to join our Board of Directors so that he can stay stateside and spend more time with his family. This is a big shift for both of us and for the organization as a whole, but Andando isn’t skipping a beat! Our programming is more ambitious than ever, and we have even bigger plans for the future!

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind all of us about the incredible impact that Andando has achieved under Lewis’ leadership. This year we are constructing five women’s cooperative gardens bringing our total to 38 with over 3,500 women participating in the program.

Visiting one of the market gardens with Boubou and Lewis in 2021. Garrison has traveled to Senegal several times providing technical trainings, formally as our Agriculture Officer.

In the past two years our gardens have produced over one million pounds of organic produce with recorded profits of over $250,000! By the end of this year we will also construct our 14th health post. Together these posts see an average of over 10,000 healthcare visits each year. Lastly, we are finishing four classrooms in Podor and the final two classrooms of the brand new Keur Soce High School for a total of 60 classrooms constructed across 16 schools, benefiting over 5,000 students annually. WOW!

Garrison served in the Peace Corps in Senegal from 2010-2012, here he is pictured with the chief of the village that hosted him.

I have been with Andando for a little over two years and I am still constantly astounded by what this organization has done, and is doing, every day in Senegal. I lived in Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2010-2012 near Keur Soce, and I am so grateful that Andando has afforded me the opportunity to reconnect with this place that I love so dearly.

I am proud of what we have already accomplished, and I’m so excited to see how far we can go with this firm foundation beneath us. Feel free to reach out if you would like to know more about our programming or to find a personal connection to how your contribution is making a meaningful impact in Senegal.

-Garrison Harward
Executive Director
Garrison@Andando.org

We Have Fish!

A basket full of fish after a harvest complimented by a hearty lettuce harvest, grown using fish water.

It is our absolute pleasure to report that our trial fish farming project is thriving! Earlier this year we reported on the beginnings of this process, but to be honest we really didn’t know how it would turn out. There were challenges but overall, our team has done a tremendous job and we couldn’t be prouder of them and the women in the gardens for picking up such a unique and difficult new skill! 

During a hands-on training, participants in our aquaculture project learn how to assess fish for health and growth.

On a recent visit we got to witness the first fish harvest and the results are incredible. There is nothing quite like seeing buckets of fish (over 250lbs) coming out of our gardens in the middle of the desert. It was a wonderful scene of excitement, singing, dancing, joking, everything you would expect at the culmination of a challenging but successful project. Here’s some of what the women had to say that day:

“We used to work hard before but now with the fish program, we really see ourselves succeeding in the garden.”

“Look at the eggplants!  We noticed for three years we haven’t had eggplants, but now we do because of the fish water.”

“There is a start, but there is no end to our happiness.”

Garden participants introducing the first new fingerlings produced in our own fish tanks.

It is hard to describe the importance of fish in Senegal and how meaningful it is for the women to be able to provide fresh, healthy fish for their families. This is of course the first and most noticeable benefit but the women also remarked on how watering with the fishpond water is improving vegetable production across the whole garden as well. Indeed, our aquaculture gardens saw an average 42% increase in individual profits this year compared to the same 6-month period last year! WOW!

During a hands-on training, participants in our aquaculture project learn how to harvest fish from the basins.

All four gardens that participated in this pilot program are continuing to raise fish and now that the tilapia are successfully reproducing in the basins, we are very close to having self-replicating, sustainable production that can continue for years to come.

Meet Badiane, Garden Technician

Continuing in our series, we would like to introduce you to another member of our team who works on the ground in Senegal every day to build resilient, thriving communities. We think they are pretty amazing and are sure you will agree. This is the tenth in a series introducing the people that make it all possible. (Click here to see others in this series.) Meet Badiane, Garden Technician.

Badiane joined the Andando team in 2016..

Baba Khady Badiane, who goes by Badiane (pronounced Bye-jon) joined our team in 2016. He comes from a large family and grew up in Guindor, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Keur Soce.

Unfortunately, Badiane had to stop attending school after junior high because his family did not have the means to continue sending him. This did not deter Badiane however, he proactively sought out every opportunity to continue learning and advancing himself.

Badiane has started several of our gardens from the ground up, and is a vital resource to the communities we serve.

He started working with another NGO (non governmental organization) in Senegal, called APROFES. It was here that he received formal training in agriculture techniques and seed saving. While this work was voluntary and did not provide Badiane an actual income, the knowledge he gained from the experience propelled his career in agriculture forward. He also received a diploma from USAID in food preservation and drying which is especially helpful when there is an abundance of crops.

Badiane holding packets of local heirloom seeds as part of a new seed saving program.

Badiane joined our team as our second Garden Technician and has been responsible for starting many of our gardens in the Keur Soce region. He is excited to lead a new seed saving program in the gardens.

“Agriculture is a really nice job. If you are on it, you will see results. Really you will have good health. Also you will solve almost all your problems.”

- Badiane, Garden Technician

Standing outside his home, Badiane is pictured with some of the members of his family in the village of Guindor.

Badiane is the father of nine children, the oldest is 20 and the youngest is three years old. They live together in Guindor, which is about 20 minutes by moto (scooter) from the Andando headquarters in Keur Soce.

When he is not working Badiane manages the family chickens and sheep. He also loves futbol (soccer) and was a very good goalie when he played in school.

Your support enables Badiane to help his fellow citizens. Thank you for investing in their future!

Click here to meet other staff.

Battra Ndialla Market Garden

The Women’s Collective of Battra Ndialla Market Garden after their first harvests in June.

Off the main road to Keur Soce sits a small village called Battra Ndialla. Here families work hard during the short three-month rainy season to grow and harvest staples (such as millet, squash, and peanuts) and store them for future consumption. Families struggle with food insecurity here because this rural agricultural area lacks other economic opportunities and climate change is making subsistence farming more difficult and less profitable.

With the installation of a solar powered pump, the existing well is used to water the market garden, providing nutritious vegetables for all in the community.

In the middle of the village sits a simple well that has faithfully supplied all the water needs of the community for years and years. With a rapid refresh rate, this well and community were well suited for a market garden, they just needed a little help to get it started. Thanks to a grant from Vibrant Village Foundation, Altrusa International, and Altrusa Club of Albany the community of Battra Ndialla got their garden!

Signing the Memorandum of Understanding with the community of Battra Ndialla.

In October of 2021 we formalized our partnership with the community leadership and the Women’s Collective who would ultimately take on the day-to-day care of the garden.

Construction began shortly after that and we took this time to assemble the women’s leadership team and start the initial garden training with one of our Garden Technicians, Babacar Sow.

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While they waited for the watering basins and solar pump to be installed the women prepared the grounds and identified their family plots inside the garden. Supplies arrived including wheel borrows, watering cans, rakes, and cultivation tools. Seeds also arrived and with the help of Babacar (Garden Technician) they selected their first crops, prepared compost to enrich the soil, and anxiously awaited the day the water would be turned on.

BEFORE: The water basin is installed and the barren ground is ready to be cultivated.

AFTER: You can see the water basin in the center surrounded by food producing plants.

They didn’t have to wait long, just two months later – December 2021—all the construction was complete and the solar pumps effortlessly brought fresh, clean water to the garden! Senegal has an abundance of sun and a warm climate which makes year-round food production possible. Already the women have harvested over 12,000 pounds of produce! Of this about 25% is used to feed their families and the extra 75% is sold in local markets, increasing household income by 25%. Our technicians are on-site daily, providing training and guidance for all participants ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed.

“This garden is very important for us. We gain a lot from it. When we harvest we can eat and sell. We are no longer worried for vegetables; we have them all!”

— Khady Sow, Garden Participant, Battra Ndialla

This is just the start for Battra Ndialla. In addition to vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, okra, and lettuce they are also growing hearty root vegetables like carrots and turnips. Fast growing herbs such as mint are a cash crop and sell quickly in the market.

Live-fencing trees are started in planting sheaths inside the garden. These trees will replanted around the perimeter of the garden to protect it from wind and animals.

The women are also planning for the future by planting live-fencing that will reach maturity before the existing chain link fence deteriorates in the harsh elements. This live-fence will protect the garden from the strong drying winds as well as from roaming cattle, goats, and sheep that can level a garden in a short time. Soon the women will start planting fruit producing trees such as papayas and mangoes which will not only provide delicious food, but also fortify the soil and protect from it from erosion.

“Since this garden game here. We are all happy. We gain money through the garden, we sell some and cook some.” - Binta, Garden Participant, Battra Ndialla

We celebrate with Battra Ndialla Women’s Collective for their great success this first year, and we look forward to their continued leadership, growth, and creativity to strengthen their communities. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

Meet Seynabou, Garden Technician

Continuing in our series, we would like to introduce you to another member of our team who works on the ground in Senegal every day to build resilient, thriving communities. We think they are pretty amazing and are sure you will agree. This is the tenth in a series introducing the people that make it all possible. (Click here to see others in this series.) Meet Seynabou, Garden Technician.

Seynabou joined the Andando team in 2019..

Seynabou (pronounced Say-nə-boo) Ndao joined our team in 2019. She comes from a large mixed family and is the oldest of her immediate siblings, with two sisters and three brothers. She grew up in the village of Sagatta Djioloff, in the northern region of Senegal, near Podor.

Joking around with some of her siblings, Seynabou is pictured with white head scarf.

Seynabou as a young girl, approximately six years old.

Seynabou attended both elementary and junior high school in her village where she was always among the top students. However, there was not a high school in her village, so she moved in with her aunt and uncle nearby in Louga where she excelled and completed high school.

Drawn to the sciences, Seynabou continued her education at University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar where she studied physics and chemistry. Her program included a six month internship, and she was given a list of partner businesses and nonprofits to choose from. This is how Seynabou first heard about Andando, and we were her first choice for her internship!

At university with some of her classmates (Seynabou is second from left with blue scarf).

Moving to Keur Soce was a great adventure: the way of life was different, the food was different, the ethnic groups and languages spoken in rural villages were different. But that didn’t stop Seynabou. She made quick friends with the staff and garden participants and became a great asset to the team.

After completing her internship and graduating from university, we asked if she would continue on with us as a Garden Technician --she said yes!

Testing out some equipment with fellow interns. Seynabou is center.

“What attracted me to the women is the way they integrate themselves, the familiarity. I am free, and I really enjoy working with them.
”

— Seynabou Ndao, Garden Technician

Seynabou is incredibly social and loves spending time with people. You might find her displaying some of her gymnastics skills. She’s also a bit of a jokester and will perform comedy bits much to the amusement of others.

Seynabou loves gymnastics and was on her high school team. She has been known to give a special performance in the villages from time to time.

Building lasting relationships with the garden participants is very important to Seynabou. She is pictured here with a baby who was named after her.

Your support enables Seynabou to help her fellow citizens. Thank you for investing in their future!

We are excited and honored to introduce you to more of our team and share their hope for the future with you. Thank you for your support!

Click here to meet other staff.

From the Team - July 2022

A rare moment when three of our US-based staff (Lewis, Garrison, and Crystal) are in Senegal at the same time.

We had the rare pleasure of having three of our US-based staff in Senegal at the same time! This allowed us to dive deep with our team on the ground there and make BIG plans for the future.

We were honored to help cut the ribbon at the official opening ceremony for Keur Soce High School!

Keur Soce High School is finishing up its first year of classes, and with enrollment increasing we finalized plans with the administration to construct an additional two classrooms to meet their current need. We also discussed the possibility of adding a school garden in the future with an attached science classroom to help boost their science curriculum.

After only six months since launching the aquaculture program, the fish are big enough to harvest. Each of the pilot gardens received advanced training, which will help them move towards self-sufficiency and reap the maximum benefits from the project.

In the gardens, we got to witness the first fish harvest from our pilot aquaculture program! The women and technicians have worked so hard to learn this new skill, and we couldn’t be happier to celebrate their success with them.

Fresh fish is hard to come by in these arid regions of Senegal. But now garden participants enjoy the nutritional benefits of fresh fish while also seeing their gardens bursting through the use of water from the fish ponds for their plants.

In Podor we met with local leaders to plan a permanent tree nursery which will allow us to grow thousands of beneficial trees where they are desperately needed.

These trees will become live fencing that will protect gardens from animals and wind. Over time metal fencing deteriorates, but live fencing is sustainable and provides long-term protection while helping to improve the soil.

These are just a few examples of the amazing things our team is working on, and we are so excited to see these programs continue to grow and thrive.

From all of us, “Jéréjëf!” – Thank You!