Andando Named Finalist in Prestigious 2025 .ORG Impact Awards

We’re honored to share that Andando has been named one of 35 finalists in the 7th annual .ORG Impact Awards, presented by Public Interest Registry (PIR). This year’s awards drew nearly 3,000 applications from over 120 countries, recognizing mission-driven individuals and organizations making a difference around the world.

Innovations like our aquaculture project are being recognized on the international stage!

Andando was selected as a finalist in the Hunger and Poverty category for our work helping rural Senegalese communities break the cycle of poverty through a whole-village approach. By integrating support in water, health, education, agroforestry, and financial independence, we walk alongside our partner communities to build lasting, locally led solutions.

Classrooms are nearly complete at Guédé Village
High School where enrollment is rising thanks in part to Andando’s layered interventions across the region.

As a finalist, we’ll receive a $2,500 donation and join other nonprofit leaders in Washington, D.C. this October for a celebration and awards ceremony hosted by artist and activist Common. Each category winner will receive $10,000, and one organization will be named .ORG of the Year and awarded $50,000.

“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized for a second time among such a diverse and inspiring group of changemakers from across the globe,” said Garrison Harward, Executive Director of Andando. “It validates not only the dedication of our Senegalese team but also the tremendous work that our partner communities are doing to transform their own lives.”

About the .ORG Impact Awards

Andando is now a 2x finalist after being nominated in the Community Building category in 2023 as well.

The .ORG Impact Awards celebrate outstanding individuals and organizations within the global .ORG community. The program is led by Public Interest Registry (PIR), the nonprofit that manages the .ORG top-level domain, home to more than 11 million registered websites around the world. Click here to read their press release.

Thank you to PIR and the .ORG Impact Awards team for recognizing our work—and congratulations to all the other incredible finalists!

Andando is a US-based nonprofit working alongside rural Senegalese communities to build lasting, locally led solutions to poverty. Learn more at www.andando.org.

Construction of the Solar Pumps Has Begun

As part of our partnership with The Vibrant Village Foundation, we are installing two solar pumps for use in the market gardens in Keur Soce, Senegal. These will be fully self-sustaining units that will provide ample water to the gardens and the women who run them.Partnering with an experienced Senegalese company, these pumps will allow the growing of vegetables all year, dramatically increasing output in this arid region. This will not only provide these women with improved nutrition and diet for them and their families, but also allow them to grow enough produce to sell the surplus for a much needed profit. This program will directly benefit 150 women and their households and provide a boon for the local economy. This is Mandou Ba, our recently hired Garden Manager. He has extensive experience working in permaculture in Senegal and will be providing assistance to the ladies of the cooperatives. He has also been assisting in the construction of the solar pumps and will provide basic maintenance and assistance.

Here we see the well and solar pump in the background, and the seedlings and their covered beds in the foreground. These seedlings are quickly growing and will be transplanted by the end of the month when the pump is up and running.

Many of the women and community members worked hard to shore up the fence and secure the garden and the new installations.

Making plans for the future of the gardens. You can also see here the clearing that was done by the women to prepare the soil for planting, as well as the healthy and mature cashew trees throughout the garden.

This is an example of a finished solar pump, next to a well. Our two installations will be similar to this and provide ample water all year around. Stay tuned for more news as we get closer to completion.