By: Haruna Kuyateh
Women Initiative Gambia (WIG), a Community-Based Organization (CBO) based in Njau, Upper Saloum in Central River North, is actively working to strengthen community resilience through environmental protection. The group focuses on recycling plastic waste into products such as handbags to help reduce indiscriminate dumping of plastics.
WIG was registered in 2006 and targets women, youth, and the environment. Since its formation, the organization has attracted numerous development partners to support women-led programs aimed at empowerment.
The Executive Director, Isatou Ceesay, spoke to The Voice in Njau on Monday during a media engagement aimed at assessing the organization’s impact on environmental issues and women’s empowerment. She said WIG started with just five women and now has 79 active members, emphasizing the importance of recycling plastic bags to save lives, soil, and animals.
Madam Ceesay highlighted the contribution of Future in Our Hands, which helped construct a kitchen, hall, and toilet to launch skills training for women and girls. These trainings focus on livelihoods that foster economic development and reduce poverty.
She noted that involving women has significantly improved environmental management in Njau and its surroundings. Besides recycling plastic bags into handbags, key holders, and baskets, the group also uses old motor tyres to create furniture.
WIG values reforestation through agriculture and agroforestry, maintaining a learning centre that promotes tree growing at the community and school levels. Their activities include tree nurseries, compost making, climate justice advocacy, and producing charcoal from groundnut and coconut shells, as well as dry leaves.
The organization promotes tree growing in 55 communities with the help of women environmental heroes and 40 schools’ young environmental heroes across the Central River Region North.
Madam Ceesay encouraged young girls to be innovative and engage in productive sectors that create employment and transform lives.
Regarding support from the EBA Project, she described it as transformative, enhancing capacity in value addition and repositioning the organization’s strategic goals. Rehabilitation of structures, construction, and equipping of a modern food processing centre have all been part of the project, including the provision of milling and processing machines, a standard drying hall for fruits, protective gear, weighing scales, a refrigerator, a borehole, and vegetables to boost value addition, income, and reduce post-harvest losses.
Acknowledging Ohio State University’s support in providing a 2.5-hectare sustainable vegetable garden for Njau women, boosting nutrition and income. The US Peace Corps Gambia contributed innovative ideas and technical advice for environmental protection and capacity building. Additionally, a Spanish partner helped construct an open Bantaba for community discussions, while a friend in the USA supported the fencing of the training centre.