Zidisha's Program Sustainability in Senegal

One overarching goal of my summer is finding ways to make our program more sustainable in Senegal. One way we are able to accomplish this is by training local volunteers who live in country and who are passionate about Zidisha's mission and willing to give their time to find others who will benefit from our program. At the same time these mentors are here to coach and help those who are facing financial difficulties in the repayment of their loans. Our Coach Benevole program is designed to give fiscal incentive to those who are willing to above and beyond just borrowing from our system to dedicating their time to helping others. Last Friday we welcomed our newest member to our Coach Benevole program, Cheikh Mountaga Sall (who also goes by Babacar).

Members like Babacar are truly the future of Zidisha and will leave their imprint not only on our community but will also have their part in the global movement against unemployment. Photo credit goes to my colleague, Miriam Frost.

One Entrepreneur's Passion for Animals

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to meet with Ameth Seck, one of Zidisha's newest borrowers. He received his first loan in April, enabling him to increase his chicken raising business. He purchased ten chicks at one day old. He raised, fed, and medicated them for 45 days, from when he sold them for 2,500 XOF to 3,000 XOF each ($5-$6) to gain a small profit. Contagiously smiling from when I first shook his hand, I knew Ameth was a very unique and forward thinking individual. His passion for animals was evident in the way he described what he did and his future plans.

Even though the commencing loan is small, Ameth is already thinking ahead about what he will do to expand his production capabilities. He showed us with eagerness his plans to add cupboards around he two rooms to hold even more chickens. He also wishes to add an automated water reservoir to add not  only to the number of chickens he can have at one time but also minimize the number of times a day he needs to give them water.

Ameth's passion for animals was evident in how he described what he does .He has two dogs which he raised and trained himself who respond to his commands in Wolof (my eyes went wide when this happened). He also showed us an old aquarium he owns which he said he would one day like to fill with water to have fish to raise and sell. Ameth's forward thinking is a quality unique among entrepreneurs, and I was pleased to have the opportunity to have the chance meet him.

Eco-friendly Products Presentation

Two days last week I had the pleasure of traveling with our Coach Benevole, Ndate Dieng, as she gave her presentation of the SEM fund products.

This stove uses a sustainable biomass that is actually grown locally in Senegal. The SEM fund planted 27,000 of the trees themselves with a local field partner. Small pieces of the wood are put in a small chamber in the bottom of the stove. This is a safer stove than the charcoal stoves that are popularly used in Senegal because it emits fewer indoor air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and particulates.

Ndate holding the stove during her presentation.

This is the EcoSac, which is actually manufactured locally by another Zidisha member! If you partially cook a meal, you can take the pot off the stove and put it in the EcoSac, which will finish cooking it for you. This can also be used as temporary refrigeration.

 

This was one of the group of participants in one of the presentations that Ndate gave. At the second presentation, she successfully sold a stove and one of the solar powered lamps. I only look forward to continuing to follow Ndate's success!

A Day in Gorom with AFAO.

Last Friday I had the unique opportunity to see the AFAO Senegal factory where women work transforming  agricultural products and create local yummy juices, like bissap and many others.

This is the outside of the factory in Gorom. It was about a two hour bus ride outside of Dakar.

This is the juice stand located in the profile picture of Mme. Magatte Fall, who I wrote about in my last blog post. Her loans have helped fund the juice stand. Her latest loan bought a freezer to store her juices.

The neighborhood surrounding the factory. It was very quaint, set out in the country. I was fortunate enough to travel there with our Coach Benevole, Ndate Dieng, who is also a member of AFAO.

 

I had the pleasure of being presented to the President of AFAO Senegal, Khady Fall. Here she is pictured with several other members of AFAO Senegal.

The interior of the factory where the women ground local agricultural products.

Pictured above with a few packages of the ground corn and couscous. To my right is our Coach Benevole, Ndate.

Tropical Juices

Here is a copy of the story I wrote on Mme. Magatte Fall's Zidisha profile page:

My name is Paige Klunk, and I am currently a Client Relationship Manager for Zidisha in Senegal. Yesterday, Miriam and I had the opportunity to meet Mme. Magatte Fall at the office of AFAO in Dakar. She met us in front of the building with a warm smile and gentle wave, leading us upstairs to her fifth floor office.

Mme. Fall is currently on her second loan with Zidisha. Her first loan enabled her to commence her business of making juices, and with her second loan she was able to expand by buying a freezer to store the juices she makes. The freezer was a great success! Mme. Fall's business has doubled.

The benefits of Mme. Fall's loans are evident in how she supports her family and her local community. She mentioned she was able to pay a full year's tuition for her son, who just past his baccalaureate exam! Not only does her family benefit but she supports the sustainability of her association as well. Women who are members of the association actually buy juices and other goods from her to resell.

While discussing the success of her business, Mme. Fall was also very eager to talk about her full-time work. Mme. Fall is Technician of Health at AFAO Senegal, also known as WAWA (West African Women's Association) in English. She travels often to rural areas to educate about the prevention of diseases, such as malaria and AIDs. AFAO also gives women the formative and educational tools they need to be successful in their trade. Mme. Fall proudly showed us several of the pamphlets that AFAO uses, ranging from topics on how to package local foods for resale to pamphlets educating on importing goods through customs.

Mme. Fall's success has not only benefited her family but her local community as well. She is very motivated with her work with AFAO and is proud of the success of her business. Miriam and I had a pleasant visit with Mme. Fall, and I only look forward to the next time I can visit to see how Mme. Fall's work has continued to progress.

Sincerely,
Paige Klunk
Senegal Client Relationship Manager
Zidisha

 
Edit: Here are the photos, finally! So sorry for the delay. Credit goes to my colleague, Miriam Frost.

Here Magatte is pictured on the left with her colleague Ndate Dieng, who is also a member of AFAO.

Proudly holding the jars of vegetables canned and packaged by AFAO members.

Ceebujen

One of my favorite cultural aspects of Senegal is ceebujen. Now that I have been back in Senegal for nearly three weeks, I have had my fair share already. I have been fortunate enough to meet with a few clients already that have invited me to stay for lunch.

 Coach Benevole Ndate Dieng and I after our first meeting when she posted her first loan application. She will sell solar charging lamps that double as cell phone chargers. I have met with Ndate now twice and she has invited me to stay for ceebujen both times.

The remnants of the ceebujen after my second visit with Ndate. Hard work only means the ceeb tastes better and there is less leftover. Today I was fortunate enough to meet with another member of Zidisha. But I will write more about that later!

Mobile Money: Reaching to the Far Edges of the Globe

Mobile money is revolutionizing the microfinance realm. It enables people in corners of the globe to use their cell phones or money transfer locations to send money to far away financial institutions or family members. Our Kenyan program uses the successful MPESA system for repayments and loan distributions. For a client to send their repayment, it is only a few quick pushes of buttons on their phone to send their repayment to our account. When their funds are ready for use, they receive an SMS notification direct to their cell phone.

Since I joined Zidisha over a year ago, our West African program has partnered with a regional bank. Working with a bank is not only difficult for us but for our clients as well. A bank offers the traditional capitalistic mindset to those who are working on a humanitarian project. The bank also assumes most clients are inferior in mindset to their own workers. For six months now, I have been working to change our West African partnership to a company that is not only more non-profit friendly but will allow our clients to never have to set foot in a traditional financial institution again.

The partnership is close to being finalized and I will be more than excited for both parties when it is completed. I will write again when I have more news.

The Senegalese Teranga

I have been very fortunate this week. Upon my arrival in Dakar, I expected to have an apartment ready and waiting for me in Ouakam. When I went to see it, however, it was not as I expected. I have been fortunate to have a Coach Bénévole here offer to open his house to me until I find an apartment for the next three months. Terenga in Senegal will never cease to amaze me. They have been so friendly, stuffing me full of yassa and ceebujen as well as attaya, traditional Senegalese tea. Contrastingly there are a few not so good Senegalese that will try to take advantage of your lack of knowledge of the country. For the most part, however, most here are genuinely good and are very, very hospitable.

This is a picture of Malick with our CIEE intern, Haley, going over the Coach Bénévole orientation. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me. I should have a place secured in Point E commencing tomorrow. But until then, a special thanks to Malick and his wife Awa for their generosity!

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