As 2019 comes to a close, we can’t help but reflect on the past year with gratitude and inspiration for all of the opportunities, transitions, and lessons. We would especially like to thank our supporters who have helped fund our programs halfway around the world, making success stories like the ones below possible through sustainable projects in rural Senegal.
2019 Highlights in Senegal:
From new communities gaining access to clean water to building five new poultry sheds, receiving a certificate for our annual tree-planting campaigns, and more, we are thrilled to share with you the difference your support has made in 2019.
Overview:
- Welcoming CREATE!’s New Executive Director
- Five Partner Communities Build Their Poultry Sheds
- CREATE! Receives a Diploma of Recognition for our Tree-Planting Program
- CREATE! Attends the 2019 Cracking the Nut Conference
- Two New Partner Communities Achieve Access to Clean Water
- CREATE! Supporters Offset Their Transportation Carbon Footprints
- CREATE!’s 10th Anniversary in 2020
Michael Carson (back row, second from right), visited Senegal multiple times this year to work with CREATE!‘s field team and visit partner communities.
Welcoming CREATE!’s New Executive Director:
CREATE! welcomed Executive Director, Michael Carson, to the team at the beginning of 2019. Since then, Michael has worked diligently with the US and Senegalese team to further CREATE!’s impact: partnering with new communities, developing new connections, as well as expanding our programs, technologies, and outreach. “2019 has been a whirlwind year,” Michael says. “I have learned a lot about CREATE! and appreciate the dedication of our Senegal and Oregon staff, Board of Directors and most importantly the women and families that we are collaborating with. It is inspiring to serve as CREATE!s Executive Director, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with our staff, board, Senegal partners, and supporters during 2020 to empower Senegalese communities and expand our impact.”
Learn more here.
Technicians and community members oversee the poultry shed being built in Keur Daouda.
Five Partner Communities Build Their Poultry Sheds
In the first quarter of 2019, five of our partner communities started building their poultry sheds. Following CREATE!’s 5-year development model, poultry raising is one of the later programs. This is a significant milestone for the communities of Wereyane, Santhie, Mboss, Back Samba Dior, and Keur Daouda because this project will help take them even further along the path of income generation and overall self-sufficiency!
Learn more here.
Amadou Diouf accepts CREATE!’s diploma of recognition at the National Reforestation Campaign.
CREATE! Receives a Diploma of Recognition for our Tree-Planting Program
Every year CREATE! hosts an annual tree-planting campaign. On this year’s Journée de l’arbre (Tree Day) in Senegal, CREATE! was awarded a diploma of recognition by the Fatick Governor. The diploma is in honor of our contribution to environmental preservation and reforestation in rural Senegal.
Country Director, Omar Ndiaye Seck states, “This activity [reforestation] allows us to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change brought about by human actions, the consequences of which are suffered by later generations. Our reforestation efforts assist in recovering devastated parts of the globe. Through our work, we hope to leave a better world for our children.”
Learn more here.
Starting from the left, Omar Ndiaye Seck (CREATE!‘s Country Director), Ndeye Fatou Thiam (CREATE!‘s Communications Coordinator), Natalie (CREATE!‘s US Communications Coordinator), Amadou Diouf (CREATE!‘s Field Coordinator) attend Cracking the Nut Conference.
CREATE! Attends the 2019 Cracking the Nut Conference
CREATE! was honored to present at 2019 Cracking the Nut Conference (CTN) in Dakar, Senegal, along with many other outstanding organizations. “We are delighted to have participated in such an informative and inspiring conference. We met many other people in our field of intervention who are also concerned about issues related to food security, climate change, and the challenges of rural communities. Meetings like CTN support a better and more open mindset and encourage the spread of new knowledge.” Says Amadou Diouf, CREATE! Field Coordinator.
Learn more here.
Community members in Mbossedji celebrate their newly gained access to clean water!
Two New Communities Achieve Access to Clean Water
CREATE!’s 2019 partner communities, Boustane Lo and Mbossedji, gained access to clean water for the first time using renewable energy! This is thanks to a successful well-rehabilitation and installation of a solar water pump by CREATE!’s highly skilled technicians. Now Boustane Lo and Mbossedji will have access to clean, fresh water year-round for drinking and agriculture use. Stay tuned for their progress over this next year! We are so excited to see these dynamic and hardworking groups grow and succeed through their sustainable projects.
Learn more about Boustane Lo and Mbossedji.
CREATE! Supporters Offset Their Transportation Carbon Footprints
This fall, CREATE!’s US team developed a Transportation Carbon Calculator for donors to offset their carbon footprint and support climate change mitigation programs in Senegal. We were thrilled to see a multitude of donors offsetting their transportation carbon footprints and sharing the calculator with friends and family. At CREATE!, we believe that if we are to achieve global stability, we must understand that our world is an ecosystem. Our choices, whether sustainable or not, affect environments around the world. Climate change is a global problem, and we need to come together as a global community to work together to solve it.
Women in the village of Yougoure are harvesting the rainy season’s eggplants before preparing the dry season crops for 2020.
CREATE!’s 10th Anniversary in 2020
2020 marks CREATE!’s 10th anniversary! We plan to celebrate our work and our continuous collaboration with communities in rural Senegal by organizing celebrations in both Senegal and in the US (Eugene, Seattle, San Antonio, and Boston). We want to use this celebration as an opportunity to recognize the hard work of our staff in Senegal and the US and the incredible generosity of our donors who continuously support our work. For ten years CREATE! has carried out impactful work, providing thousands of Senegalese women and their families with access to clean water, improved cookstoves, nutritious vegetables, and access to credit.
Visions for 2020
In 2020, we plan to continue our research in the health sector, build on our existing programs, and explore new partnerships that connect with our work. Through our agriculture program, CREATE! will pilot a nutrition initiative by introducing nutrition-rich sweet potatoes and an improved variety of maize in our partner villages. We will expand our community empowerment program to at least one new village in Senegal. CREATE! technicians will provide assistance on improved cookstove production to a Gambian NGO. Finally, we plan to explore implementing CREATE!’s Community Empowerment Program in the Gambia.
Final Words
All of these accomplishments have been made possible by supporters like you. Our deepest gratitude goes out to the grant and partner foundations that have helped fund our programs and the incredible generosity of individual donors who have contributed to CREATE!. Your contributions help to bring our global community closer together, spreading the wealth of opportunity and kindness around the world.
As we embark on the next decade, we at CREATE! would like to share a Senegalese Wolof proverb with you: Ku bëgg akara dangay ñeme kaani. This means, “Whoever wants accra (a breakfast food) must brave the peppers.” In other words, nothing worth having comes easy. We are looking forward to a year of growth with new opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. 2020 is going to be a fantastic year, and we cannot wait to share it with you. Happy New Year from the CREATE! team!