By Mamadou Edrisa Njie
As the global Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) death rates continue to be alarming, while others in the rural communities are struggling to get sanitary materials to keep themselves and their families protected from the ravaging virus, the Instituto Marquês de Valle Flôr (IMVF) office in Banjul is leading the fight against COVID-19 in rural Gambian communities.
IMVF with its partners are among institutions that are funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) to implement the Building a Future Programme: Make it in The Gambia – Tekki Fii– a 36-month programme from January 2019 to January 2022. Now, IMVF is at the forefront supporting rural communities in the fight against COVID-19.
On Saturday, 11th April, 2020, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, confirmed five new cases of COVID-19 in The Gambia. It took The Gambia 13 days to confirm new five cases after the last one on March 29.
In The Gambia, IMVF’s overall objective is to contribute to socio-economic development and to nurture positive prospects for local populations and returning migrants in The Gambia, namely in Central River, North Bank, Lower River and Upper River Regions.
With its rural beneficiaries being women and youth, including returning migrants and members of the diaspora, IMVF is also championing awareness raising campaigns, providing sanitary and information materials on COVID-19 preventions to its beneficiaries in rural Gambia.
In an interview with Mansa Banko Online, IMVF’s Joana Lopes Martins, who is the Project Coordinator, explained why her office is funding COVID-19 sensitizations in 10 communities in the Central River Region (CRR) and other regions of their interventions, thus the impact it will have on the lives of their beneficiaries.
Mansa Banko Online: Why IMVF is doing COVID-19 sensitization for rural communities, where IMVF is operating?
Joana Lopes Martins: First of all, this is a time where we shall all mobilise to avoid the spread of the virus. Having said that, it is the mission of Tekki Fii project lead by IMVF and funded by the European Union, to support the development of rural areas, namely promoting agribusiness in Central River Region (CRR) and North Bank Region (NBR) and strengthening social cohesion in CRR, NBR, as well as in Lower River Region (LRR) and Upper River Region (LRR), respectively.
So, when COVID-19 became a concern in The Gambia, our immediate idea was to ensure prevention within the communities and groups that are already beneficiaries of the project.
The youths of these regions – with whom we have been working for over a year now – have approached us regarding the possibility to support outreach prevention initiatives.
It is wonderful to see how the youths are partnering with national and regional stakeholders to build the resilience of the communities and how they are volunteering to be in the frontline of prevention. This is a sign of youth and youth-based organizations engagement in local development and community resilience.
Furthermore, worldwide evidences suggest that elders are more vulnerable to COVID-19. Thus, the engagement of the youth in prevention might also strengthen intergenerational solidarity which is a key dimension of social cohesion.
In as much as observing social distance are key to avoid the spread of the virus, we need also to ensure that social cohesion is not jeopardized and might even be reinforced during this period. The voluntary engagement of the youth in prevention, in close coordination with relevant stakeholders – not only in CRR but also NBR and all over the country – we believe, can contribute to it.
Mansa Banko Online: Did COVID-19 affect IMVF’s activities, if yes, how?
Joana Lopes Martins: We are following the safety measures declared by the Government of The Gambia and the recommendations of the World Health Organisation [WHO]. Thus, some of our activities had to be put on hold, such as, for example, trainings.
In any case, thanks to the new technologies, we were able to design a work plan that allows us to keep working towards the benefit of our beneficiaries and hopefully, we will be able to re-start working with no constraints as soon as the context so allows.
Mansa Banko Online: What mitigation measures do IMVF have for young entrepreneurs in this COVID-19 [period]?
Joana Lopes Martins: For us, this is still the moment to assess the impact of the on-going situation. Information is being collected and national stakeholders and development partners are already meeting to discuss the socio-economic impact. Some measures will likely be set into place soon.
Mansa Banko Online: Any other information that you would like to share with our readers?
Joana Lopes Martins: Since this is an agriculture-oriented journal, maybe [to] reinforce the information that one of the missions of this project, Tekki Fii, implemented with partners Agency for the Development of Women & Children (ADWAC), United Purpose (UP) formally Concern Universal, Alianza, is to develop agribusiness in rural areas and to show the youths that this is a relevant sector of occupation and income generation. So, we are working to promote the conditions for reinforced agriculture value chains to generate new opportunities for the youths.
Just an example, since September 2019, there is an in-kind Agro-grant that goes up to 250,000 dalasis for the youths of CRR and NBR who are working in the agribusiness sector and would need a boost in their businesses. Guess it is worth to give it a try; you just have to fill a form and respect the selection criteria. Sure, one will need to invest time to apply, but the reward might make a big difference in one’s business.
The opportunity is there, now it is up to each of us to really engage and get committed with the opportunities presented and, at the end of the day, contribute to the development of our communities.
