Ms. Khady Seck lives in the village of Merina Seck about nine kilometers from Diokoul Epicenter in Senegal. She is 42 years old and chairs a women’s group started in 2007 as part of The Hunger Project’s Microfinance Program.
Khady’s hope for initiating the microfinance group was to combine the strengths of local women, create solidarity, encourage cohesion and undertake income-generating activities to increase the income and welfare of members.
With the leadership and commitment of Khady, the group has cultivated a vegetable crop with support from a two-year loan of 300,000 FCFA (US$654). Combining their resources allowed them to overcome their shortage of vegetable production due to an insufficient water supply in the community. Water and crops now benefit the whole of the community equally.
In addition to participating in microfinance and income-generating workshops, Khady attends other trainings at the epicenter including breast feeding and maternal nutrition, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS awareness and more. Empowered by the epicenter trainings, Khady has taken on the position of counselor to the village women and coordinated the shared maintenance of the local environment, reducing rates of diseases like malaria.
Khady’s main objectives for the future include:
- Mobilizing women to acquire new land for crop cultivation.
- Purchasing a modernized oil press for food processing.
- Increasing the gardening yields so that village households can have fresh vegetables daily.
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March 30, 2011
