|
Information:
Action Aid The Gambia is a UK
charity organisation which began operating in The Gambia
in 1979, and now works with 200,000 people.
 It
supports the basic rights and needs of poor people, working
at a practical level to improve their access to services and
lobbying government and other
decision-makers to change policies and practices that affect
their lives.
Action Aid is an affiliate of AATG UK which is a Charity and
non-profit making organisation. AATG is an International Non-governmental
Organisation working with poor communities and other stakeholders
in eradicating poverty.
The organisation is non-political, non religious and non racial.
AATG is a non-profit organization with equal opportunities
for employment for everyone.
Wherever possible, Action Aid works with local organisations
so that change is appropriate and long-lasting. In the areas
where AATG operates, there are over 700 local associations,
whose approach is based on the Mandinka word TESITO, meaning
self reliance.
Mission:
Their mission is to enable poor and marginalised people achieve
their basic needs and rights and thus ensure social equity
and justice.
Geographical Areas of Operations:
Kuntaur :
The area covers 960 square km, divides into four chiefdoms
and is home to 59,465 people. Eighty percent of the population
in this area are subsistence farmers.
Falladu West
785 square km, home to 68,800 people, this hilly area divides
into two chiefdoms. Forest areas have been cleared, bush fires
are common and rainfall is low. Ninety-eight per cent of the
population are farmers.
Wuli/Sandu
Covering an area of 858 square km, home to around 35,023 inhabitants,
this area is characterised by high river banks and large gullies
caused by severe erosion
Gender Policy:
Traditional norms and values place restrictions on the lives
and well being of girls, boys, women and men in many, if not
all societies in the world. With regards to education, decision-making
power, paid employment and access to productive resources
such as land, to name a few, boys and men tend to be favoured,
while women and girls experience greater restrictions.
In The Gambia for example, the potentials of girls and women, who
constitute half the population, are not realised because of social
imbalances. These coupled with insensitivity to certain instruments
that have been laid down to protect the rights and dignity of girls
and women make it impossible for their potentials to be fully tapped.
ActionAid's new strategy of Fighting Poverty Together and its
corresponding Africa strategy Ingendo require that they put the
challenge to get boys, girls, men and women to embrace one another for
the common good at the heart of their new approach to poverty
eradication.
Education Advocacy Campaign:
The main purpose of the campaign at national level is to assist
government to develop and promote local policies and practices
which would enhance the provision of quality education
for all, particularly the poor and marginalised people. At
Regional level, the national campaign networks are linked
to Africa-Network Campaign for Education For All (ANCEFA).
This body is also a member of the Global Campaign for Education
and Elimu Campaign for Education. All these linkages are meant
to create that south/north movement towards the provision
of education for all by southern governments, through civil
society participation in acting as a watchdog of the poor
and marginalised people.
|
