Why Senegal
Fiona and Kevin Kiker with members of the Ouro Madiaw women’s garden in Podor.
Andando was founded by the Kiker family out of a deep connection with and love for the people of Senegal. Through 25 years of visiting and building friendships they saw the struggles of everyday life in the rural areas and the disproportionate burdens placed on women and girls who would spend hours every day just fetching water. Andando was born out of the Kiker’s desire to use the advantages they have been given through their successful careers to help to ease some of the hardships they saw around them in Senegal.
The Early Years
Boubou Sy, posing with the highway sign for Keur Soce on the newly completed paved road into town.
Boubou Sy introduced the Kikers to the rural community of Keur Soce in 2004 and helped them to start their first small well digging and rehabilitation projects there. Boubou officially joined Andando in 2007 to manage these efforts and in 2009, Andando applied for 501(c)(3) status becoming the Andando Foundation.
One of our first sponsored artisans showing off the dresses she sells.
The word Andando in the local Wolof language means walking together, and this has always been at the heart of our methodology. The Kikers traveled regularly to Keur Soce to develop projects, spending countless hours listening to the struggles and triumphs of the people there and working with them to find sustainable solutions they could use to lift themselves out of poverty. Not being satisfied with any existing development models they saw, the Kikers decided Andando should create its own grassroots approach that is truly connected to the communities we serve. Our current model of focusing on all aspects of the growth of a village over a long-term commitment to each community was developed through more than a decade of listening to our partners, and rigorously evaluating the impact our work.
Growing to the Present
Lewis Kiker, Andando’s first Executive Director.
In 2013 Lewis, the Kiker’s son who had recently completed his service in the Peace Corps in Swaziland, came on board as Andando’s first Executive Director. Under Lewis’ leadership Andando expanded its programing into our four current program areas and established a partnership with the Vibrant Village Foundation, whose financial support and guidance continues to this day. As Andando grew we focused on establishing a strong base of Senegalese staff rather than hiring additional American employees. This has been key to our success as through the years it is our local staff who have spearheaded the development of our programs ensuring not only their sustainability but also that they are actually what the people want and need. We believe in building the capacity of local communities to solve their own problems, and that is best facilitated by local staff who speak their language, both literally and culturally. Our US staff remains as small as possible, currently 3 people, with a Senegalese staff of 26.
Andando’s first garden technician Mamadou Ba in the Ngor Marone garden.
Andando’s programs in health, agroforestry, education, and microfinance grew steadily over the years in Keur Soce receiving praise from foundation funders, local government, and our partner communities. The evidence was clear, from testimonials to hard data, we had created a model that works. Now the test was to see if it could be replicated. In 2018 after several years of preparation Andando started our first projects in the Podor region along Senegal’s northern border with Mauritania. Conditions in this part of the Sahel are extremely harsh and difficult, but our model of long-term project implementation facilitated by local staff has been equally successful there. The impact in these remote villages is proving to be even greater due to the scarcity of NGOs operating in the area, and the fact that even fewer successfully implement their projects.
Today
Lewis, Omar, Garrison, Boubou, Sall, Crystal, and Gorgui pose for a selfie on a rare trip together to Podor.
In 2022 after 9 years of service to Andando Lewis moved to the Board of Directors with Garrison Harward assuming the position as our current Executive Director. Garrison is also a former Peace Corps Volunteer having served in Senegal near Keur Soce from 2010-2012. Andando continues to grow and innovate every year with new initiatives currently in development to incorporate aquaculture fish farming, school gardens, reforestation, and increased microfinance support into our programs. Our history of diligent and patient work has allowed Andando to make a significant impact in the lives of our partner communities and has positioned us to be poised and ready for even greater things in the future. Click here to see our complete project history and visit the our impact page to see the full scope of what our programs have achieved.