Branching Out: Tree Planting and Social Resilience

Andando’s Keur Socé Tree Nursery supporting Senegal’s National Tree Day with the contribution of 750 trees!

Thanks to support from the Rick Steves’ Climate Smart Commitment Andando’s two tree nurseries, in Keur Socé and Podor, are now producing tens of thousands of native and fruit trees each year to support partner gardens, schools, health centers, and microloan recipients.

Our team has embraced the challenge of expanding tree planting in partner communities, and their efforts are not going unnoticed. The government’s Water and Forest Guard recently asked Andando to provide trees and logistical support for Senegal’s National Tree Day, and we are now an officially accredited Civil Society Organization with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification!

Tree project coordinator, Francois, with Technician Badiane inside the Keur Socé Tree Nursery. So far this year, our tree program has produced 48,092 trees.

Andando is stepping up in the fight against climate change while keeping the same people-centered approach that has always guided us. The scale of tree planting needed in Senegal alone is daunting. It will take millions upon millions of trees, which must be produced, transported, planted, cared for, and protected to maturity. This monumental undertaking not only requires community buy-in, but in a larger sense for there to be communities present who have the people and means to participate in these efforts.

Thanks to Rick Steves’ Climate Smart Commitment for generously supporting this project!

Andando staff loading tree saplings for a tree planting day in Togane. Our Regional Tree Nurseries provide trees for schools, health centers, gardens, and families.

While Andando is not yet on the scale of millions of trees, this is the lens through which we are approaching our contribution and why we believe so strongly in a holistic approach to community development. Our partners in the northern region of Podor have arguably the greatest need for large-scale tree planting, but we can’t bypass their other needs. For tree planting to succeed communities must be strong, which is why we are working to first ensure that villages of indigenous pastoralists have the water, food security, education, and health resources they need to stay on their ancestral lands.

Andando staff loading tree saplings for a tree planting day in Togane. Our Regional Tree Nurseries provide trees for schools, health centers, gardens, and families.

Strengthening these communities is the first step to environmental restoration enabling indigenous populations to participate as powerful partners in our global fight against climate change.

From the Director - September 2024

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly projects can progress once the preparations are in place and the funding arrives. We have a truly stellar team in Senegal, so it didn’t take long to move from breaking ground to opening the doors of our newest rural health center in the village of Mbida. I had the great pleasure of attending the opening ceremony on July 3rd and shortly thereafter the first baby was born there, a little boy whose healthy birth underlines the importance of this resource and the hope and peace of mind that it brings.

The entire village of Mbida, along with representatives from the regional Health Authority in Podor, turned out to celebrate the Grand Opening of the new health center.

More great news out of the Podor region where we are moving forward with the deep borehole well in our partner village of Senobowal. We announced this project in the article “Water for Aida” and have since raised almost half of our funding goal! This means that we can complete the borehole and solar pump system which will bring clean water to over 5,000 people. We still need more support though to add a women’s garden so please check out our GoFundMe campaign and help to spread the word about this amazing project.

Our partners in Senobowal met with Andando recently in the shade of their health center to finalize details for the borehole and garden.

In the first expansion of our pilot Aquaculture project, we recently broke ground on two new sets of fish basins in our Mboyo Walo and Mbantou Croissement partner gardens. Both gardens worked hard to join the project and we can’t wait to see the joy it will bring when they harvest their first fish right out of their own garden. We hope to expand this project in the coming years so more of our partners can gain access to improved nutrition and income.

Construction is nearly complete on our new aquaculture basins with fish set to arrive in October!

Andando is growing all the time, but we are still nimble and responsive to funding. Your support makes a difference and allows us to move projects like these forward to make an immediate difference in the lives of rural families in Senegal.

Water for Aida

“It takes a village” might be a phrase which originated in Africa, but it’s become an accepted sentiment in our modern society: no matter where you call home, everyone depends on a vast ecosystem of support for all aspects of our lives. Personal effort makes a difference, but when one or more societal infrastructures are lacking it’s all too easy for any amount of effort to fail to lift people out of poverty.

Aida Mbaye has served as the midwife in her village of Seno Bowal for over 25 years.

This is exactly what the village of Seno Bowal is facing. You may recall that last year we constructed a vitally needed health post here which was an immediate success… that is until their water tower broke down. A health post without clean running water isn’t much help. Thankfully they were able to find a temporary solution, but their water situation remains perilous.

For nearly a year residents of Seno Bowal had to rely on water brought in by donkey cart from a well six miles away.

“Here we are in a dry area, a very dry area. We do not have enough water. It’s very dry. We are not close to the river, we are not close to anything. We are depending on the rainy season.
”

— Aida, Midwife at Seno Bowal

Lack of water prevents Aida from serving her community, but an even bigger problem is that the community cannot survive without water. Water is life!

Mother and daughter walking outside the village of Seno Bowal.

Bodiel Fall (left), representative of the village chief, first alerted Andando to the issue and helped to develop our planned intervention.

Seno Bowal is the water source for 10 villages and over 5,000 people, along with an additional 30,000 livestock! It is a vital regional resource, but unfortunately, they have struggled with insufficient water and breakdowns for years.

The good news is that the problem is solvable! The constant breakdowns stem from piecemeal temporary fixes which never addressed the root cause of the problem: an undersized well which simply can’t meet the demand.

Seno Bowal’s water tower, which has the potential to provide water for 10 villages and over 5,000 people!

We need your help to get water for Aida and her community.

We can drill a new deep borehole well which will solve this problem once and for all! Once the water problem is solved, we can then install a market garden which will not only provide year-round food for all 2,200 residents of Seno Bowal, but also help them remain on their ancestral lands.

Photo Caption: Members of Seno Bowal who will benefit from a new well and market garden that will allow them to remain on their ancestral lands.

How can we help?

We need to raise $50,000 to fix the water problem and install a new market garden. Will you walk alongside Aida so she can continue to provide quality medical care to her village and not have to worry if the water will turn on?

From the Director - April 2024

Greetings from Senegal! I am currently here working with the our team to finalize our projects for 2024, so stay tuned to hear about all the exciting new partnerships that your support is making possible.

Thiam, Andando’s Podor Programs Manager, meeting with the village of Mbida to formalize our partnership to build a new health post.

In the meantime, we have some incredible news out of Podor where we have broken ground on our 15th health post in the remote village of Mdiba! This project has been in the works for a long time, and thanks to your incredible support during our year-end giving campaign, along with the continued generosity of Hub City Church, we were able to say yes to this community! We gave them the good news over the phone, but the conversation didn’t get very far as everyone started cheering and celebrating.

This currently barren land will be the site of another life-changing health post. What is now dusty and dry will become a bright, cheerful, and safe place for expectant mothers to give birth with the support of experienced midwives.

Andando’s newest partner garden in Wouro Kelle is off to an incredible start harvesting over 5,000 lbs. of produce already in their very first season! Their dedication and hard work is proof of how much our partners value this opportunity and why we must keep pushing into more remote and underserved areas where few if any other NGO’s are operating.

Fatou Sékke shows off her harvest for the day. Over 5,000 pounds of produce has already been harvested by the women of Wouro Kelle in their very first season!

“We are really happy with this garden. We grow so many vegetables and all organic. We notice now our health is improving.”

— Fatou Ibra Sékke

Lastly, thanks to the help of Rick Steves Climate Smart Commitment, our tree nurseries in both Podor and Keur Soce are starting to produce tens of thousands of native tree seedlings to support our gardens and regional reforestation efforts. Climate change is hitting Senegal hard, and our partner communities have asked us to help them to regreen the Sahel. We could not be happier to be able to support them in this ambitious goal.

All of Andando’s partner communities are coming together this year with the goal of planting 100,000 trees!

Thank you for everything that you are doing to help our partner communities to thrive.

Aquaculture: A Game Changer for Market Gardens

The members of our pilot gardens have mastered the aquaculture process, from fish breeding all the way through to harvest.

After two years of diligent work on our pilot aquaculture project, our team and partners agree: it is an absolute game changer for market gardens! We went into this project with high hopes but a healthy dose of skepticism. Would we be able to sustain perpetual production, could we develop sustainable supply chains for fish feed, and what would the impact be on the gardens’ precious water resources?

Carefully tracking the number, weight, and health of the fish enables participants to maximize growth and use fish feed most efficiently.

Watching our partners master the process and slowly answer these questions over the past two years has been incredible. The hard data shows the success in numbers; each of our pilot gardens have increased their yields and profits dramatically, all with zero net increase in water use. More importantly though, the participant testimonials show the real impacts:

“Our children and everyone in the house eats fish from the project now. We get money from the fish, and we use the water to irrigate our crops which helps them to grow. We really see the effect in the garden.”

— Koumba Daga, Irasso Garden participant

“We don’t trust the fish from the market. It comes from the ocean, and we don’t know how old it is. Now we have our own fish right here. We can go now and have it right away and cook it immediately. We thank god for this.”

— Racky Ndiaye, Lamarame Garden participant

Keur Soce High School joined the project as well this year with two fish basins in their new STEM teaching garden, and due to their quick success and all the benefits we’ve seen, Andando is now seeking to integrate fish farming into all of our gardens over the next several years.

Students learning hands-on aquaculture skills at the new STEM teaching garden at Keur Soce High School.

Thanks to a generous grant from The Tomberg Family Philanthropies, we are taking our first steps in this direction by extending the project to two gardens in our Podor region this year. With your support, we can expand even further and help our partners to gain greater food security, nutrition, and financial stability.

A member of the Keur Wack garden shows off her lettuce seedlings. All of our pilot gardens have increased their production of fast growing high value crops.

Andando's Podor Tree Nursery is open for business!

We are thrilled to report that our tree nursery in Podor is now complete! This project is the result of years of planning and coordination with local villages, community leaders, and government agencies who all want to use trees to help fight climate change. Podor is located on Senegal’s northern border with Mauritania, in an ecological transition zone south of the Sahara Desert known as the Sahel. It is a harshly beautiful landscape which is home to nearly 500,000 people who now find themselves on the front lines of climate change. As rainfall patterns change and the oppressive hot season intensifies, reforestation of native trees is one of the most effective tools to hold soil on the land and prevent desertification.

The indigenous communities of the region remember when Podor used to have millions more trees which supported both people and livestock. Andando’s partner communities came together to ask us to help them to “re-green” Podor and this tree nursery is the first step in achieving that ambitious goal. None of this would have been possible without the support of the Rick Steves’ Climate Smart Commitment who awarded Andando a grant to build the infrastructure. We also want to thank the village Chief of Donaye Taredji, Mr. Nazzir, for facilitating the community land donation, along with our amazing field staff who worked so hard to shepherd this project through to completion.

Andando’s partner community of Togane has struggled to start trees locally due to the harsh conditions of the deforested landscape.

Andando received $30,000 from Rick Steves’ Climate Smart Commitment for this project!

The nursery is about half an acre in size with a perimeter chain-link fence, three watering basins and 10 shade structures. We plan to produce roughly 50,000 tree seedlings here each year, which requires a lot of water, so we drilled a 150’ deep borehole well on the property and installed the same solar pump system that we use in our gardens. We are thrilled with how everything turned out, and can’t wait to see this space filled with new tree seedlings!

So what happens now? Completing infrastructure is a great first step, but the end goal isn’t to build things, or even to start seedlings; in order to make a meaningful impact we need to successfully establish hundreds of thousands of native trees in the coming years. Andando cannot and should not do this on our own, so this past December we held meetings with village chiefs and women’s garden leaders from around the region to develop a community driven collaborative reforestation plan which meets the economic, ecological, and cultural goals of all stakeholders in the area. We also engaged in this same process in Keur Soce so that our first tree nursery can ramp up production and make a bigger impact in our partner communities there as well.

Community involvement at all levels of project planning, implementation, and evaluation is essential to Andando’s approach.

The only way that we can achieve our climate goals is by aligning them with the needs and desires of the people living in affected areas.

It has been a long road to get to this point, and we are still only at the beginning, but the possibilities are incredible. The challenges of combatting climate change can feel endless, but today we have one more tool to help us in this fight, and one more big reason for hope.

Slowly but surely the village of Togane is planting trees to help establish their regenerative permaculture garden. This year thanks to the new tree nursery they will plant at least an additional 500 native trees creating a self-sustaining oasis that improves nutrition, household income, and quality of life.

From the Director - January 2024

As we move into another new year, I want to personally thank you for your support. I wish that everyone could see the incredible impacts of our work and hear the gratitude directly from our partner communities, but take a second to read these words and take them in for yourself because YOU helped to make this possible:

“As a midwife I can bear witness, all the new babies born in the village are now at least 7-9 pounds. Malnutrition has left this village; nobody is underfed now. We thank the lord, we thank everyone for this.”

— Mboyo Walo garden member

There are too many wonderful updates and stories to share, so here are just a few highlights since our last update.  Mbadhiou Peulh Primary School opened its doors this fall with three beautifully renovated classrooms and brand-new bathroom facilities.  The teachers there told us that this is the first year that classes were able to start on time with a spot for every student who wanted to enroll.

At Mbadhiou Peulh Primary school, students enjoy the renovated classrooms with enough space for everyone.

At Keur Soce High School our first-ever school garden started their first gardening campaign, which will soon support a school canteen to provide healthy meals to students from remote villages who otherwise wouldn’t have anything to eat during the school day.

Students at Keur Soce High School are improving their food security and learning practical science lessons in their new school garden.

Due to our steadfast commitment to improving access to quality education for over a decade, Andando was recently recognized with an award from Senegal’s National Minister of Education!

Andando representatives (left to right: Thiam, Fiona, Boubou, and Kevin) accepting an award from Senegal’s National Minister of Education for our significant contributions in the education sector for more than a decade.

This past fall Andando was also named as a finalist for the .ORG Impact Awards in Washington DC, out of nearly 1,000 candidates from 70 countries. We are so proud of what we have been able to accomplish together with you and our partner communities and are glad that more people are starting to take notice.

Garrison and Crystal represented Andando at the .ORG Impact Awards held in Washington DC. Andando was a finalize out of over 1,000 nonprofits from 70 different countries!

Thank you again for all you have done to support the people of Senegal and we can’t wait to make an even bigger impact in 2024!

Public Interest Registry Names Andando as 2023 .ORG Impact Awards Finalists, Padma Lakshmi to Host

Public Interest Registry (PIR), the people behind .ORG, named the finalists for the 5th annual .ORG Impact Awards and announced that Padma Lakshmi—activist, author, and host/producer of Hulu’s Taste the Nation—will host the awards ceremony where the winners will be revealed on November 16 in Washington, D.C. The program recognizes and rewards outstanding mission-driven individuals and organizations from around the world for their positive contributions to society.

Andando is named as a finalist in the Community Building category for their outstanding work in Senegal aiding rural communities to break intergenerational cycles of poverty and create lasting positive change especially for women and girls. This is the first time that Andando’s achievements are being recognized at the global level which is both an honor and a great opportunity for a larger audience to engage with their work.

Andando’s women’s gardens, health posts, schools, and microloans work together to help communities to lift themselves out of poverty.

Andando’s holistic, community centered approach to poverty reduction has affected over 50,000 people in some of the most remote and underserved villages in Senegal.  Partnerships last a minimum of 5 years and can include interventions in food security, healthcare, school infrastructure and microfinance, all depending on the needs and desires of each community. To date Andando has constructed and supports 40 women’s cooperative gardens, 65 classrooms, 45 latrines and has distributed over 2,000 microloans.

“We are honored to welcome our 2023 .ORG Impact Award Finalists into our growing community of changemakers, who inspire us to make the world a better place. We created the awards to celebrate those within the .ORG Community who work tirelessly to uplift their communities—and this year’s finalists represent hope for a brighter future” said Jon Nevett, President, and CEO of Public Interest Registry.

From food justice to health advocacy, Lakshmi is a passionate and outspoken advocate in the mission-driven community

“We also are thrilled to have Padma Lakshmi join us to celebrate the immense impact of the OIA finalists, winners, and .ORG community at our awards ceremony. A changemaker herself with an inspiring advocacy background, Padma will bring new energy and celebration to this year’s awards.”

Andando’s Executive Director Garrison Harward along with Development Director Crystal Kelley will travel to the .ORG Impact Awards celebration where the winners will be announced. 35 finalists, out of nearly 1,000 candidates, will attend the ceremony where the .ORG of the year winner will receive a donation of $50,000 with the other category winners each receiving $10,000.  

“It’s an honor to be a finalist for such a prestigious global award. If we are lucky enough to win our category or even .ORG of the Year 100% of the funds will go directly into life changing projects for a new rural community in Senegal. Beyond that though we hope that more people will see what we are doing and want to get involved. The impacts we’re achieving are truly incredible.”

- Garrison Harward, Executive Director

Public Interest Registry (PIR) is a nonprofit that operates the .ORG top-level domain—one of the world’s largest generic top-level domains with more than 10.8 million domain names registered worldwide. .ORG is open to everyone, providing a global platform for organizations, associations, clubs, businesses and individuals to bring their ideas to life. PIR has been a champion for a free and open Internet for two decades with a clear mission to be an exemplary domain name registry, provide a trusted digital identity and help educate those who dedicate themselves to improving our world. PIR was founded by the Internet Society (internetsociety.org) in 2002 and is based in Reston, Virginia, USA. Visit www.TheNew.org for more information.

From the Director - October 2023

·       A potential new partner school in the neighboring commune of Ndiedieng, next to Keur Soce.

40 gardens, 14 health posts, 65 classrooms, 45 latrines, and over 2,000 microloans to date.  These numbers are impressive but what is the real limit of what we can do together?  How many more people can we reach?  How can we grow without losing the personal touch and care that has made Andando so uniquely successful?  What is next for Andando? These are questions that I ask myself constantly and with the completion of our 40th garden this feels like an important moment to step back, take stock, and share our vision for the future.  

Some of the amazing Podor team standing in front of our newly completed tree nursery, which will drastically increase the rate at which we can build new gardens.

It is nothing short of miraculous what Andando has been able to achieve over the past 15 years, but there is still so much more work to do. We’ve been in the incubator together, so to speak, building a community of supporters and developing our methods and partnerships.  What we do works, and we have a moral imperative now to reach as many communities in need as we can.

The incredible Keur Soce team after a strategic planning training this past August.

To this end we are investing in our local staff, who have always been key to our success, building their capacity and giving them the tools and training to tackle larger projects in the future.  We are working with regional government leaders to assess our current impacts and develop long-term plans to address the remaining needs in Keur Soce and Podor. And we are looking for Andando’s next region, or regions, to expand into, where our unique and dedicated approach can impact even more remote and neglected communities.  

Podor Tree Program Manager Alassane Ba (Gorgui), taking our new office computer for a test drive.

We are poised and ready to expand and there has never been a better, or a more needed time to support Andando.  Whether through the auction, monthly contributions, volunteering, or spreading the word, your support is not just another drop in the bucket, it directly impacts what we do every day and how big our vision for the future can be.

“Jéréjëf!” – Thank You!

- Garrison Harward, Executive Director

Celebrating Andando's 40th Garden!

·Women from the Wouro Kelle gather under the shade of the single tree in plot to dance and celebrate the start of the garden. Even out here smart phones are at the ready to record the festivities.

The village of Wouro Kelle in Podor is located in the vast flood plain of the Senegal River, known locally as the Walo. With rich soils and abundant water this land is ideal for rice cultivation, but unfortunately the same yearly floods that the village relies on for farming also causes it to be isolated for much of the year.  A little more than 700 people live here with the closest market town being about 10 miles away. Though the people of Wouro Kelle work hard to provide for their families, circumstances are stacked against them and there is simply not enough access to fresh fruits and vegetables to provide adequate nutrition, especially for young children.

This barren plot will soon be a lush permaculture garden providing a permanent source of nutrition and income for the whole village.

Photos show the barren roads leading to Wouro Kelle, scouting the site with local officials, and the village preparing the land for the installation of the garden.

Gardening is not new to the village, but it is seasonal.  As flood waters recede the heavy clay soil holds enough water to grow a single crop of sweet potatoes and pumpkins on the banks of the river before the hot season arrives and dries out the land.  Without access to irrigation or fences to keep out free-range livestock it’s nearly impossible to continue gardening activities year-round.  This is where Andando comes in. After months of meetings, planning, and construction Wouro Kelle is now joining Andando as our 40th women’s garden! Garden President Fatimata Sekk had this to say to our generous donors:

“We thank the lord we thank everyone who helped to create this condition. Where you come from is far, if you were not determined you would not reach here. We have wanted to have a garden for a long, long time… Now we are so determined to have it succeed. Everyone let’s stand up and lets work… We pray for our garden to be among the best in this area. We are so happy, there is no limit for our happiness.”

— Fatimata Sekk, Wouro Kelle Garden President

Garden President Fatimata Sekk verifies that all infrastructure is completed and functioning properly.  This garden draws water from the river, which turns brown with silt after it rains.

We are so happy as well to be partnering with such a deserving community and look forward to seeing the transformations that their work will bring to their families and community in the coming years.

With the fence, basins, and solar pump system complete the women of Wouro Kelle are ready to start their first ever dry season gardening campaign.

Update from the Field

I have just returned from Senegal and there is far too much good news to wait for the next newsletter!  We were fortunate to have good weather during the trip, not a guarantee in the rainy season, so we were able to see most of the new projects that we’re working on and how they’re coming together.  This is just a quick overview so stay tuned for more in-depth information soon on all of these amazing projects!

Garrison and Gorgui standing with our new deep borehole well in the desert.

In the Keur Soce area work is nearly complete on our first ever school garden at Keur Soce High School.  The fence, basins, and storehouse are done, leaving only the water connection to our nearby Thiako garden whose members are generously contributing their water to the school.  We are so excited that this will be the first high school in all of Senegal with an integrated aquaculture training program!  Work should be completed here by the end of the month, and we will share more pictures when classes start in October and garden activities begin.

The completed garden storehouse stands in front of the beautiful Keur Soce High School classrooms.

A fish basin inside Keur Soce High School Garden with Mandaw, Garden Program Manager.

Watering basins will be connected to the aquaculture system so that nutrient rich fish water can be used to water crops in the garden.

Renovations begin at Mbadhiou Peulh Primary School.

Also in Keur Soce we got to see the beginning of renovations of three classrooms at Mbadhiou Peulh Primary School.  The local municipal government is constructing two new classrooms here this year but didn’t have the means to upgrade the existing classroom building which has a leaking roof and cracked walls. So at the request of the village Andando stepped in to renovate the current classrooms so that all students will have a safe and proper learning environment for years to come.  We will also be adding a new block of latrines hare as well this fall!

Students from Mbadhiou Peulh Primary School in one of the classrooms that is now being renovated.

Adjacent to the existing classrooms is a temporary classroom where some students have to study in difficult conditions.

Due to the collaboration between the community and Andando all students will now study in proper safe and secure classrooms.

Madame Sekk, the head nurse of the regional hospital, facilitates a community meetings in the village of Bida in preparation to start construction on a new health post there.

In Podor we finished the selection process for our next health post which will be built in the rural community of Bida.  This village is dedicated to community health with several healthcare workers already operating a seasonal clinic here out of temporary structures which must be rebuilt each year.  We are proud to be working with such dedicated partners and can’t wait to see the impact that a proper health post will have on their ability to care for their community. We will share more about the incredible story of this village when we start construction here in November.

A boy from Togane stands with the papaya tree he helped plant this spring.

We are also nearly finished with construction on our new tree nursery and agroforestry center in Podor.  Our borehole well drilling was a complete success, and we now have a high output water source with a solar well pump system which will enable us to produce a minimum of 50,000 beneficial native trees here each year.  With these tree we will be able to speed up the implementation of new gardens and provide trees to all of our schools, health posts, and partner communities to bolster their food security, improve quality of life, and help them to restore the ecology of their lands. 

Photo Descriptions: 1) Clean fresh water flows from our new well in the Podor Tree Nursery. 2) Fruit tree seedlings in the Keur Soce Tree Nursery, which has started over 15,000 trees this year! 3) Podor Tree Nursery complete with basins, storehouse, water reservoir, solar panels, and restrooms. 4) A woman from Togane stands proudly with her Moringa trees. This is the first time that this village has ever had access to this miraculous and nutritious tree.

The children of Wouro Kelle verifying the water system. This garden draws water from the local river which turns brown from runoff during the rainy season.

Last but certainly not least we visited the community of Wouro Kelle to see the completion of Andando’s 40th garden!!  We are privileged to have this dedicated and deserving community join Andando at such a wonderful milestone and we can’t wait to share their story with you. Stay tuned for the next newsletter where we will profile Wouro Kelle and tell you more about the impact that this garden will have there. We would never have gotten to this point, or be able to reach such remote villages as this, without the steadfast support of our dedicated community of donors and volunteers over the past 15 years. Our hats off to you!

The women of Wourou Kelle celebrate the completion of their new garden.

It’s hard to believe but it’s already “Auction Season” for Andando, and if any of these projects resonated with you, please consider contributing in some way to help make the auction a success! We always have many more projects up for consideration than we can accomplish each year, and the success of the auction is the deciding factor on much of our yearly programing.  Whether you can help by volunteering, donating auction items, spreading the word to new potential donors, or attending and bidding on some of our amazing auction items, we appreciate your support so that we can continue this vital work in Senegal. 

Please consider contributing through our annual auction fundraiser. Whether you can help by volunteering, donating auction items, spreading the word to new potential donors, or attending and bidding on some of our amazing auction items, we appreciate your support so that we can continue this vital work in Senegal.  More info at www.andando.org/events.

From the Director - July 2023

We are on a roll! It feels appropriate that with the lush growth of another rainy season, so many projects are coming to fruition for Andando. 

The inauguration of Seno Bowal Health Post, Andando’s 14th overall.

Our Seno Bowal health post, Andando’s 14th overall, was officially inaugurated on May 10th, and the first baby was born there less than a month later! This post was entirely funded by generous donations from Hub City Church, and we are so proud to be partnering with them to create life saving access to maternal healthcare in rural communities. 

Midwives and nurses standing outside the newly renovated health post in Thiemene Taba.

We are thrilled to report that the repairs of our first health post, Thiamene Taba, are complete as well! Altrusa International of Albany helped us to realize this rapid response to the damage that occurred here during the last rainy season, ensuring that this post will continue to serve the area for years to come.

Drilling the borehole in Podor for the new native tree nursery.

In Podor we successfully drilled our first borehole well in the desert last month, which is a crucial milestone towards building our new native tree nursery and agroforestry center.  This location will soon produce 50,000 beneficial trees each year thanks to a grant from Rick Steve’s Europe!

Workers frame up the rebar for the concrete aquaculture basin in the Keur Soce High School STEM garden. Construction is nearly complete on our first-ever school garden at Keur Soce High School, which will be the first high school in all of Senegal with an integrated aquaculture training program.

Back in Keur Soce work is nearly finished on our first ever school garden at Andando’s Keur Soce High School, which will be the first high school in all of Senegal with an integrated aquaculture training program.  We are still seeking funding to hopefully build a laboratory, classroom, library, and computer lab to continue to support this amazing school.

Breaking ground at Andando’s 40th(!!) garden located in the extremely isolated community of Wouro Kelle.

And last but not least, in the community of Wouro Kelle we just broke ground on Andando’s 40th garden!  Wow!! We never could have gotten to this point without the generous support of so many amazing people who partner with us year after year to help the people of Senegal. On behalf of all of our staff and partner communities,

From the Director - April 2023

It’s always exciting to report the new things that Andando is doing, new projects, new partner communities, bigger impact numbers, etc. I want to take the opportunity today though to give you a little insight into what happens after the fanfare ends.

Celebrating our successes with the garden leadership from our Podor Region gardens.

We talk a lot about walking with the people of Senegal for the long haul and we mean it. Our programs are concentrated together both to maximize their impact and to make sure that we know about the challenges our partners face and can help them to find solutions. This is why after 15 years of doing this work 100% of Andando’s gardens, schools, and health posts are still operational. Our impact numbers are impressive but I’m equally proud that as we’re growing, we aren’t leaving any of our communities behind.

Keur Ngor Marone - our first-ever garden is still thriving!

To this end, after listening to the needs of our gardens, we are providing additional support this year to help modernize all infrastructure to our current designs. Over the years we’ve learned a lot about best practices for our projects, and sometimes that means that we need to go back and update older work so that it can stand the test of time.

Something as small as upgrading old valves helps prolong the life of infrastructure and conserve vital water resources.

This goes for all of our sectors, and we are also working this year to renovate one of our oldest health posts, Thiamene Taba. This post is heavily utilized, seeing over 2,000 patients last year alone, but their roof has started to leak making it difficult to provide quality care.

Visiting one of our very first health posts, Thiamene Taba, constructed over 10 years ago.

Thanks to the help of Altrusa International of Albany we are replacing their roof with a new stronger metal sheeting that is part of our standard design now.

By establishing and maintaining strong relationships, we work with the local communities to ensure projects are successful for the long-haul. Fatou Thiam is the midwife at Thiamene Taba, and first alerted us to the needed repairs.

We want all of our projects to last for many years to come so that they can create truly lasting change in our partner communities. Your continued support allows us to do this while still growing to reach more people in need.

Andando Receives Grant from The International Foundation

The International Foundation has awarded a $25,000 grant to Andando! The purpose of this grant is to build an innovative STEM focused school garden at the newly constructed Keur Soce High School, which we finished building earlier this year. The International Foundation funds “US-based non-profit organizations who partner with poor communities in the developing world to improve their health, education and incomes, while strengthening local capacity to sustain their benefits.”

The first photo of the fully complete Keur Soce High School. These 8 classrooms serve over 1,000 students who previously had to travel far distances to continue their education or, more commonly, had to drop out of school due to a lack of resources.

This grant will help to pay for the construction of a substantial one-acre teaching garden that will be used to facilitate practical lessons in biological sciences, mathematics, and business skills while substantially improving the food security of the student population. 

Selecting a site with community leaders for the first-ever teaching garden which will be incorporated into the new Keur Soce High School.

In a first for any high school in Senegal the garden will also incorporate an integrated aquaculture fish farming system.  Fish are a staple of Senegalese cuisine and increased dry land fish farming has the potential to greatly benefit inland economies and food security without contributing to over-fishing of coastal water or polluting watersheds.  

During a hands-on training, participants in our aquaculture project learn how to assess fish for health and growth.

Andando currently operates 38 women’s cooperative gardens in Senegal which produce over 500,000 lbs. of organic produce each year.  As with our other gardens we will provide the school with a trained local garden technician to help to establish the garden and fully integrate it into school curriculum.     

“The International Foundation’s support will help students at Keur Soce High school to gain invaluable practical experience and learn skills that will set them apart as they continue their educational and professional careers.”

— Garrison Harward, Andando Executive Director

Madame Marone and her students in one of the new classrooms at Keur Soce High School. 

Indeed, due to Andando’s continued investment in this school the Education Ministry has decided to designate Keur Soce High School as a science academy that will feed directly into a new Agricultural University in the regional capital Kaolack.  Andando is proud to be partnering with such prestigious institutions to substantially increase the quality of science education in the region for years to come.  

Andando is a US-based non-profit organization that works to alleviate poverty through community development in rural Senegal. Learn more about Andando at www.andando.org.

About The International Foundation:
The International Foundation was created in 1948. Like other early foundations, our purpose was “to promote, foster, encourage and further non-profit, non-sectarian and non-political educational, medical, philanthropic, humanitarian, scientific and literary enterprises of all kinds.”

In its many years of grant making, the International Foundation has worked with thousands of US-based 501(c)3 organizations to bring knowledge, resources and compassion to individuals and communities around the world. Our strategic mission has evolved in concert with the exponential growth in the United States non-profit sector and rapid evolution of the discipline of international development.

“At the core of our mission is the concept that charity alone isn’t enough. We must take charity to a level that delivers measurable and sustainable change that is “owned” by the project participants and that leaves broad, lasting benefits. We prioritize the principles of self-determination, local engagement, and sustainability, both as means to and ends of our philanthropic goals. More and more, this requires grant-maker and grantee to share a common view of the challenges, optimal solutions, and ultimate objectives of our partnering efforts.”

From the Director - On the Ground in Senegal - January 2023

Enjoying the company of some of our Keur Soce based staff. We have a great team on the ground in Senegal who are incredibly knowledgeable and fun to be around.

Thanks to the incredible generosity that our community showed last year at our fall gala fundraiser and through our year-end giving campaign, we are able to hit the ground running in 2023! I am currently in Senegal working with the team to finalize plans for our yearly projects which will include at least four new gardens, a health post, and two new schools.

Seynabou, one of our technicians, will manage our new STEM focused teaching garden at Keur Soce High School.

At the request of Keur Soce High School, we are also building our first ever school garden this year. The administration wanted to improve their science curriculum, and together we decided that a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) focused teaching garden, with an integrated aquaculture system, would help to give students valuable skills for their educational and professional careers.

Gorgui, a technician in Podor, is our new regional Tree Program Manager and will oversee the construction of a new permanent tree nursery and training center in Podor.

Seynabou Ndao, one of our phenomenal technicians who we profiled last year, will manage the project and help teachers to develop a new garden-centered STEM curriculum. Seynabou has a degree in physics and chemistry from the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, and we are so excited to see the positive impact she will have as a resource and role model for students.

In Podor another one of our technicians Alassane Ba, who goes by Gorgui, is stepping up as our new regional Tree Program Manager. This year we are constructing a permanent tree nursery and training center in Podor in order to combat severe deforestation and desertification in the region. Our tree nursery and Gorgui’s work will help to strengthen our gardens and the ecology of our partner communities against the effects of climate change.

It’s a joy to be able to share not only our exciting projects for the coming year, but also how our staff is growing as they take the lead to improve our programs in Senegal. We are so proud of them! Your continued support makes this, and everything Andando does, possible. Jerejef - thank you!

Winter, the Perfect Season for Gardening!

A woman transplanting seedlings into her plot at Ndiawara Garden.

The new year is upon us, and winter has sunk its cruel claws thoroughly into our lives here in America.  But while most of us are bundling up against freezing temperature, snow, and bitter winds, over in Senegal it’s the most pleasant time of the year.  Senegal is also in the northern hemisphere so its “winter” is the same time of the year as ours, but over there winter is know as the cool dry season.  The rains have finished and won’t return until May or June, and the intense heat of the hot dry season is still months away. 

This winter garden in the community of Ouro Madiaw (in the Podor region) is enjoying highs in the low-90s ˚F (32 ˚C) and thriving!

Capitalizing on the mild temperatures, this is the time of year when most gardening activities take place.  Our women’s gardens are taking full advantage of the season planting just about every vegetable you can think of.  Lettuce, and daikon radishes are very popular during this time because they grow quickly facilitating multiple harvests before the heat makes these more delicate crops too difficult to grow.  This is also the best time of year to plant papayas, bananas, and cassava roots which will be important boosts in income and nutrition at the end of the rainy season when the gardens are much less productive.  

We are constantly getting updates from our technicians on the ground in Senegal and during this season the pictures we get are incredible.  Giant basins filled with lettuce going to market, 50 lb. sacks filled with radishes, or eggplants, or peppers, and piles upon piles of onions. 

Sometimes its hard to believe the production numbers in our reports. How can one garden produce thousands of pounds of produce month after month?  And then you see a picture of a single papaya tree yielding 150 pounds of fruit.  The women we work with are incredible farmers!

Our new gardens from last year are working through their first seasons and its fascinating to watch their humble beginnings knowing what their plots will look like in just a few short years. 

The Ndiawara Garden is our largest with 300 members!

Our partner community of Ndiawara had a larger than average gardening group so we decided to make a larger garden there so that all of their 300 members could have a plot. Now it looks like a full-blown farm.  We can’t wait to see the incredible harvests this large group will be able to achieve.  Hats off to all of their hard work! Now put that hat back on before you get frostbite!

From the Director - October 2022

We are excited to introduce our NEW Executive Director, Garrison!

Celebrating a good lettuce harvest with some of the garden participants in Keur Ngor.

My name is Garrison Harward and I could not be prouder to be speaking to you as Andando’s new Executive Director. After nine years of dedicated service Lewis has decided to move up to join our Board of Directors so that he can stay stateside and spend more time with his family. This is a big shift for both of us and for the organization as a whole, but Andando isn’t skipping a beat! Our programming is more ambitious than ever, and we have even bigger plans for the future!

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind all of us about the incredible impact that Andando has achieved under Lewis’ leadership. This year we are constructing five women’s cooperative gardens bringing our total to 38 with over 3,500 women participating in the program.

Visiting one of the market gardens with Boubou and Lewis in 2021. Garrison has traveled to Senegal several times providing technical trainings, formally as our Agriculture Officer.

In the past two years our gardens have produced over one million pounds of organic produce with recorded profits of over $250,000! By the end of this year we will also construct our 14th health post. Together these posts see an average of over 10,000 healthcare visits each year. Lastly, we are finishing four classrooms in Podor and the final two classrooms of the brand new Keur Soce High School for a total of 60 classrooms constructed across 16 schools, benefiting over 5,000 students annually. WOW!

Garrison served in the Peace Corps in Senegal from 2010-2012, here he is pictured with the chief of the village that hosted him.

I have been with Andando for a little over two years and I am still constantly astounded by what this organization has done, and is doing, every day in Senegal. I lived in Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2010-2012 near Keur Soce, and I am so grateful that Andando has afforded me the opportunity to reconnect with this place that I love so dearly.

I am proud of what we have already accomplished, and I’m so excited to see how far we can go with this firm foundation beneath us. Feel free to reach out if you would like to know more about our programming or to find a personal connection to how your contribution is making a meaningful impact in Senegal.

-Garrison Harward
Executive Director
Garrison@Andando.org

We Have Fish!

A basket full of fish after a harvest complimented by a hearty lettuce harvest, grown using fish water.

It is our absolute pleasure to report that our trial fish farming project is thriving! Earlier this year we reported on the beginnings of this process, but to be honest we really didn’t know how it would turn out. There were challenges but overall, our team has done a tremendous job and we couldn’t be prouder of them and the women in the gardens for picking up such a unique and difficult new skill! 

During a hands-on training, participants in our aquaculture project learn how to assess fish for health and growth.

On a recent visit we got to witness the first fish harvest and the results are incredible. There is nothing quite like seeing buckets of fish (over 250lbs) coming out of our gardens in the middle of the desert. It was a wonderful scene of excitement, singing, dancing, joking, everything you would expect at the culmination of a challenging but successful project. Here’s some of what the women had to say that day:

“We used to work hard before but now with the fish program, we really see ourselves succeeding in the garden.”

“Look at the eggplants!  We noticed for three years we haven’t had eggplants, but now we do because of the fish water.”

“There is a start, but there is no end to our happiness.”

Garden participants introducing the first new fingerlings produced in our own fish tanks.

It is hard to describe the importance of fish in Senegal and how meaningful it is for the women to be able to provide fresh, healthy fish for their families. This is of course the first and most noticeable benefit but the women also remarked on how watering with the fishpond water is improving vegetable production across the whole garden as well. Indeed, our aquaculture gardens saw an average 42% increase in individual profits this year compared to the same 6-month period last year! WOW!

During a hands-on training, participants in our aquaculture project learn how to harvest fish from the basins.

All four gardens that participated in this pilot program are continuing to raise fish and now that the tilapia are successfully reproducing in the basins, we are very close to having self-replicating, sustainable production that can continue for years to come.

Battra Ndialla Market Garden

The Women’s Collective of Battra Ndialla Market Garden after their first harvests in June.

Off the main road to Keur Soce sits a small village called Battra Ndialla. Here families work hard during the short three-month rainy season to grow and harvest staples (such as millet, squash, and peanuts) and store them for future consumption. Families struggle with food insecurity here because this rural agricultural area lacks other economic opportunities and climate change is making subsistence farming more difficult and less profitable.

With the installation of a solar powered pump, the existing well is used to water the market garden, providing nutritious vegetables for all in the community.

In the middle of the village sits a simple well that has faithfully supplied all the water needs of the community for years and years. With a rapid refresh rate, this well and community were well suited for a market garden, they just needed a little help to get it started. Thanks to a grant from Vibrant Village Foundation, Altrusa International, and Altrusa Club of Albany the community of Battra Ndialla got their garden!

Signing the Memorandum of Understanding with the community of Battra Ndialla.

In October of 2021 we formalized our partnership with the community leadership and the Women’s Collective who would ultimately take on the day-to-day care of the garden.

Construction began shortly after that and we took this time to assemble the women’s leadership team and start the initial garden training with one of our Garden Technicians, Babacar Sow.

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While they waited for the watering basins and solar pump to be installed the women prepared the grounds and identified their family plots inside the garden. Supplies arrived including wheel borrows, watering cans, rakes, and cultivation tools. Seeds also arrived and with the help of Babacar (Garden Technician) they selected their first crops, prepared compost to enrich the soil, and anxiously awaited the day the water would be turned on.

BEFORE: The water basin is installed and the barren ground is ready to be cultivated.

AFTER: You can see the water basin in the center surrounded by food producing plants.

They didn’t have to wait long, just two months later – December 2021—all the construction was complete and the solar pumps effortlessly brought fresh, clean water to the garden! Senegal has an abundance of sun and a warm climate which makes year-round food production possible. Already the women have harvested over 12,000 pounds of produce! Of this about 25% is used to feed their families and the extra 75% is sold in local markets, increasing household income by 25%. Our technicians are on-site daily, providing training and guidance for all participants ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed.

“This garden is very important for us. We gain a lot from it. When we harvest we can eat and sell. We are no longer worried for vegetables; we have them all!”

— Khady Sow, Garden Participant, Battra Ndialla

This is just the start for Battra Ndialla. In addition to vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, okra, and lettuce they are also growing hearty root vegetables like carrots and turnips. Fast growing herbs such as mint are a cash crop and sell quickly in the market.

Live-fencing trees are started in planting sheaths inside the garden. These trees will replanted around the perimeter of the garden to protect it from wind and animals.

The women are also planning for the future by planting live-fencing that will reach maturity before the existing chain link fence deteriorates in the harsh elements. This live-fence will protect the garden from the strong drying winds as well as from roaming cattle, goats, and sheep that can level a garden in a short time. Soon the women will start planting fruit producing trees such as papayas and mangoes which will not only provide delicious food, but also fortify the soil and protect from it from erosion.

“Since this garden game here. We are all happy. We gain money through the garden, we sell some and cook some.” - Binta, Garden Participant, Battra Ndialla

We celebrate with Battra Ndialla Women’s Collective for their great success this first year, and we look forward to their continued leadership, growth, and creativity to strengthen their communities. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

From the Team - July 2022

A rare moment when three of our US-based staff (Lewis, Garrison, and Crystal) are in Senegal at the same time.

We had the rare pleasure of having three of our US-based staff in Senegal at the same time! This allowed us to dive deep with our team on the ground there and make BIG plans for the future.

We were honored to help cut the ribbon at the official opening ceremony for Keur Soce High School!

Keur Soce High School is finishing up its first year of classes, and with enrollment increasing we finalized plans with the administration to construct an additional two classrooms to meet their current need. We also discussed the possibility of adding a school garden in the future with an attached science classroom to help boost their science curriculum.

After only six months since launching the aquaculture program, the fish are big enough to harvest. Each of the pilot gardens received advanced training, which will help them move towards self-sufficiency and reap the maximum benefits from the project.

In the gardens, we got to witness the first fish harvest from our pilot aquaculture program! The women and technicians have worked so hard to learn this new skill, and we couldn’t be happier to celebrate their success with them.

Fresh fish is hard to come by in these arid regions of Senegal. But now garden participants enjoy the nutritional benefits of fresh fish while also seeing their gardens bursting through the use of water from the fish ponds for their plants.

In Podor we met with local leaders to plan a permanent tree nursery which will allow us to grow thousands of beneficial trees where they are desperately needed.

These trees will become live fencing that will protect gardens from animals and wind. Over time metal fencing deteriorates, but live fencing is sustainable and provides long-term protection while helping to improve the soil.

These are just a few examples of the amazing things our team is working on, and we are so excited to see these programs continue to grow and thrive.

From all of us, “Jéréjëf!” – Thank You!