Volunteer Portrait: Fatou Seck, female entrepreneurship advisor in Senegal

Article published by CECI-Senegal

Fatou Seck, female entrepreneurship advisor, is a dynamic, committed woman and an outstanding field specialist. She leads training workshops for women, young women and young men from rural areas. She supports the participants in their journey, offering advice, resources, time, solutions and motivation and, perhaps most importantly, always finding the time to listen to them.

In Senegal, an “integrated resilience garden” project was implemented in the commune of Oudalaye, in the region of Matam, northeastern Senegal. Local agriculture has always been the main source of food and income for the region’s population. But over the years, climate change has come to threaten the livelihoods of people in the area. It is in this context that, under the supervision of CECI-Senegal, more than 200 people, including at least 130 women, mobilized to set up a productive garden to improve food security and remedy malnutrition in this region affected by desertification, land degradation and climate change.

As part of this project, Fatou Seck has just spent several days leading entrepreneurship training in the village of Kwaral Houdalaye, in the department of Ranérou Ferlo. The isolated village is located in an underprivileged environment where food gardens are one of the only means of survival for families. The “integrated resilience garden” has therefore been a significant and profitable source of economic activity for the whole community.

Fatou Seck is a living symbol of female entrepreneurship in Senegal. She will never hesitate to go where the action is to improve the living conditions of women and youth. A true specialist of the heart, she is familiar with the ups and downs of field work and understands the importance of showing up, going to the source and being present in order to understand the local reality.

In her words, “to work for the economic empowerment of women and to get to really meet those with pressing needs, you have to go deep inside the territory, not just stay close to the road”.

Watch the video where she talks passionately about her experience in the field: You will want to follow her and get involved as well!

CECI’s volunteer cooperation program aims to improve the economic and social well-being of the poorest and most marginalized people in Africa, Asia and the Americas. CECI is specifically looking to strengthen the position of women and young women as leaders and agents of change for a sustainable and inclusive development. By sharing their skills and know-how, and by working closely with local partners, CECI’s volunteers work for the economic empowerment of women and young women, and to build the resilience of communities in the face of climate change.

Click here to find out about currently available volunteer opportunities.