Guinea Conakry

No irony, but only "scientific" truth. In fact summarized in this motto by the famous Indian economist Amartya Sen. It is certainly shared by many others who, before and after him, working in the field, in Africa as in India, as elsewhere everywhere, have realized that it is always women who make a difference in the life of families and communities. Although generally their social rank is still low, they are the truly responsible element in the community, they take care of people and situations, and are therefore willing to welcome innovative and propulsive proposals in making them their own. And when, as often happens, they join forces, in a village or in a wider reality, they permanently create fertile ground for steps of human growth.
For those who work in the promotion of development interventions it is therefore a wise choice to turn to them to have them as a partner. For us, in Guinea Conakry this is the case of the Association des Femmes Catholiques of the archdiocese of Conakry - divided into 36 communities - assisted by our friend Mother Réné Boiro, who supports them in action with her energy and experience. To promote the condition and role of women by creating awareness, and animating concrete initiatives to integrate and provide opportunities; such as income generation and professional training projects, especially aimed at girls with little education, single mothers, and girls who have lived in orphanages. Also making use of the management of IT tools, and microcredit. Once more solidarity and education transform lives, to allow everyone to give the best of themselves, even in the community to which they are a part.

To support this action, together with the friends of SOS Sviluppo, another large container arrived in Conakry some time ago: the pandemic has not spared even this corner of Africa, which has had to impose serious restrictions, which as always have brought suffering to poor, especially those who seek subsistence in the informal sectors. We therefore had to wait to be able to transport the container from the port to the archbishopric, and then put into use the material sent for the needs we shared. Including two complete cutting and sewing workshops, and a large computer room, along with plenty of educational material for schools.
Some materials have already traveled adventurously (see photos) to Ourus, in the north, where they have been working for some time; it is a small photovoltaic system for the lighting and amplification of the parish, which was completely devoid of it.

The initiatives already started earlier in the village, mainly the installation of three peanut mills, and different types of cereals grown here, have been well managed and very fruitful for the community, which is enthusiastic about it. Thinking about the future together, the idea of ​​experimenting with something new came about, beekeeping in an organized form. Starting from simple methods, in order to introduce in a short time a new practice, very interesting as a contribution in terms of income as well as nutrition, in people's lives ...

If you want to help us
Associazione Sermig Re.Te. per lo Sviluppo
IBAN: IT29 P030 6909 6061 0000 0001 481 Intesa SanPaolo Bank

Mauro Palombo
NP december 2020