By Buba Gagigo
TOSTAN, a non-governmental organization with a mission to empower communities to develop and achieve their vision, launched its strategic plan on Tuesday at a two-day seminar held at a local hotel in Senegambia.
The National Seminar in The Gambia is being held in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations (UN) agencies, and the media.
The 2-Day Seminar and Strategic Plan Launch aim to share ideas with partners and receive feedback and enhanced collaboration and partnership for the successful implementation of their new Strategic Plan 2024-2030 called ‘In Partnership For Community Well-Being’.
During his welcoming remarks, Edrisa Keita, TOSTAN National Coordinator said the objective of this seminar and Strategic Plan Launched is to share the work of the TOSTAN community empowerment program that has been under implementation in the Central River Region since 2021 to date
Fatou Kinteh, the Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare, was also present at the occasion. She said that her ministry has a long and close collaboration with TOSTAN, which works under the Directorate of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment. She commended TOSTAN’s community empowerment programme in URR and its extension to CRR. Furthermore, she said her ministry is willing to support and work with TOSTAN.
Ebrima Jarbo, Executive Director of the NGO Affairs Agency, said the plan is a follow-up to the Community Empowerment Programme (CEP), which ran from 2019 to 2022.
“I have no doubt that the CEP 2023-2030 would further strengthen the already existing positive impact which the community empowerment program has on the lives and livelihood of people living in CRR and URR respectively. Therefore, I called on the participants to follow kindly on the presentation and contribute effectively,” Ebrima Jarbo, Executive Director of NGO Affairs Agency.
Elena Bonometti, the Chief Executive Officer of TOSTAN, said that the seminar was an opportunity for TOSTAN and its partners to work together to achieve their shared goals.
“We are going to work together today to pave the way for what we want to achieve as a community. Today is a day of celebration of TOSTAN because developing, and conserving a vision for our future towards 2030 has been a journey. It is a celebration because we feel we have a little bit of work on that journey, and we are not alone, we were with you. We thank you for your presence today so that we can continue the journey together. It is a day of celebration for accomplishments,” she said.