From March 31 to April 7, 2019, the Tekki Fii caravan travelled around the country presenting the new programme and the new development partners in the country.
Funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF for Africa), the Building a Future: Make it in the Gambia programme – Tekki Fii in the local language, wollof – strengthens the presence of international actors for development, namely through Portuguese Cooperation and the Belgian (ENABEL) and German (GIZ) development agencies, and aims to increase the economic and social opportunities available to young Gambians, especially in the rural areas of the country.
IMVF ensures the implementation of the Programme component attributed to the Portuguese Cooperation, in partnership with the Agency for the Development of Women & Children, the Alliance for Solidarity and the United Purpose.
The project aims to stimulate sustainable agribusiness value chains and promote social cohesion, contributing to mitigate some of the drivers of irregular migration.
For a week, the Tekki Fii caravan travelled around various regions of The Gambia, promoting intergenerational dialogues, thematic debates and sport and cultural activities. Solar energy, construction, creative industries, entrepreneurship, agribusiness, were some of the sectors represented with the aim to lead communities to reflect on rural development opportunities. Under IMVF and partner’s responsibility, they organized football games – women and men – and stimulated discussion forums around agribusiness (The Farmer’s House).
The caravan began on 31 March in the town of Farafenni and continued to Basse, Brikama Ba, Kaur, Jarra Soma and Brikama West Coast. On April 7, the official launch took place at the Independence Stadium with the presence of the Vice President Isatou Touray and the EU Ambassador Attila Jalos. The contribution of the programme and the actions of the new development partners to the achievement of the objectives of the National Development Plan 2018-2021 was highlighted in the various speeches.
