Réseau africain pour le développement intégré (RADI)

RADI works on development issues in Senegal and responds to the needs of the population by proposing solutions that respect human rights and the environment. It puts its mission into action by offering aid services and legal workshops so that the poor can better defend their rights.

It particularly encourages women to form associations and assisted in the creation of four regional coalitions of women’s groups referred to as the Unions de groupements partenaires du RADI (UGPR). Today, the movement is growing in scale and is reaching the national level. The women involved in the UGPRs are creating savings and credit mutuals, participating more actively in commercial fairs, and are working to improve the production and distribution of their produce and their hand-made crafts.

Through their collective association, these women have progressively gained confidence. “I now speak in public and implicate myself further in my farming association. I am now a presence that can’t be ignored and my voice counts,” says the President of the UGPR for the region of Thiès, located in central Senegal. The women in Thiès are asserting that they want to guide their own development.

Above and beyond their economic successes, awareness workshops and group discussions are encouraging the women of Thiès to join decision-making bodies for the region. Many are on the regional committee for the development of health services and the committee for water distribution. Two members also participate in the consultative body that sees to the development of the region.

“We see this participation as a stepping stone,” explains Khoudia Sylla, the secretary of the UGPR in Thiès.” It allows us to gain experience so that we can eventually take on roles at the highest instances where the most important decisions are made.”