SNV turns 50 in the Sahel region

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has been changing lives in the Sahel region (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) and Benin for 50 years.  Often mired with conflicts and extreme poverty , there are challenges as well as opportunities in this and SNV has stayed through them all.

SNV Country Director Jeanette de Regt has been representing the organisation in the region for 16 years. She has witnessed the tangible results of SNV’s presence in the Sahel and Benin from latrine-building to creation of innovative enterprises. In the following video, she describes how SNV works from direct results to systems change.

Changing systems through women leaders

One of the countries where systems change through gender empowerment is present is Niger. Chef de cabinet Hadizatou Yacouba personally experienced this through her more than 35-year development work in the public and NGO sectors including SNV.

Below, she talks about how justice and equality has guided SNV’s capacity-building projects to reduce poverty and how empowering women has changed lives in Niger.

Powered by biogas

SNV Senior Energy Advisor Jan Lam has been with SNV since the 1980s and in the Sahel since 2012. He is proud of the successes of the biogas in powering homes, providing clean cooking and increasing agricultural production which have changed lives through the years. In this video, he explains further how these changes are improving society as a whole.

Saving lives through effective WASH strategies

SNV WASH Advisor Kadiatou Ballo first joined the organisation fresh from college. She has seen waste and water projects come to fruition and change people’s lives. In the following video, she describes in detail how SNV has won over sanitation issues and improved community health in Mali.

Securing the future through youth employment

Financial Inclusion Expert Gnamou N’tcha has been with SNV for 28 years. Through the 2SCALE project, he helps the youth become entrepreneurs through the development of their agri-businesses from registration to management.

50 years is a long time and there is still much to do. What keeps us going in the Sahel are these stories of progress. For systems change does not happen overnight but one step forward at a time.