USAID spreads hope for the handicapped in Senegal
Small loans enable landmine victims to earn a living
Elisabeth Nassalan and her son, Jonas. Photo by R. Nyberg, USAID |
Life was fine for Elisabeth Nassalan, an industrious wife and mother bringing
up six healthy children in Senegal’s southern Casamance region. Her gardens,
near the village of Djifanghor in the West African country’s most fertile
area, produced enough tomatoes, peanuts, and okra to sell at local markets, with
profits going to feed and clothe her family. But in the early hours of September
5, 2001, she stepped on a landmine while out harvesting mangoes in her uncle’s
garden. Everything she knew and all her hopes exploded in the blast that claimed
both of her legs.
Fighting back tears, she recalls the horror that invaded her life by an anonymous
attack, orchestrated by faceless combatants unaware of their victim and the consequences.
An armed struggle for independence of Casamance stretches back over two decades,
and although peace seems to be on the horizon, thousands of landmines remain under
the soil. Over 650 people, like Elisabeth, have stepped into tragedy. And of them,
147 lost their lives, including 23 children below the age of 14.
“It took me a month before I realized I was at the hospital,” she
said. While she recuperated for 90 days in the hospital in Ziguinchor, thoughtful
neighbors cared for her children and tended her gardens.
On returning home, she hit rock bottom: her husband abandoned her in an act
seen far too often in rural Casamance. But with the help of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) and its partner, Handicap International, Elisabeth
has hope for a brighter future. With microcredit support, she was able to open
up a small shop in her house. Villagers come to buy soap, cooking oil, Maggi cubes,
coffee, matches. This modest but regular income makes a world of difference to
her and her children, now aged three to 24.
USAID, through Handicap International, has assisted about 140 handicapped
persons in the Casamance since 1999, helping them in particular as they reintegrated
into society after spending months in hospital. Specific support includes
prosthetics, transport, educational support, and vocational training for young
landmine victims and start-up funds for alternative forms of income, such as
Elisabeth’s
home kiosk.
The number of landmine accidents decreased from 48 in 2002 to 19 in 2003. And
to prevent against future accidents, especially as more people return to their
villages, USAID supports an extensive awareness-raising campaign reaching over
400,000 people using the radio, 890 village volunteer agents, and over 1,300 school
teachers.
"At the beginning it was terribly difficult, as I had the children and
didn’t think I could provide them a decent education and success in life,”
she says. “But now, even though I am alone, I am able to earn money and
care for my children. The assistance I have received has helped me greatly in
making a fresh start.”
And she constantly looks to new ways to improve conditions for her family.
Sliding off her wheelchair onto a plastic mat, she sits at a manual sewing machine
and shows what she has learned so far. In time, she will sell clothing to boost
her income.
Life for Elisabeth could certainly be easier. But judging by the smiles on
her children’s supportive faces, things could be much worse. With backing
from USAID, she’s making the best out of it.
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