Advocacy for Literacy and preventing HIV&AIDS
Caravan through Mali, Guinea and Senegal
27th August - 11th September 2007
Coinciding with the celebration of International Literacy Day and the UNESCO's African Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy that took place in Bamako, Pamoja West Africa and Jeunesse & Développement, in partnership with DVV International, Action Aid International and the National Pamojas of Guinea, Mali and Senegal, organised a caravan to increase awareness and share information concerning the importance of literacy and the prevention of HIV&AIDS in the communities along its route. It succeeded in:
- Mobilising communities and local decision makers around the African Regional Literacy Conference to strengthen their stand in favour of literacy and the prevention of HIV&AIDS;
- Providing information and discussing literacy and HIV&AIDS with communities along the route;
- Collecting views and requests from these communities to influence decisions concerning literacy to be made at the Conference ;
- Promoting regional consultation around the related issues of Literacy, HIV&AIDS and Development to reinforce national plans in each sector.
The caravan left Bamako on Monday 27th August and took 16 days to cover a total of 3,467 km, of which 1,063 km were in Guinea (Siguiri - Kankan - Kouroussa - Daola - Mamou - Dalaba - Pita - Labé - Koundara - Linkéré), 1,519 km in Senegal (Linkéré - Madina Gounas - Carrefour Manda - Wélingara - Kolda - Carrefour Sitaba - Bounkéré), including 50 km on Gambian territory to make the ferry crossing at Farafini (then Keur Ayib - Kaolack - Diossong - Tambacounda - Kédougou-Kidira) and the final 700km in Mali (Diboli - Kayes - Bamako). All along the way communities participated in visits to local Reflect circles, tree planting ceremonies, meetings with local authorities and leaders and conferences and discussions on HIV/AIDS and literacy.
The caravaners were joined by Malian NGOs in Bamako for a grand march to deliver the Bamako Declaration, which carried the requests and opinions of the communites along the route to national, regional and international decision makers attending the African Regional Literacy Conference.