Semega Bekaye
Mali
Meet Semega Bekaye, a courageous and curious young leader at OMADEZA. He is working as a field worker and is in charge of community mobilization. OMADEZA also is known for ‘The Malian work for the Development of Arid Zones.’ This NGO is determined to support action and efforts against desertification and degradation of natural resources at local, regional, national, sub-regional, and international levels.
Activities and priorities of OMADEZA remain the protection of the environment and improvement of living and working conditions of communities in Mali.
Semega role is to support community groups, bring structure in organizations, help realize development plans for groups and organizations, and inspire and train communities on topics like environment, climate change, gender, and vulnerable groups’ rights.
Semega began his job as a field facilitator in Nioro Du Sahel, North-West Mali. Here he learned about sustainable land management activities and actively supported women’s involvement in local decision-making. Now, he works in Bougouni, South of Mali, where he acts on the restoration of the forest ecosystems with the participation of women.
Despite his young age, Semega managed to reconcile two women’s organizations at loggerheads on the exploitation of a village market perimeter assigned to them by the village chief in the village of Kokélé.
He was capable of bringing these two women’s associations to the table of dialogue and negotiation and finishing the disagreement. His joviality and ease of speech have earned him the esteem of all the villages where he works.
After already remarkable achievements and successes at a young age, Semega is going for the next step. He wants to gain more experience in community mobilization and facilitate professionally between multiple actors. Eventually, he will become an expert facilitator. The next step for him is to follow an education program and gain training in his profession and learn strong skills. That is why he used the grant of JWHi for various professional training modules in Bamako, Mali.
