Self Help Africa

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, we’re hosting a webinar ‘For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.’ Join us on Zoom on Thursday, 6th March at 11am GMT/2pm EAT for a special panel discussion moderated by Self Help Africa’s Director of International Programmes Kathrin Hall, amongst young women change-makers working across the fields of gender, nutrition, climate and more. We’re delighted to introduce our speakers: ⭐ Wissal Ben Moussa (Morocco)  Wissal is the co-founder and chief agriculture officer at Sand to Green,  a French-based NGO whose mission is to regenerate degraded arid lands and create thriving ecosystems through regenerative agriculture. ⭐ Nina Mbah (Nigeria) Nina is the co-founder and CEO of Monoversal Multimedia in Nigeria and focuses on using visual storytelling to drive empathy, education and meaningful change at African Climate Stories ⭐ Sumaya Mohammed (Ireland/Somalia) Sumaya is a young climate activist based in Ireland. A second year student of Law at University College Cork and a Quercus Active Citizenship Scholar, Sumaya is also the associate general secretary for the global organisation Somalis for Sustainability. ⭐ Dr. Sara Demissew (Ethiopia)  Dr Sara is Self Help Africa’s Gender and Nutrition Advisor in Ethiopia. Sara has led the integration of gender strategies into our programmes here, and has managed multi-sectoral health and nutrition projects that are designed for women and girls. Register here for our International Women's Day webinar: https://lnkd.in/dKs8Gfbg Please share with anyone in your networks who may be interested in attending, and we'll see you on Zoom!

On Monday, Self Help Africa joined other Irish NGOs and Irish Aid for the annual review of our flagship programme funded by Irish Aid. We discussed successes in promoting locally-led development and reaching the furthest behind first, and explored how we can do more together to support the communities we serve, to face the evolving challenges of climate change. Self Help Africa is implementing our Irish Aid-funded programme in seven countries across West, East and Southern Africa, promoting an enterprising approach to supporting local food systems. For example, we're working to increase the participation of women in small businesses transforming food produce, and supporting young male and female farmers in innovative ways of restoring soils and vegetation. We are grateful for the ongoing funding support of the Irish Aid programme, which enables us to deliver effective development projects across Africa. Together, let's ensure we leave no one behind. Link in comments for more info on our Irish Aid-funded projects. Pictured here is: Nicole McHugh, Humanitarian Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland at this week's meeting, and a map showing Self Help Africa's Irish Aid-funded programme reach.

Our most difficult challenges can be solved by working together 🤝 SustInAfrica is an ambitious research project drawing on the expertise of 16 organisations from 11 countries. The aim is to tackle challenges facing farmers in North and West Africa, with a focus on: 🌳 Degradation of land 💦 Water scarcity 🌱 Plant health The project targets five countries: Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Egypt and Tunisia. After five years of research, SustInAfrica will produce a framework on best agricultural practices with the key focus on resilience and sustainability. The project is funded by the European Union's #H2020 Horizon 2020 Research Find out more on the SustInAfrica website - link in comments. Thanks to our partners: EU: Natural Resources Institute Finland / Luonnonvarakeskus (Luke) University of Helsinki Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) University of Hildesheim Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics & Management FCiências.ID University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) Ghana: University of Cape Coast University for Development Studies DexAfrica Ltd Farmerline Group Ltd. Burkina Faso: University of Dédougou Niger: Abdou Moumouni University Egypt: Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development Tunisia: Institute de l’Olivier

Today is International Day of Women and Girls in Science.♀️🔬 Today we celebrate all women and girls in science and push for equal opportunities and participation in all STEM fields - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. We’re proud to partner with Irish Aid to present the Science for Development Award at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE). Many of the previous winners of the prestigious award have been young women scientists from all around Ireland, including: - Rachel Hamm and Ella Ryan from Moat Community School, with cost-effective, environmentally friendly bandages made by combining banana skin bio plastic with glycerine, lavender oil, honey and vinegar. - Jona Garcia, Claudine Mulihano and Iman Shittu from St Louis Secondary School Dundalk with a power-free cooling system to preserve food. - Arronya Khan Zakaria from Castletroy College, whose project identified why some people view the world through racist stereotypes. - Sophie McElligott and Salome Bordalo from St Joseph’s, with an ethical sanitary product for women and girls in poorer countries. Women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities. Today and every day, their participation should be encouraged and strengthened. ♀🧪🔭

Today is World Pulses Day! 🫛 At Self Help Africa, we support farmers in creating a sustainable living while growing nutritious, climate-smart food - like pulses. Pulses can play a key role in strengthening food security as they're nutritious and require little water to grow. They're also an environmentally friendly, plant-based source of protein that improves soil fertility. This #WorldPulsesDay, we celebrate farmers in Africa who grow these incredible crops to create a more nutritious and sustainable world. 💚

A big thank you to everyone who took part in our Offaly Camino Canal Walk over St. Brigid's day weekend and helped raise over €20,000 for Self Help Africa! There was an incredible turnout on the day, with around 300 of our amazing supporters walking 22km along the canal from Tullamore to Croghan Hill. The funds raised will support communities that Self Help Africa works with, including in Baringo, Kenya - stay tuned for an update soon on the impact here from our colleague and Offaly Camino organiser Ronan Scully. A huge thanks again to everyone involved, particularly our wonderful committee and organisers! We're looking forward to the next Offaly Camino already!

Today, on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), there are nearly 4.4 million girls around the world at risk. More than 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone FGM, in more than 30 countries. There is no health benefit for girls and women. FGM is a violation of the human rights of women and girls. FGM must be eliminated, and collective action is needed. These whole-community efforts must focus on creating environments for women and girls to enjoy full rights to health, education and safety. As members of the Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence (ICGBV), we play our part in these collective efforts. We integrate training on reducing gender-based violence, including FGM, at a practical level, across our programmes. See the link in comments to learn more about the work of the ICGBV.

For close to 20 years, Self Help Africa has worked to bring financial services to rural poor communities in Ethiopia. In that time, our Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) programme has supported the creation of over 260 village-based primary SACCOs, as well as the formation of five SACCO Unions. Over the past two decades, these groups have enabled 150,000 households in Ethiopia to access to banking services. The SACCOs have also provided tens of thousands of small loans to support income-generating activities at farm household level. The result? A transformative impact on local lives, allowing thousands of Ethiopian families to rear and breed livestock, invest in land and farming assets, begin trading, and form their own income-generating businesses as a means of increasing their incomes, and improving their own lives. Now, a new initiative to support the Savings and Credit programme underway - using a smartphone application to identify gaps in skills and services, and provide a deeper analysis of the workings of SACCO groups. The SCOPEinsight tool is being deployed as part of a wider effort to further professionalise the activities of this innovative grassroots banking service, with training modules and coaching plans to be put in place to further strengthen Ethiopia’s SACCO sector. Pictured here are members of Yidibisha Rural Savings and Credit Cooperative administering the affairs of their group - disbursing loans and collecting savings on behalf of their members.

We’re still buzzing from the 2025 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition! This year marked 20 incredible years of the Self Help Africa & Irish Aid Science for Development Award, celebrating life-changing innovations. 🌍 Congratulations to the 2025 winner - Anaus Syed Muhammad from Bruce College, Cork, with HemaSense – a groundbreaking smartphone tool for non-invasive anaemia diagnosis. Students like Anaus and countless others from the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition continue to inspire us with their creativity and impact. 💡 See the link in our comments to find out more.

Education is a fundamental human right. But today, on the International Day of Education, more than 244 million children and young people around the world aren’t in school. In Mozambique, we’re working to change this, through our five year ‘She Belongs in School’ programme, - funded by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada through Save the Children International - with the goal of enhancing education and learning outcomes for girls aged 10-19, including Merina, Cacilda and Cheila. Education can be a powerful pathway out of poverty for millions of people, and a vital step towards a more equal world. Today on #EducationDay and every day, let’s continue to push for a quality education for all.