ENABEL'S YEAR IN REVIEW
Social media highlights of 2021
At the beginning of this new year, we take the time to look back at some of our work and achievements in 2021. Thank you to all colleagues and partners who commit to working hard in their areas of expertise. Sharing one goal: making the world a better place every day.
JANUARY
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Picture taken in recording studio in Burkina Faso.
To begin this overview of our activities of 2021, we start with Morocco, where the Covid-19 crisis made us embark on a digital journey for which not all of us were prepared. To address the challenge, our team in Morocco developed a digital toolkit in French and Arabic. It targeted vulnerable groups, including migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Meanwhile, in Burkina Faso‘s Centre-Est region, some twenty traditional and modern musicians from the "Symbiose" collective met in a studio and recorded songs on one of Enabel’s key action themes: raising awareness among rural populations of their sexual and reproductive rights and promoting the abandonment of gender-based violence.
February
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Pictures taken at the National Teachers' Colleges in Uganda
In February, the long-awaited new buildings of the five National Teachers' Colleges, the institutions tasked with training Uganda's future teachers, were inaugurated. The buildings serve 7,200 students and teachers across the country. They offer brand new classrooms, laboratories, sports facilities and accommodation. Read more about.
As the Covid-19 pandemic raged around the world, Belgium’s Queen Mathilde had a video call with our colleagues in Belgium, Guinea, Morocco, Niger, Uganda, Senegal and the DR Congo. She expressed her concern for the millions of people pushed back into poverty by the pandemic and congratulated the staff of our agency for their efforts in the face of the pandemic.
March
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Online debate hosted by Enabel in Palestine during International Women's Day.
On the occasion of International Women's Day (8 March 2021), Minister of Development Cooperation Meryame Kitir, took part in a live event organised by our team in Palestine. She shared her ideas on how to achieve gender equality. Replay the debate.
In Guinea, we boosted business resilience and solution development by supporting the country's first FabLab! Our support included the delivery of prototype 3D printers and plastic shredders as well as the facilitation of business creation coaching. Read more about it (the article is only available in French).
APRIL
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Our team in Tanzania shared with us the incredible progress of the stone arch bridge project in the Kigoma region. The bridges support the economic development of the region but also connect farmers to markets, children to schools and people to hospitals. The bridges create jobs and are environmentally friendly. Local low-carbon materials are used for their construction. Find out more about the project!
MAY
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In May 2021, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the cooperation between Niger and Belgium! Since 1971 the Belgian Development Cooperation, through the intermediary of the Belgian development agency, has supported Niger’s efforts in the areas of health, education, agriculture, livestock, basic infrastructure and conflict prevention. Particular attention is also paid to gender equality, respect for the environment and the social economy.
JUNE
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Régine Debrabandere, who heads Enabel’s office in Senegal, answered the questions of Abdou Touré, member of Senegal’s Youth Consortium and partner of Enabel in the ‘Green Innovation Hub’ initiative. This incubator promotes the green economy, the blue economy and the digital economy. It accompanies young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. Read the interview here.
No more paper reports! In 2021, Enabel published a 100% digital activity report. A report that highlights international solidarity, the fight against climate change and why health systems matter. A report that talks about drones, 3D printing, large ships and endangered lakes, and small start-ups with a strong social impact... Find out for yourself!
JULY
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In Mali fishermen and women face a decline in biodiversity because of overfishing. In addition, some traditional processing methods, such as smoking fish, pose a real public health problem because of pesticide use. Find out how we try to address these issues. Have a look at the photo report.
Via the Green Climate Fund, Enabel participates in a project that intends to restore over 60,000 ha of drought-degraded land into climate resilient ecosystems in 7 districts of the Eastern Province of Rwanda. With this, we want to enhance the resilience to climate change of the agriculture sector in Rwanda. Read all about it.
AUGUST
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In the Democratic Republic of Congo most households struggle to access drinking water. But how do you solve this when there is no electricity either? Together with Vergnet Hydro and local authorities, Enabel was able to supply more than 100,000 people in the town of Mbuji-Mayi with water through solar pumps. Read the whole story here.
Rwanda is a frontrunner in Sub-Saharan Africa in providing electricity to its citizens. The country aims to provide access to affordable and sustainable energy to all by 2024, a feasible target. In August we published 20 stories of affordable and reliable electricity really transforming the lives of people.
SEPTEMBER
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In September Belgium donated 153,900 vaccines to Uganda. These vaccines contributed to stepping up the vaccination campaign for teachers and reopening schools to more than 10 million pupils and students. Read the press release.
Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy, Meryame Kitir, visited a vocational training workshop provided by Enabel's partner NRC - Norwegian Refugee Council in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. 500 young Syrian refugees in the camp are being trained in tailoring, carpentry, welding, mobile maintenance and electrical wiring.
OCTOBER
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Who doesn’t love pineapples? A fruit providing instant happiness. But how about the farmers working hard to grow them? In Benin, together with our partners at coleacp our goal is to increase the income of 6,000 agricultural entrepreneurs working in the pineapple sector.
NOVEMBER
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Our team in Mauritania during beach cleanup day.
During COP26, our Mozambique team in collaboration with the Government of Mozambique and the African Development Bank, hosted a side-event on the importance of climate financing. After all, financial means are needed for limiting climate change and for action to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
On 13 November, our team in Mauritania hit the beach. Not to go sunbathing and swimming, but to tackle pollution on the beachside of Nouakchott. Thanks, team, for your contribution to a clean and healthy environment!
DECEMBER
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Lake Tanganyika is one of the natural wonders of the world. A haven of biodiversity, it is home to at least 1500 aquatic species, of which around 600 are found nowhere else in the world. To preserve it from pollution, the impact of climate change and human activity, the Latawama project, an international collaboration between Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, DR Congo and Rwanda was set up. Find out more.
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