Last update March, 2005

Fight Against Social and Economic Exclusion

Project GAM/00/002 -- Start Year: 2001; 
Approved Budget: US$ xxxxxx; End Year: 1999;
Implementing Agent: Strategy for Poverty Alleviation Coordinating Office - SPACO 
Executing Agent: ILO.

FASE is a three year programme  

- of the Government of the Gambia  
- funded by UNDP - United Nations Development Program 
- executed by the ILO - International Labour Organization 
- coordinated by SPACO - Strategy for Poverty Alleviation Coordinating Office 

Focus  

• strengthening community responses to poverty 
• promoting full participation by the poor in their own development  
• development of national policies favorable to the poor

Target Population 

• traditional women's groups (kafos) 
• individual micro and small entrepreneurs, including unemployed youth, smallholder/women farmers and members of small business associations 
• approximately 60 communities in three divisions, representing some 80,000 women and youth as the immediate beneficiaries of the programme 

Geographic Areas 

• three divisions: Upper River Division and Central River Division North, Kombo and the Greater Banjul Area 
• field offices in Basse, Brikama and the Greater Banjul Area 

PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

The Overall Objective  

• Target poor women, youth, and micro and small entrepreneurs, supported by capable service providers, to improve their ability to carry on sustainable livelihoods and develop collective responses, to break social and economic barriers that keep them from moving out of social and economic exclusion 

Five Strategic Objectives 

1) Empower women organised in kafos to analyse their situation, identify priority actions and seek technical and financial support for those actions 

2) Empower individual micro and small entrepreneurs to analyse their situation, identify priority actions and find effective technical and financial support for those actions 

3) Enhance the capacity of those women's groups and entrepreneurs to develop customised sustainable social protection and income generating schemes, on/off farm economic activities and viable businesses 

4) Strengthen the capacity of public, private and civil society institutions to provide efficient technical assistance, support increased savings mobilisation, capital formation and access to finance 

5) Enhance national capacity to formulate policies and strategies to reduce income poverty, reinforce synergy among poverty related development programmes in order to respond adequately to the needs of target groups  

STRATEGY 

1) Needs assessments of target groups through participatory approaches 

2) Development of customised capacity development action plans in respond to needs expressed by the poor 

3) Partnerships established with public, private, community-based and civil society organisations and NGOs to reinforce and mobilise support services and technical assistance responding to priorities defined by the beneficiaries 

4) Three levels of intervention - local, divisional and national - in response to the practical and strategic interests of the target groups 

CRITERIA 

FASE works with groups who meet the following criteria: 

Criteria for Groups  

• dynamic and developmentally active groups made up of socially and economically vulnerable persons.
• cohesive groups with objectives and democratic leadership and decision making processes.
• enterprising groups with some entrepreneurial skills 

Criteria for Micro/Small Entrepreneurs  

• persons of good character with an entrepreneurial spirit.  
• persons capable of sound investment decisions and willing to participate in
• enterprise development training activities 
  enterprises with potential for growth  

SUPPORT SERVICES AVAILABLE  

Some of the needs expressed and support services offered through the Programme: 

 - group management and leadership 
 - functional literacy  
- association/institution building  
- capacity building at local and institutional levels  
- identification of revenue generating activities  
- business plans & business management  
- record keeping 
- cost/benefit calculation & pricing 
- access to micro-credit & savings opportunities 

LINKAGES WITH NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES  

The FASE programme integrates the Government, UNDP and ILO's strategies on fighting poverty and social and economic exclusion 

Government of the Gambia 

 - FASE programme is an integral part of the national efforts and objectives for poverty alleviation  
- It reinforces and collaborates with all the National Poverty Alleviation Programme projects and activities in the Gambia 

United Nations Development Program  

- FASE supports the UNDP's development objective "To improve the socio-economic status of poor people, targeting women and youth, while ensuring a participatory planning and improved management of development activities" 

International Labour Organisation

- FASE is part of the ILO's worldwide programme called STEP - Strategies and Tools against Exclusion and Poverty - which addresses social and economic exclusion through capacity enhancement and adapted social protection and income generation schemes.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EXCLUSION 

"A process whereby certain segments of a population become excluded from activities in their society, because of a number of factors such as:  

- the lack of adequate revenues, of decent employment, of basic social services (education, health services, …) 
- and of social protection,  and/or ethnic, religious, gender, territorial and other similar reasons. 

This exclusion prevents them from enjoying fundamental rights and from participating fully in the social and economic life of their community"

 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON FASE PROGRAMME

Divisional Programme Offices in Basse, Brikama or Greater Banjul Area 
Basse: Agriculture Department Complex, TEL: 66-89-94  
Brikama: Dept. of Community Development, TEL: 448-33-86
Greater Banjul: Social Development Fund, TEL: 449-43-29

FASE Programme Management Unit 

Fight against Social and Economic Exclusion Programme
ILO/DOSFEA/UNDP  
Kofi Annan Street, Cape Point  
P.O. Box 553, Banjul, The Gambia

TEL: 220-4495-071 or 220-4495-074
FAX: 220-4495-089
E-mail: ilo@qanet.gm 

March 2005