TRIBUTE TO DAVID DAO

SSE International Forum is saddened to announce the passing of David Dao on December 20, 2020 in Mali.

General Manager of Kafo Jiginew (Union des Caisses Mutuelles d'Epargne et de Crédit du Mali) and a director on the board of SSE International Forum, David Dao is an emblematic figure in the development of microfinance in Mali. In 1987, he joined the pilot phase of what would become a large financial cooperative with a social and solidarity-based mission. Within the organization, he climbed all the levels during the thirty years he spent there. He was elected to head Kafo Jiginew in a context marked by political and security instability, but managed during his seven years of leadership to turn the institution around by restoring the confidence of its employees, members and partners through transparent and participatory management. This long-term work has enabled Kafo Jiginew to perpetuate its model which, despite the pandemic and the crises it has caused, has been given a BB- rating in its social and financial rating by MFR, the international rating agency specialized in inclusive and sustainable finance. A stability that augurs a future rich in promises for the development and recognition of SSE in Mali and beyond.

Within SSE International Forum, David Dao has always promoted the Social Solidarity Economy as a real tool in the fight against poverty and a lever for the economic and social development of vulnerable populations. His mission at the head of Kafo Jiginew and on the board of SSE International Forum will now be continued by Ibrahima Keïta, his successor. The latter shares many similarities, both in terms of his career path and solidarity values, with the man who was his mentor in the cooperative he joined in 1998.

SSE International Forum extends its condolences to Mr. Dao's family and collaborators, as well as to the entire Social Solidarity Economy community.

DONATION OF HEALTH KITS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE SPREAD OF COVID19

On September 17, 2020, Pauline Effa, Managing Director of the NGO Partenariat France Afrique pour le Co-développement (PFAC) took part in the distribution of health kits at the Mbalmayo central prison, Cameroon.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a double health and economic crisis in Cameroon.

In this national context of search for solutions, the Network of Mayors of Cameroon for Social and Solidarity Economy (REMCESS) called upon the NGO PFAC. The "program to combat the spread of COVID 19 through the support and mobilization of women and youth cooperatives" is the result of several observations:

- Local populations do not have enough durable masks that comply with the standard developed in Cameroon for health safety;

- Some municipalities have neighbourhoods where access to water remains limited;

- Prisons are overcrowded and the lack of masks available to inmates increases the risk of contagion;

- Refugee camps in border areas are vulnerable to the virus.

The NGO PFAC has therefore mobilized the member cooperatives of the Local Networks of Social and Solidarity Economy (RELESS) for the production of sanitary kits. The RELESS, accompanied by organizations such as the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), launched an operation called "5,000,000 masks against COVID 19 within the RELESS".

Some of the masks produced were used to make up health kits distributed by REMCESS to vulnerable populations.

The kit per Commune and per prison consists of 1500 protective masks, 10 boxes of soaps (i.e. 500 soaps per Commune), 5 boxes of hydroalcoholic gels, and 12 hand washing devices.

This initiative recalls and highlights the central role of women and young people in the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy, and the weight of SSE in the fight against the pandemic.