One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of Gambia (Millbrook Picture Books)

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It was 1997, and 25-year-old Isatou Ceesay was taking a walk through her village of N’jau in the centre of the Gambia – the smallest country in Africa. As she turned down the dusty main street, women greeted her from their courtyards as they prepared vegetables and washed clothes. The smell of familiar dishes filled the air. Children played in a clearing by the forest, and cows grazed near a field of peanuts. Later that afternoon, she sat with five friends in the shade of a tree for the first meeting of her women’s group. Mongabay Kids: What was the plastic bag pollution problem like in your community before you had the idea to recycle the bags into products like purses? This is the first project to train people in reprocessing techniques across the waste streams,” explained Mike Webster, the project manager from the WasteAidUK initiative, which delivered its inaugural project with the livelihood NGO Concern Universal. “There are plenty of reprocessing projects that haven’t got off the ground because the technology is out of reach for most people. We have focused purposefully on entry-level systems that can be made locally, and the waste materials that are actually here, not a western perception of what should be recycled.“It was really important to partner with a local organisation with strong community links. This is as much about behaviour change and finding new ways of incentivising waste management. Our focus groups showed that even a tiny financial incentive can make for effective collection systems, people are really interested in learning how to make income from waste.” A young woman, Isatou discovers that plastic bags are being used more and more in her village- and being tossed aside, littering the ground. Students could research and create a presentation for their own town/city council to ban the use of single use items such as plastic bags, straws, coffee cups, etc.

Just a few days’ stay in Njau also offers any visitor a chance to observe some of the invisible aspects of progress, such as an inspirational mindset, can-do attitude, and an environment where men and women work together. These are just some of the intangible impacts created by WIG, the organisation that put Njau on the international radar. What started with a simple plastic bag clean-up has evolved into a giant umbrella for fighting climate change, reforesting parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, supporting women’s empowerment, promoting disability advocacy, and preserving traditional knowledge and culture. Ceesay was forced to drop out of school at a young age, but she does not let anything stop her from learning or taking action. Undoubtedly, Isatou’s story is unique and remarkable. It teaches us that we all have a duty and a responsibility towards our environment and that our little efforts can go a long way. As the saying goes, "A strong woman stands up for herself, a stronger woman stands up for everyone else." Isatou Ceesay is undeniably one of those stronger women. She's earned recognition alongside icons like Emma Watson as one of five female activists making a significant global impact. Here's the remarkable account of how she achieved this status...Chris Seekings talks to Isatou Ceesay about recycling plastic in The Gambia, and her mission to protect the environment while driving female economic empowerment

Other people in Gambia saw the same benefits in plastic bags. Soon, people began using the bags by the thousands. The problem was that they didn’t reuse the bags. They simply threw them on the ground. In Africa, women throw the family’s trash behind their homes so plastic bags often went there too. When she passes by the pile of rubbish, she smiles because it is smaller now. She tells herself, one day it will be gone and my home will be beautiful. Students could explore the country of West Africa or the city of Gambia and learn more about its culture, its people, etc. As well as organic fuel briquettes, the women learned how to turn plastic bags into paving slabs – although plastic bags were banned by the government in July – and fish and food waste into fertiliser. She was honoured with The International Alliance for Women Difference Maker award in Washington DC, United States [4] [7] [8]Students could make Before and After posters of the plastic bag situation in Isatou's village. Alternatively they could research their own recycling issue and create a Before and After campaign complete with radio, tv and print advertisements. Njabe Ndaw (left) and Nyime Dibbo learn to make organic fuel briquettes at the Recycling Innovation Centre. Photograph: Louise Hunt

Some people laughed at Isatou and her friends, telling them they were ‘dirty’ for digging around in the rubbish. Some men told her that her plans couldn’t work because she was a woman and too young to be a leader. But Isatou believed in what she was doing. She loved helping others and relished a challenge. In her family, everyone had always worked together to solve problems, and her mother had been a great inspiration to her. In the Gambia, many girls were unable to finish school because they were needed at home to help their mothers. Isatou wanted women to have the chance to learn skills and to earn money, even if they had not been given the chance to finish their education. One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia". www.publishersweekly.com . Retrieved 2019-11-01. The movement began in 1997 by Isatou and four other women, the N’Jau Recycling Center, in her native village in the northern Gambia. In the beginning, the movement had a mission to educate their village colleagues about the need to reclaim garbage and recycle plastic, rather than letting the garbage accumulate behind their homes.

One plastic bag

a b "Isatou Ceesay, Queen of Plastic Recycling, The Gambia". Climate Heroes. Archived from the original on 2019-10-18 . Retrieved 2019-11-01. The initiative has since grown beyond plastic recycling to include other areas of recycling—such as briquette production from discarded groundnut and coconut shells and bag production from used rice bags—as well as teaching entrepreneurial skills and empowerment to women, youth and disabled groups. Today, hundreds of women, youth and disabled groups across the country are benefiting from WIG. “I think that when you abuse your environment, you abuse yourself” -Isatou Ceesay In the Gambia, the community organisation WIG has been educating communities about the hazards of burning rubbish, and teaching them how to recycle, since 2009.