Catalysing the Great Green Wall

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Introduction

Bonko Sy, aka Bella, has amassed a lifetime of knowledge in less than five years. In a short space of time, she has won a beauty contest, launched her own non-profit initiatives and joined the powerful civil society organisation Y'en A Marre. The sky's the limit for this young woman who is constantly on the move trying to implement the vision she has for herself and the country:

"My head is full of ideas. I'm always thinking about making a positive change to my country and my society".

"Every time you see me away from work, I'm writing something. I don't like waiting somewhere for someone to rescue me. My current ambition is to plant a million baobabs in Senegal and the Sahel”.

It's a monumental dream for one person and an NGO that is not yet well established in Senegal. But Bella is not discouraged. And it's a good thing for Africa and the Sahel. With the rapid acceleration of global warming at a time of great political determinism, the countries of the Sahel need strong leadership to drive climate projects that have the capacity to make life better for the people who live there.

A child of the Fouta Toro

Bonko Sy was born in Kobilo Torobe, on the border between Senegal and Mauritania. This is the heart of Fouta Toro country, where the first mosque was built in 1150. The region is flooded with abundant sunshine all year round. This is the Sahelian belt, where the Sahara meets the savannah. Perhaps too much so. It is also sandy, very sandy. Trees are rare, the savannah is retreating and there is never enough water to drink. It is increasingly difficult to keep cattle, sheep and goats, which is almost unthinkable for the Peulh. To have no livestock and no savannah to feed them is identity suicide.

Fouta Toro has not always been like this. A long time ago, at the height of the Ghana Empire, when Fouta Toro was known as Niamandiru (i.e. a land of plenty), the weather was not as hot and dry as it is today. At the time, the country was inhabited by Sérères, Sarakolé, Toucouleurs and Mandés. When the Peulh migrated south, they mixed and intermarried with the many ethnic groups in the region, creating a new sub-group of Peulh known as the Haal-Pulaar or Foutankobé.

The environmental challenges facing the Peulhs are one of the reasons why Bella decided to become an activist. In 2020, she decided to take part in the Miss Matam competition. Miss Matam is one of the stages of the great Miss Senegal competition. Every region in the country elects their Miss, which means lobbying for votes in every district of the country. The winner advances to the national level.

For Bella, taking part in the Miss Matam pageant was never just a matter of smiling for the camera and strutting her stuff on the red carpet. She had more ambitious plans than that. Her ambition was to use the limelight to highlight the beauty of Fulani life and the importance of protecting and regenerating the environment.

The experience itself was a trying one. For weeks, she travelled from village to village meeting local people, discussing Miss Senegal's priorities and talking about her favourite causes. Although Bella prefers to keep to herself and enjoys being at home in Matam, she suddenly had to prepare herself to meet some of the country's most important figures every two days: senior divisional officers, generals, captains, ministers, governors.

After the launch of her ‘Ummo liggo’ project, which aims to green the Matam region in September 2020, she conducted reforestation campaigns throughout the region with the outgoing Minister of the Environment, Mr Abdou Karime Sall, and with the support of the religious guides of the Matam region whom she visited.From 2021 onwards, this campaign continued in other villages in the region, namely Dabia, Kobilo Mbarga, Goudoude Ndouetbé and Diobbé.

"When a very young person goes to discuss their project with an important figure in the community, such as the district officer, it's hard to know what to expect. It's even scary, to be honest, because you're taking a leap in the dark. Fortunately, however, most of the public figures I've met have always been very nice. Of course, some didn't even bother to reply to our messages to attend a public event, but the overwhelming majority were always very responsive and helpful".

It's also important to note that she has had to start speaking directly to thousands of strangers and sharing intimate details about her life with everyone on her social media pages.  

Representing the 11th region of Senegal meant highlighting the causes that are dear to her heart. Bella chose two priorities: the Talibés and tree planting. Talibés are young Islamic scholars who are sent to beg for food on a daily basis. They are obliged to do this in order to survive, as tradition dictates that they only survive thanks to the free gifts and donations of kind-hearted people. However, the tradition has been distorted and some unscrupulous imams have flooded the streets of the main towns with talibés. In some cases, the Talibés are the children of the poorest in society and cannot look after themselves. Bella has always tried to provide the Talibés with resources and food whenever she can. She believes that Senegal needs to do much more to draw attention to these hundreds of thousands of people who spend their days under the hot sun begging for food or money: ‘When we see the talibé children every day, we stop paying attention to them. Meanwhile, they continue to suffer in silence. Maybe it's time to listen to them? Let's hear their suffering’, she said later. She has helped to collect money, clothes and books for them.

Trees are her second priority as she tries to establish herself in the 2020 campaign. After all, all the sons and daughters of Fouta Toro need to know how to look after their livestock, water and plants. This heightened environmental awareness is passed down from generation to generation. Survival in her home village of Kobilo and the rest of Fouta Toro depends on judicious management of environmental resources. This environmental awareness comes naturally to her, and she is keen to share it with the rest of Senegal and indeed Africa:

"Global warming is everyone's business. Wherever we are, we feel the effects directly or indirectly".   

Miss Matam took Bonko Sy to every village in Matam. She shook hands with thousands of people and met all the chiefs, sub-prefects, prefects and arrondissement heads. She also met other important people who manage the region, including the director of environmental protection, the chiefs of the army and police, the directors of medical establishments, women's organisations, and so on. They were all proud of her and came forward whenever she needed them. This gave her the confidence to go out and meet the rest of Senegal and be its ambassador. But before that, she planted trees, thousands of them. She led campaigns in Agnam Civol, Goudé Diobbé, Goudé Ndouetbé, Bokidiawe, Dabia...

She doesn't really know how many events she took part in to prepare for the national competition. However, one thing is certain: she began the process as a girl, but by the time the curtains rose on the 2020 edition of the Miss Senegal event, she was a woman. A woman with even more ideas.

Looking ahead; Going global

A number of years have passed since the nerve-wracking Miss Matam competition. Bella is grateful for the opportunity Miss Senegal gave her to make a name for herself throughout the Fouta Toro region and beyond. She is also aware of the responsibility she now has as a leader, despite her young age, to help change lives.

"With this activism and passion, I still find the time to continue building my own organisation, ARBRE (Alliance pour la Restauration de la Biodiversité des Ressources Environnementales) association dedicated to environmental protection, where we carry out concrete actions to raise awareness of the importance of preserving our planet with the aim of building a more equitable and environmentally-friendly future".

"The second, Rewbe kobilo Immoden liggoden, which stands for Femmes de kobilo levons nous et travaillent, works to promote women's entrepreneurship, supporting their economic and social empowerment. My commitment focuses on creating synergies between sustainable development and the emancipation of women in rural areas, with the aim of building a more equitable and environmentally-friendly future".

After the work that her role in the competition required, she joined Y'en a Marre, first as an intern, then as a producer. During her internship, she learned how to use video cameras and record mega-productions. She also learned how to shoot and tell stories through images. Y'en a Marre is one of the largest civil society organisations in Africa, working on issues of equity, civil rights, peace and progress for all. It has had a significant impact on civil society in Senegal and other African countries. It was founded in 2011 by young people who wanted to see a new type of leadership in Africa and a society based on ‘justice, equity, law, peace and progress for all’.

‘In June 2022, I benefited from the Young Citizen Reporters (JRC) programme, which strengthens the communication skills of young leaders. Thanks to this opportunity, I was able to receive training and learn about the movement, before joining and becoming an audiovisual technician’.

Bella's work keeps her very busy. However, she always finds time to continue building and developing her ideas. The next step is to plant millions of trees in Senegal, including a million baobabs.

"The idea behind One Million Baobabs is that West Africa in general is known for its baobab trees. This tree is synonymous with resilience, adaptability and timelessness. More importantly, it's a tree that can help save our region, because we need more trees to store carbon, and we need native trees that can be used to reforest the Sahel as part of the Great Green Wall project".

‘Baobab powder is also gaining in importance. It does wonders for health, and we all know that the Senegalese love their baobabs, which is why we need to plant more baobabs.

‘My agenda is to develop a strategy to radically increase the number of baobab trees that we plant each year'.