The massive exploitation in the mining areas in Guinea -West Africa is causing huge vulnerability in the communities living in mining regions in Guinea. Those communities are depending on agriculture, farming, hunting, forest, drinking water from the river, and breeding as the source of their life and income. Today in Guinea, foreign mining companies are destroying all these in complicity with local governments. Local governments or authorities do not deploy any action to protect the community's rights or reward the farmers.  They are complaining without results. Additionally, they are illiterates; there is no intellectual community leader to take action against the government towards the process for justice and reparation of Calvary. The Chiefs of those communities are corrupted by the government. The mining companies of aluminum, gold, and bauxites are damaging the lands of farmers without preparation, including deforestation. During the transportation of raw materials (bauxite, uranium, and aluminum) from mining regions into the port of Conakry, the dust pollutes the air, covers sources of drinking water, destroys farms thus make communities miserable and vulnerable. Despite the massive exploitation, there is no concrete development in the country that the population benefits from. Moreover, despite the country being rich in terms of raw materials, there is no permanent infrastructure such as electricity, road, water system for all, or sanitation for all. Due to environmental sanitation issues, there are also a lot of mosquitos that increase malaria in the country. Children and women are dying as well as adults and other contagious diseases are related to mosquitos too. However, government officials live in comfort.

SOLUTIONS PROPOSE:

As the NGO legally registered in Guinea, we have consulted and recruited lawyers, and non-corrupted government officials. We are also in contact with environmental activists to establish campaigns to take immediate action against the government and authorities that promote injustice; and at the same time train communities on how to protect themselves against such terrible forms of abuse, while keeping in mind the importance of ecology, ecological regeneration, and possible future. We will divide the training into different two regions; southern and northern regions. There will be workshops for communities as non-formal training which will be a combination of training and campaign strategy that will awake the consciousness of these communities.

PROJECT’S DURATION:

-The project will take 12 months of the campaign and 6 months of training in the workshop.

-4 hours of training per day, three days per week that gives 12 hours per week.

 CAMPAIGN STRATEGY:

-There will be a campaign through national mass media, social media, the NGO's website, and in collaboration with international media.

-Mobilization and call for dialogue with local authorities to find an agreement that will be suitable for the environment and the local communities.

-Negotiation and reparation contract as an ecological regeneration for the damages caused by the mining companies.

-Each week, board directors will meet to give weekly reports that will be published on social media, NGO’s websites, donors, sponsors, and international actors, and the organizations.

 WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING COURSES:

-Community leadership

-Beautiful trouble as a campaign strategy and demonstration

-Ecological regeneration

-Community resilience

-Nonviolent communication strategy

-Environmental and regionalism conflict

-Ethnicity and Tribalism conflict

 LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT:

-French into the local language (Sousou, Konianke, Mandinka)

-English into Local language ( Sousou, Konianke , Mandinka)

 REPORTING LANGUAGE:

-English( International Language to send reports to donors and partners)

-French (Official Language of Guinea)

-N’KO (National Language of Guinea)

PLACE OF IMPLEMENTATION

-The project will be implemented in the North and South of the country

-Region Base Cote North:  Boke and Camsar

-Region of Forest:  Nzerekore and its sub-regions

 THE RISK:

There is a risk that some members will be arrested for false accusations by the corrupted government because the chiefs of those communities are corrupted by the government, local authorities, and mining companies. Guinea is a country where traditional hierarchy is powerful than constitutional, and in a country where traditional hierarchy is more powerful than constitutional laws, democracy has no place in such a country. For security reasons, we will be in permanent contact with international actors and NGOs for human rights in case of incarceration or arrest for no concrete reason. However, we will have government officials and other actors from the government and local authorities. We do not fear, we are determined for our communities and our people for the sake of national and global environmental issues.

 THE IMPACT AND RESULT:

To raise awareness of the community and Guineans about future ecological problems, climate change, and global warming-related to deforestation and land misuse.
To make life accessible and affordable to communities living in rural areas so that they can protect themselves from abuse; Engage them in ecological regeneration by planting trees that have been destroyed by logging and mining companies.  Build a strong and resilient community. Build a new leadership in the community and take up ecological and climate issues as the primary cause of the continuity of life on this planet.

CHALLENGE WE FACE:

Our immense challenge today is not how to face the government or take action but it is the essential materials and budget to realize the project because our government and the local authorities don't want to hear the project that highlights their malicious and weakness. By contrast, the local authority threatens young leaders who attempt to come to help those communities in mining areas. We know if we depend on the government and local authority to realize this project, nothing will change. They have all legal protection in their official language as they showed us to intimidate us in case of any attempt to denounce them - but nothing is applied to the community as it is written in their legal textbook. For this reason, we are pulling our hands for worldwide NGOs, Foundations, and donors to help with realizing this project.

CONTACT US 

Mr.Fofana O Kerfala, the Founder of YAMAFRIK and United Action for Community Development
Graduate of Master in International Peace, Conflict and Development Studies
UNESCO Institute for Peace and Development – Jaume I University Castellon - Spain

Mrs.Malofo Dramé 
MA in Human Resource Management
University of Koffi Annan 
Conakry - Guinea
Vice President of United Action for Community Development
E-mail: united-action@socialworker.net

Dr.Ousmane  Souare
Co-Founder in Guinea
MA in International Laws
Faculty of Laws  and Social Sciences
Sidi Mohabed Abden Abdellah University
Fez - Morocco