TRAINING AND INFORMATION CAMPAIGN ON THE ... - Fokus

effective public speakers with fluency in several local languages. The TV-project has been especilly
instrumental in freeing up Dr. Touray to work full-time on coordinating the project.
GAMCOTRAP does not employ an approach of stressing charismatic personalities. Although both
Amie and Isatou are indeed well known and respected in the communities in which they work (and their
names at times show up in praise-songs) they stress that ”GAMCOTRAP is not Amie or Isatou.” The
groundwork that they have done over so many years could be continued by other dedicated activists,
and there is evidence of training of junior staff and volunteers and the transfer of competency, as was
particularly demonstrated by the active participation in the dissemination exercise of Musa Jallow and
Omar Dibbah. This philosophy was also evident during the field visit (as was also the case during the
evaluator’s travels with the group in 1997-98) – GAMCOTRAP staff behave in an extremely humble
way when ”on trek.” They use very modest accomodations, eat simple food, and work long hours without
ever complaining about discomfort or fatigue. GAMCOTRAP staff meet community members on their
own terms, joining them in their work and domestic responsibilities. They are acutely aware of farming
cycles and women’s domestic labor burdens and make a genuine and concerted effort to empathize with
the realities of the people they are trying to reach. GAMCOTRAP also has a firm policy of not handing
out cash to praise-singers, kanyelengs, and others. Instead, they budget for a collective contribution to be
given at the end of the visit to a designated group of women.
GAMCOTRAP are veterans in the field of anti-FGM activism and are anchored in long-term
relationships with the communities they serve, and their approach is characterized by frankness and
transparency. While remaining attuned to the need to show respect (especially for elders, dignitaries, and
individuals with particular prestige) the activists never conceal their agenda nor make excuses for their
convictions. Because there has been no attempt throughout the sustained campaign to veil the message
or hide it within other agendas, GAMCOTRAP appears to have ultimately gained the respect of the
populations they have worked so long to sensitize.
While never straying from the agenda that was set out at the inception of the Gambian IAC chapter,
it is evident that GAMCOTRAP staff display flexibility and adaptability in tailoring their message to
specific community realities and are open to making adjustements in campaign approaches over time.
Thus, there has in some communities been a greater emphasis than in others on refuting the allegation
that FGM is a religious injunction and breaking the taboo of men as sole custodians of religion; and
GAMCOTRAP shows great skill in utilizing collaborations with religious scholars. They also display a
great deal of insight into geographic and ethnic variations in the practice of FGM; and presentations
are angled to best resonate with community realities. During the field visit, this was particularly evident
in the advice offered regarding reproductive health care surrounding consummation of marriage in
communities practicing ”sealing,” (an important component of the strengthening of IEC capacity of
the traditional healers who are usually the first to treat these cases), as well as in discussions about Spain’s
anti-FGM law in villages that have seen many of its young people emigrate there.
When asked what changes have emerged in their campaign strategies over time, they pointed to
the increasing use over the last few years of traditional communicators and drawing on the cultural
centrality of dance, song, and music. Also, in the past, there was more of a strategy of training a few
representatives from each of many communities, while they have now realized that this places too much
of a burden on a few people to return to their communities and try to recount all that they learned
in training and alone attempt to effect collective change (this was also expressed in some of the field
interviews as extremely challenging by attendees who pleaded for the support of workshops to be held
in their communities). Now they focus instead on mass meetings and collective change through targeting
a ”cluster” of villages centered around a major community (see Appendix 5 for adiagram) aimed at
18