Stories From The Field: Community Transformation
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Back to our Roots in Senegal

DIG's first seeds were sown in Senegal over a decade ago. Now, we're back, and we've seen those first seeds grow into leaders, businesses, and thriving communities. Learn how DIG continues to adapt the program to serve some of the world's most uniquely vulnerable people. See how they are not only finding household resilience but are contributing to their broader communities as well.

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Greg Bogdan’s Memorial Garden in Sapla Kenya

In the countries where we work, you’re more likely to hear about the DIG program from our graduated farmers than through fancy signs or posted advertisements. Our local reputation is critically important to the success of our work, which is designed to be approachable and community driven. Some of our most successful garden groups have joined DIG through friend recommendations, and that’s just what happened in Sapla Kenya. Lorna, the sister to one of our graduated farmers, was so interested

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Greg Bogdan’s Mkungu Memorial Garden, Uganda

Thank you to Greg Bogdan for encouraging DIG to grow and showing us that challenging efforts aren't to be shied away from, rather these are efforts we can work out together. Equally, thank you to the incredible community who loved and cherished Greg and who personally donated to DIG in his memory. May this garden and the gift of his presence in our lives continue to root and grow in us.

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MetroFresh’s 2020 DIG Garden ~ Ziguinchor, Senegal

In 2019 at a DIG Cocktails and Castoffs event, MetroFresh, a local Atlanta restaurant, encouraged their community to help sponsor a DIG garden in Senegal. They have previously sponsored a garden in Kenya and Uganda and this year they wanted to spread the seeds of transformation in Senegal. Their support has sustainably equipped 13 uniquely vulnerable families in the city of Ziguinchor, Senegal to become food secure, nutritionally rich, climate resilient, and economically secure. Here are some of the stories

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Maureen Oboch – Orange Sweet Potato Entrepreneur

“DIG brought me up from a level no one else would have done, I leant a number of techniques that have enables me to succeed even in other projects, I have done all these because DIG opened my potential in farming, DIG connected me to Ministry of Agriculture and I got connected further to CIP. For sure my life has improved beyond what anyone expected.” – Maureen Oboch Maureen Oboch first joined DIG’s program back in 2016. She is from

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Saphietu – First Time Gardener

I want to introduce you to one of the amazing women in our LAUNCH Program in Senegal, Saphiatu. Saphiatu lives in Ziguinchor. She and her husband have never held a formal job. He makes money doing odd jobs primarily around electrical work when he can find it. When money really gets desperate Saphiatu mixes a homemade bleach solution to sell in the local market. They have a 15-year-old daughter and they are also shouldering the burden of caring for their

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Embracing Communities with Disabilities in Uganda

Levi Byamukama has a vibrant social energy. He greets everyone with a smile and moves through life with joyful curiosity. One day, after seeing a group of Batwa DIG farmers gathered in the fields, Levi moved closer to see what was happening. He ended up staying through an entire DIG training and returned the weeks following. After a while, the group elected he join them and Levi became an official DIG farmer.

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DIG Batwa Farmers: Katamas and Hope

This Batwa family used to beg for dregs, feeding their 5 children the leftover sorghum from a locally produced drink only once per day. When the couple joined the DIG program, they were skeptical of the outcome as many NGO’s had come to their village for projects that were short-term.

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DIG Deeper: Batwa Program Entering Year 2

After getting on the ground in November 2016, DIG spent two months undergoing an intensive site assessment through a baseline study, stakeholder analysis, committee and leadership meetings, crop viability study, building a team, and fine tuning the implementation model.

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