We are a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting democracy, human rights, and social justice in The Gambia and beyond. Our foundation was named after Solo Sandeng, a Gambian political activist who was tortured and murdered for protesting against bad electoral laws in Africa`s smallest in-land nation The Gambia, on April 14th 2016. The foundation works to continue Solo Sandeng's legacy of standing up for justice, striving to protect civil and political rights and a better future for all Gambians.
Welcome to Solo Sandeng Foundation
SSF works to continue Solo Sandeng's legacy of patriotism and voluntarism.
As a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting democracy, human rights, and social justice in The Gambia and beyond. The foundation was named after Solo Sandeng, a Gambian political activist who was tortured and murdered for protesting against bad electoral laws in the Gambia. SSF works to continue Solo Sandeng's legacy of standing up for justice and fighting for a better future for all Gambians. We engage government and other stakeholders in decision making on matter of our interest areas through dialogue and advocacy. Highlighting Gambia`s past democratic struggle in order to inform the present and future is a key aspect of our work at SSF. We work to achieve the latter through memorialization initiatives, Human Rights education and advocacy for policy reforms.
Project
April 14th Commemoration
Each year, on the 14th day of April, Solo Sandeng Foundation organizes activities to commemorate the protest, arrest, and subsequent death in custody of Mr. Sandeng with renewed demands for proper social and political reforms. Some of these activities include a March pass, webinars, and conferences on socio- political issues in The Gambia.
Freedom Walk
This is a march done annually from Tipper Garage to Westfield (Gambia), where Solo and his comrades walked on April 14th, 2016, demanding proper electoral reforms
Memorialization initiative
Our memorialization initiatives aim to preserve stories of Gambia`s democratic struggle to promote justice and learning for future generations.
Projects
Security Sector Reforms
SSR is an important component of transitional justice processes that contribute to building a stable, secure, and democratic society. It helps to build trust between the state and the citizens. In the Gambia`s case, security forces have been implicated in serious human rights violations. SSR provides an opportunity to address these issues and restore public confidence in the security sector by addressing the structural and systemic issues within.
One of our most significant works is focused on reforming Gambia´s Security Sector institutions. Key security institutions (Police and Military) were weaponized during the dictatorial regime to suppress dissent and critiques through arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and enforced disappearances.Human Rights Advocacy
Human rights advocacy is a critical tool for promoting, protecting, and defending rights of citizens and non alike. We engage in advocating for a human rights sensitive and compliant society by raising awareness of the population especially youth, school children and marginalized groups such as victims of human rights violations of the dictatorial regime. We conduct these through trainings in schools and community engagements. SSF also promotes democratic participation by empowering citizens through interfaces with law makers and other elected officials to enable them hold government and other actors accountable by informing of their rights and responsibilities. Promote justice and accountability through dialogue, build solidarity by empowering and amplifying victim voices, promote social change through legislative reforms.