Born in Médina Fall, a village in the Thiès region, Gora Diakhaté is a young man devoted to the cult of work, and loves to practice his trade on the land.

After a troubled school career, Gora gave up his studies to focus entirely on his passion: farming. “With my parents, we often went out into the fields and that’s where this passion was born.”

Over the years, Gora accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field, but didn’t know how to put it to good use. It wasn’t until he met a friend of his that things began to change. The friend put him in touch with the Kajoor Jankeen Federation, which was selecting young people for the Challenge program. His profile convinced the recruiters, and Gora became a beneficiary of the program’s training courses. “From the selection period onwards, I knew the program was worthwhile.”

He then attended training courses in life skills and entrepreneurship, from which he drew many of the elements needed to implement his activities. “Before I only grew mint leaves and lettuce, but since the lesson on self-confidence, I’ve had the courage to grow parsley, chillies, and in the coming years I’ll increase production. It may be a risk, but I’ll know how to go about it.”

Gora is now starting to set goals and aims to achieve them, thanks to the various activities she has taken part in during the program. From the thematic workshops that enabled her to strengthen her knowledge of the agri-business world; to the educational expeditions that gave her more motivation and new perspectives for the future; to the retreats that offered her the opportunity to meditate on herself and gain a clear vision; and finally to the community service projects; Gora had all the tools she needed to manage her business successfully.

These new investments are aimed at increasing market garden production to fill the market gap in the Thiès region. The very name of his project, “dolel maraîchage”, attests to its relevance. “Market gardening in our region is not over-developed, and it’s up to us young people to give it the strength to grow to boost our economy. My aim with this project is to fight for food self-sufficiency and enable other young people to find sustainable employment.”

That’s why, in view of the major challenge in this field, Gora still can’t grasp the motivation that drives his peers to leave their homeland. “Our parents left us land, and it’s up to us to take over instead of leaving for other horizons. There’s work to be done here, you just need ambition and the will to work, and together we can win the bet.”

For Gora, these young people need to move away from the hand-out policy and take charge of their own affairs. “Financing is a problem for young people, of course, but if they believe in their abilities, and have full confidence, they’re capable of taking the plunge without waiting for anyone to help them. Personally, I don’t expect anything from anyone. On the contrary, I invest with my own means because I believe in what I do.”