Niger visit to francophone Ontario

(From a text by Chérif Chako, from the Économie solidaire de l'Ontario no. 13 information newsletter. Dr. Chérif Chako, Chairman of the Board, Niger Network for the promotion of social solidarity economy, (RENIPESS))

With resources to the bone
I had dreams like Martin Luther King. It all begins with a dream … dreams come before an idea.

The first dream was the social solidarity economy. A new way of experiencing and thinking about the economy. Actually, this is the first virtue of the Economy, in other words, restoring the Human Person, rather than participating in the rapid, unsettled race towards profits. Profits are not excluded, but they must contribute to virtue and increase the value of social capital.

The second dream is to share values with women and men from elsewhere, from different cultures and different countries. There are many dreams—including visiting Canada for the first time and my appreciation of Canadians.

These dreams have come true thanks to the Uniterra program. I was a volunteer and happily accepted to participate in the conference on community economic development in Vancouver, British Columbia.

I learned a lot, and mostly I understood that globalization turns the world into a small village, and also creates the conditions under which we fight for the causes we have in common. I have expanded my world of contacts and I finally understood why there were so many Canadian delegates at Dakar 2005.

Unforgettable Ontario
Vancouver was, in some ways, a laboratory. In reality, my first field experiences were spent in Ontario. If everyone was like people in Ontario, the implementation of the social solidarity economy around the world would be much easier and attainable.

My first visits were in a surprising world, in a northern country, in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital. In the South, it’s harder to imagine that marginalization can exist in the North as well. Our initiative was already a good one: Coopérative 301 inc, with its different activities including sewing, a shop and its ties with the Ten Thousand Villages movement. It has resolved to contribute to collective well-being by allowing personal growth and by allowing women and men to believe in their capacity to make a difference. Coopérative 301 inc helped me restore my belief in human values. The building is home to other rehabilitation efforts such as the Laundromat where it costs a dollar to be a member. Beyond the restoration of human values through clean clothes, there are moments where individuals who are considered to be homeless by society can come together to share moments.

Another example of a multi-faceted complex in Ontario that I experienced was the Vanier Community Service Centre. This centre deals with different stages of marginalization experienced by people of different ages, and in different ways: welcome, defending rights with the legal clinic, food assistance, housing assistance, etc.

The CESOC is an organization that fights against marginalization, the non-recognition of diplomas, discrimination against those belonging to a francophone minority, and provides complementary training, assistance with job hunting, or simply social insertion requiring not only undeniable experience, but major organization in terms of defending rights to avoid all possible forms of marginalization.

The determination to never give up is also embodied in the Centre for Integration, Training and Economic Development (CIFODE). Minorities experience specific limitations. In this organization, visible minorities—young people or women from elsewhere, mainly from Africa—have come together and given each other reason to hope that, as they say and write, they will “serve as a catalyst for various initiatives which are relevant to community economic development”. These women serve as the stable foundation for the creation of the social solidarity economy; the other element is made up of young people.

Then there are the enthusiastic, ardent youth with the FESFO: Geneviève and Eric gave me a reason to believe that revolutionaries still exist. I ensure you that I will share this dream with young people so that it becomes an idea, then an action, a habit, a characteristic and a destiny.

The extraordinary determination in rural Ontario
Social economy movements in rural Francophone Ontario seduced and even moved me. The cooperative cheese factory in Saint Albert has a long social history that lies at the heart of its community. It is the epicentre of the village where hospitality is felt everywhere including in the little countryside coffee house, which has become a social respite in “a society where everyone is pressed for time”.

I would like to tie this in with Alfred College, the Francophone campus of the University of Guelph, which hosts the Foire Gourmande. It’s hard to forget such a gastronomical experience that brings to city closer to the country.

I will never forget the Sugar shack of the Mountain. Pierre Faucher is as solid as a rock and what he organizes to revitalize culture through maple sugar development, social and cultural tourism, as well as international cooperation impressed me very much.

Capitalization is necessary
To top it all off, there was the final conference. A group spontaneously organized a meeting in Ottawa that lead to much networking. The Niger Ambassador to Canada, Her Excellency Nana Aïcha was present and spoke about the situation of women and the necessity of developing the social solidarity economy through concrete actions. Nicole Sauvé of the RDÉE in Ontario was able to fund this conference with the help of UNITERRA and the Conseil de la Coopération de l’Ontario that I was able to meet …

Retelling my experience puts a lot of responsibility on my shoulder. First and foremost, I must use this wealth of experiences for my own environment. I can only hope that from my experiences in Ontario, we can continue to reinforce the network.
THANK YOU!

Chérif Chako
RENIPESS Niger

NOTE: This North-South partnership project is implemented with the help of Éthel Côté, Chairperson of the Ontario Solidarity Economy network and member of the Board of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNET).