About us
About Wassor
We started operating from the UK and online within our president’s capacity and expertise. We have reached under half of million people so far. We organised five spaces, we invited experts in their fields and people with lived experiences. Those with lived experiences were vetting by our president, Bineta Thiam, they had to meet certain criteria, such as have a diagnosis, be in treatment and have capacity. They were asked for their consent to record the spaces and were told about their right to withdraw from the space at any time and were debriefed at the end.
WASSOR is located at the nexus of the general population and mental health services. WASSOR gives information with regards to common mental health issues, it also considers the local needs and realities. Thus, before shifting and prioritising raising awareness and engaging in destigmatisation, WASSOR created and distributed a questionnaire, the results are provided in the next section.
Where Do You Come In?
We need funds. Our ambitions are big, they are doable but not without support and backing from the relevant authorities, including the Senegalese govt. The funds will be used fo
- Scholarships
- To facilitate, train and run workshops;
- To create employment;
- Fund our face-to-face and online activities;
- For consultants;
- For legal representation;
- to organise conferences
- And for a land, building our community centre;
Mission Statement
We aim to raise awareness and destigmatise psychological distress and to foster the autonomy responsibilities:
We intend to build an information and learning centre, as well as a shelter for vulnerable women where they can find tailored advice, signposting, and assistance (psychological, financial, administrative and/or legal);
We offer a space where they can voice their needs and struggles and explore their prospects. In Senegalese society, divorced, widowed, and other forms of single motherhood including women with caring responsibilities are often not seen nor heard to the point of stigmatization.
Brand Beliefs
We strongly believe that with their voices informing our strategies, together we can foster a healthier community. Poverty and caring responsibilities for someone with disabilities have been linked to negative mental wellbeing7. Therefore, we will focus on economic activities of the women from our community. Women’s economic activities in Senegal depend on geography. For example, those in rural areas make 70% of the workforce in the agricultural sector, according to UN WOMEN. Despite local traditions, the low status of women in wider society in general, lack of access to financing, legal documentation, access to national and international markets and theeffects of climate change.
Brand-Positioning
Our brand is liberation centred, we believe in the capability of our communities, as demonstrated above, to bring about changes for themselves and the future generations. We are grassroots with lived experiences, and we will operate with participatory action with transformative goals. Our Modus Operandi is based on Decolonial and Feminist ethics of working with Others and caring for them. We are and represent the people we work for/with, we have lived these realities. These make the difference between Wassor and other COB/NGOs.
Target Audience
We serve all who have been impacted by psychological or are just willing to learn and women with caring responsibilities of a family member with a physical or mental disability
Grassroot Collective
We are a grassroot team of Senegalese from many diverse backgrounds, expertise and experiences in community and communication development, project and organization management, social science, etc.At the heart of the organization are transparency and regular report writing for our beneficiaries, to decision-makers and donors. Each member of our team believes in empowering individuals and the community alike. We enjoy involvement in community projects.We have partnered with professionals in the UK and Senegal.
Brand Culture
- Respect: we will respect the dignity, privacy and autonomy of every individual or community involved with WASSOR and in all capacity.
- Integrity: we will interrogate our positionality; we will be aware of our competencies and limitations. We will do our best to outsource and develop the skills we need to be more
efficient. - Transparency: both in our internal environment (decision making, resource allocation and in our external interventions.
- Trauma-informed care: we will do what we can and must to reduce revictimization.