Since 1994 the Federation for the development of the informal sector (Fedesi) has worked towards organizing and developing economic activity among labourers of the unofficialized sector who endure very precarious work conditions. Recognition of the civic and social role played by this category of the population, who has been left on the wayside, is also a primary objective. Before the tragic events of September 2002, Fedesi included 12 000 members in 250 groups dispersed throughout virtually the entire territory. As a result the 200 000 persons (members and their families) who benefit directly of Fedesi’s support had seen their autonomy and survival increase, and a control of their own destinies affirmed, thanks to:
° a rotative savings and credit system which allows credits to be obtained by the needy with the reimbursement of loans by those who have already been aided
° various training courses offering reading, writing, accounting and negotiating skills
When the Ivory Coast fell into the perspective of imminent war in September 2002, Fedesi, who has always recruited members without distinction for ethnic or religious beliefs, continued to fight daily to maintain social bonds, denounce hate talk and discrimination, support refugees and favour the reintegration of populations hard hit by the conflict. This created the seed for a project in the West of the country, in the Bangolo region, to support the communities hardest hit. In 2007 a vast program of Fedesi’s activities was relaunched, in view of attaining the whole of the territories.
Birth of a Partnership
At the very beginning of the 1990s, thousands of Ivory Coastmen, hit by their country’s economic crisis and forced to live in very precarious human and material conditions, created economic activities geared for survival (small businesses, artisanship …). Frères des Hommes decided to support one of the initiatives organised to aid these contributors to the economy who are rarely recognized and rarely aided. Fedesi (federation for the development of the informal sector) was officially born out of this in 1994. Frères des Hommes and Fedesi have since worked as partners to improve the living conditions of these men and women who every day fight for social, economic, and civic recognition of their actions.
