Europe Direct Letterkenny are delighted to host a Live Art Exhibition this month with Self Help Africa and Donegal ChangeMakers.

The exhibition runs in Central Library Letterkenny from 21st February until 8th March and will offer the general public an insight into women at the Frontline of Climate Change. There will also be a speaker event at 12.30pm on Tuesday 8th March which will also mark the end of Fairtrade Fortnight 2022.  

Created by Self Help Africa this exhibition shows that Women are the engine of Agriculture, working on small scale farms that support the majority of the continents people. Women till the soil, plant the crops, weed the fields, harvest the produce, transport the goods and prepare the food. But although Africa’s women carry out up to 70% of the manual labour on small farms, they receive only a fraction of the available support .

This photo exhibition takes a close look at the lives of these women, such as Togolese farmer Yendoukoa Assibi who is educating her community about the dangers of deforestation, and Minata and Baba Wedrago from Sika village who dig Zai in the 40 ⁰C heat in Burkina Faso.

And stories from Lipolougou village, where Sana Mamata lives with her daughter-in-law Yougbare and granddaughter Aisha, where 30 villagers have banded together to rehabilitate a water well and are using the water to irrigate a communal vegetable garden. In doing so they have created one small plot of green in the dusty ground and provide enough to feed themselves and their families.

Self Help Africa and Donegal ChangeMakers are together tackling the root causes of injustice and poverty, locally and globally, so that we can create a bright and sustainable future for all. As a partner of ChangeMaker’s in Donegal, this photo exhibition will allow us to look through the lens of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and to learn more about Climate Justice, Sustainable Agriculture, Gender Equality and Ethical Trade.

Denny Elliott head of Self Help Africa Northern Ireland, who will be one of the speakers at the speaker event said: “This exhibition brings home the deepening crisis of climate change and shows how African women are coping with the changing climate in their lives. Self Help Africa is working with local communities to make small daily changes that have real impact. We are bringing this photographic exhibition to venues across Ireland to raise awareness of the support we are providing across sub-Saharan Africa, to enable farmers to grow more and earn more from their small farms with the generosity of the people of Ireland.”

Started in July 2012, Changemakers is now in its 10th year. There are four Project Partners, Inishowen Development Partnership, Donegal Education & Training Board, Self Help Africa and Trocaire. Over the years Changemakers has worked hard to raise awareness of local and global development issues with adults across County Donegal. We have done this through a range of activities, including workshops, accredited learning, ETB tutor education, community arts projects, horticulture and environmental projects, activities for specific groups e.g. older people, community debates and more

Europe Direct is located in Central Library Letterkenny and is there to answer your questions on the EU. We can provide Information on the European Union, access to publications and brochures from EU institutions, access to PCs to search for EU material, a freephone link to the Europe Direct helpdesk, events, talks, exhibitions and competitions. For more information please visit https://www.librariesireland.ie/services/europe-direct or why not have a look at our Europe Direct Letterkenny Facebook page or contact Central Library on 074 91 24950

Please contact ChangeMakers at changemakers@inishowen.ie if you would like an invite to the event on Tuesday 8th March. Due to covid restrictions numbers are limited.