Answer: Isatou says that when we abuse the environment, we are really abusing ourselves. You can help by learning about recycling and trying to reduce the waste your family creates. It is women who are in charge of waste and they are dedicated to their communities, and can really contribute a lot,” said Ceesay. And Isatou didn’t stop there. She and her friends have used some of their income to fund a community vegetable garden, which raises money to send orphaned children to school. International markets

Although Ceesay's focus has thus far been on Africa, she has the wider world in her sights. “Whatever country we are in, it is so important to spread the word,“ she says. “This is a big global problem, and by connecting with similar people across the world I believe we can together make a lot of changes to help the situation we are in – the sky's the limit.“ And yet, Isatou persisted. Twenty-five years later, her photo is on display at the national museum in Kachikally and in popular city restaurants such as Smile Lounge in the touristy area known as Senegambia. Her story has been told in books and documentaries. Above all, WIG is not only still active, but it has also expanded into nearly every corner of Gambian society and is inspiring countless individuals and groups to find solutions to problems other than plastic waste. In the Gambia, the community organisation WIG has been educating communities about the hazards of burning rubbish, and teaching them how to recycle, since 2009.

An uphill struggle

A young woman, Isatou discovers that plastic bags are being used more and more in her village- and being tossed aside, littering the ground. Undoubtedly, Isatou’s story is unique and remarkable. It teaches us that we all have a duty and a responsibility towards our environment and that our little efforts can go a long way. Almost twenty years later, she one day came to notice just how ridiculed even the main streets of N’jau were plagued with high piles of trash, consisting of all forms from discarded plastics, tins, tires, house waste, and especially plastic bags, surrounded with puddles of water and malaria-infected mosquitoes[1,3]. Worst of all, the people of the village would have playgrounds, food markets and animal feeding grounds next to these piles, unaware of the harm in which they were putting themselves at risk. Because of this, animal deaths from consuming plastic plagued the village, as well as outbreaks of malaria and other diseases, dominated her village because there was no established system in place for trash disposal other than throwing it outside behind their homes[1,2]. Furthermore, because of poverty and desperation, people were starting to burn these plastic bags as fuel for warmth and cooking [1,2], and this was Ceesay’s call to action that something had to change. Using her gained knowledge of recycling and upcycling from the Peace Corps, together with her local women’s group, Ceesay brought to life the idea of reusing these plastic bags to make purses that could be sold for money. They would gather the plastic bags, dry them out and tear them into small yarn like threads called ‘plarn’ which they would weave into small hand held bags[1,2]. The process would utilize about ten plastic bags to make each of their bags[1,3], but even with this achievement societal norms were still against them for it was improper for women to be working and created ridicule was seen as improper to be digging through trash instead of doing typical household work and because they were all women, it also raised questions on their ability to execute[1]. Despite all this Ceesay remained determined and took her products to a nearby city to sell, and managed to sell out the first batch. With this, the business continued to grow and succeed and managed to create an income for the women of the village, who were now able to take care of their families and this continued growth led to the birth of the N’jau Recycling and Income Generation Group (NRIGG)[1,3]. Ceesay did not stop there however, she continued to help the women prosper by helping them manage this wealth and open bank accounts, and even went on to build a skill center in N’jau that would bring women together and help them work on broader lifestyle and professional skills[1]. Today, the center and model still continue to grow, as they have continued to turn different types of waste into different products including compost, jewelry, beads, armchairs, stools and has even expanded into selling to bigger markets including the United States[1]. This is the first project to train people in reprocessing techniques across the waste streams,” explained Mike Webster, the project manager from the WasteAidUK initiative, which delivered its inaugural project with the livelihood NGO Concern Universal. “There are plenty of reprocessing projects that haven’t got off the ground because the technology is out of reach for most people. We have focused purposefully on entry-level systems that can be made locally, and the waste materials that are actually here, not a western perception of what should be recycled.“It was really important to partner with a local organisation with strong community links. This is as much about behaviour change and finding new ways of incentivising waste management. Our focus groups showed that even a tiny financial incentive can make for effective collection systems, people are really interested in learning how to make income from waste.”

She sees families, women, and children use plastic to light up charcoal stoves: “they and their kids were directly breathing those toxic fumes. I realized we had to change this.” Abusing the environment has obvious consequences: Mongabay Kids: What was the plastic bag pollution problem like in your community before you had the idea to recycle the bags into products like purses?One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia". www.publishersweekly.com . Retrieved 2019-11-01.