Celebrating Earth Day: How Empowering Women Leads to Protecting the Environment in West Africa

Author Miranda Paul and Gambian activist Isatou Ceesay will talk about the struggles and successes of getting sustainable development projects off the ground in Gambian villages.In the late 1990s, Isatou Ceesay teamed up with Peace Corps volunteer Peggy Sedlak and four Gambian women to tackle the growing "plastic-bag problem." Ridiculed at first, the women (and a few men) have now recycled countless plastic bags and formed a cooperative organization promoting health, education and environmental issues. Isatou Ceesay was the 2012 recipient of a "World of Difference" award from The International Alliance for Women.Miranda Paul is the author of One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia. Over the past decade, she has traveled to the Gambia as a volunteer, teacher, and fair trade and literacy advocate.Presented in partnership with Baltimore GreenWorks.Recorded On: Wednesday, April 22, 2015