The three-year Migrants as Messengers (MaM) project, a peer-to-peer awareness-raising initiative that gave young people in West Africa the power to decide for themselves whether to migrate, has officially come to an end.
Sheku Bangura, the executive director of the Advocacy Network Against Irregular Migration, noted during the event that the three tactics were used to implement the Migrants as Messengers project in Sierra Leone.
One of the immigrant organizations in Sierra Leone is the Advocacy Network Against Illegal Migration.
He added that the fundamental strategies were digital, on-air, and on-the-ground, with returnee migrants serving as the focal point of awareness-raising in Sierra Leone using a peer-to-peer approach.
He claimed that with regard to digital techniques, sensitization was accomplished through the filming and sharing of videos and images with migrants who had returned home, preventing them from taking the risk of unauthorized migration.
He explained, “The on Air’ technique, migrants returnee do engage on radio and television stations to tell some of their horrible and factual experience and teach others not to incur the risk of going through irregular migration.
He came to the conclusion that for the on-the-ground strategy, youth, stakeholders, and people who are exposed to the risks of illegal migration were typically invited to see their programs, which included dramas, skits, and more, and people were informed about these risks.
A durable coalition that will articulate and promote safe migration and discourage irregular migration beyond the life of MaM will be built through collaborations that build on what has already been accomplished, prevent duplication, and generate synergies. This was observed by the speaker.