When Fatimata speaks about her community’s future, she doesn’t reach for a document or a speech. She points to a brightly painted board standing at the village entrance. The drawings show a health post, a school, a clean well, and people sitting together in dialogue. Each image holds a piece of the future her neighbors imagined together — their shared vision of wellbeing and dignity.
In the Contuboel sector of Guinea-Bissau’s Bafatá region, these painted boards have become landmarks of collective purpose. Created through Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP), they reflect the visions that emerged during community assemblies where women, men, and youth gathered to discuss what kind of future they wanted to build.
During the process, every voice mattered. Participants spoke about what they valued most — education for children, access to health care, clean water, and harmony among families. From these conversations, the Community Management Committees (CMCs) began translating ideas into concrete plans. Over time, the 40 participating communities designed and painted plaques that captured these aspirations for all to see.
Placed at the entrance of each village, the boards speak a language everyone understands. Residents pause to look. Visitors stop to listen. Local officials see the priorities of the people they serve.
“Before, we waited for others to tell us what to expect,” Fatimata said. “Now, we can show what we are working toward.”
Across the region, these visual statements are changing how people engage with one another and with institutions. The boards have become starting points for conversation — reminders that community development begins with dialogue and continues through shared responsibility. They stand as daily affirmations that progress is not given, but created together.
For the people of Bafatá, this practice is shaping a quiet form of democracy — one rooted in trust, listening, and participation. Through this process, communities are learning that citizenship is not limited to casting a vote or receiving services. It means expressing a vision, engaging in dialogue, and working collectively to make that vision real.
Each painted board now carries two meanings. It reflects the aspirations of those who created it, and it serves as a public message to anyone who passes by: that when communities unite around a shared dream, their voices can help shape the future of Guinea-Bissau.