Who we are · in English
About the association
Discussions since 1986, official recognition in 1995, relaunch in 2026: the association of Bédjondo and its diaspora, its mission, its organisation and its values.
An association that is starting again
ADEB LONODJI is not a new project. Bedjond professionals began discussing it in 1986; the association was officially recognised in 1995, held its first forum in Bédjondo itself in 2000, then a second forum in Bébopen in December 2003. After years of dormancy, its members undertook its revival and modernisation in 2026, in consultation with other community initiatives. The aim is not to compete with existing structures but to build on what exists: a more inclusive and modern framework that brings existing initiatives together.
What our name says
Development of Bédjondo and the Bedjond country is the association’s first purpose: agriculture and food security, entrepreneurship and inclusive finance, environment and climate, water, sanitation and hygiene, energy, roads and urban planning, education and youth, women’s empowerment, health and nutrition. Mutual aid is concrete solidarity between the daughters and sons of Bédjondo wherever they live: social protection and child protection, preparedness for emergencies and risks, attention to people with disabilities and isolated elders, and the link between the diaspora and the home country. Bédjondo is the association’s exclusive anchor: the capital of Mandoul Occidental and the cradle of the Bedjond people.
Our vision
To make ADEB LONODJI a true framework for promoting the values, heritage and history of the Bedjond people; to bring existing initiatives together rather than compete with them; to coordinate advocacy, development and solidarity; and to mobilise the skills, history and heritage of the Bedjond people for future generations. This includes encouraging scientific research on the Sara peoples, starting with the Bedjond, and documenting oral tradition before it is lost. The association’s research base already gathers 40 references — theses, books, field surveys — and the association publishes its own documented syntheses in its journal.
How we are organised
Six pillars (Culture, heritage and transmission; Human capital and social inclusion; Governance, peace and partnerships; Digital and innovation — cross-cutting tools; Inclusive economy and local prosperity; Essential services and territorial development), twenty-two themes, each meant to be led by a coordinator who reports to the members, two cross-cutting units (Funding & Resources; Communication & Digital), an executive committee — Adoumbé Maoura (president), Célestine Moyombaye (vice-president), Salomon Ngarbaye (general secretary), Élisabeth Neloumngaye Ndodinguem (treasurer) — and a facilitator, Bignéro Moïalbéi LE MADANG. Five of the twenty-two themes are still looking for a coordinator.
Values
Courage, discipline, heritage. Honest information: every figure we publish is sourced, and what we do not know is stated as such. Cooperation: with the commune of Bédjondo, the State, development partners, other community associations and the diaspora.
Page carried over from the first version of the site (September 2026) and kept up to date here. Spotted a factual error? Report it (in French): it will be corrected and dated.