Missing voices: what Senegal taught us about systems that listen

When the floods hit Thiès in Senegal, the early warning sirens rang exactly as planned. Messages were sent out, committees met, and the system functioned in the way the manuals described.

Yet in the communities most affected by the rising water levels, many received warnings too late, and some were unable to act on them even when they did. Using the Missing Voices approach, the real issue became clear. The system was working, but it was not working for everyone.

Women heading households explained that alerts often reached them after dark when moving alone felt unsafe. Older residents without smartphones shared that they only learned about evacuation messages through neighbours several hours later. People with disabilities described the fear of receiving an alert they physically could not respond to. None of these realities appeared in standard assessments.

These were not failures in technology. They were missing voices that had not been heard.

What changed when missing voices were heard

Once community groups, overlooked residents, informal networks, and the municipal authorities responsible for early warning were brought into the conversation, the system itself began to shift.

• Vulnerable groups were added to disaster committees, no longer outsiders to decisions that shaped their safety.
• Training and procedures were adapted, so early warnings became accessible to people with disabilities and the elderly.
• Communication channels diversified beyond WhatsApp and smartphones.
• Community-led insights reshaped how preparedness plans were developed and who they centred.

Flood preparedness did not just improve.It became fairer, safer, more accessible, and more responsive, because it considered the realities of all the people it was meant to protect.

This is the essence of the Missing Voices approach.

The approach behind the transformation

The Missing Voices approach is a participatory process that turns listening into a tool for understanding how systems work for some people and fail others. It begins with a simple question: Who is missing from the conversation?

Teams identify people whose realities are not reflected in conventional information or decision-making spaces. These might include women in informal work, people with disabilities, young people, or displaced families. Facilitators then create safe and respectful spaces where participants can share what inclusion, safety, and resilience mean in their everyday lives.

Rather than relying on surveys or predefined questions, these conversations are guided by empathy and curiosity. They capture lived experiences in a way that quantitative data cannot.

The insights gathered shape programme design, institutional practice, and the wider systems in which communities operate. In Senegal, this approach revealed not only unmet needs but also systemic blind spots. It helped shift the early warning system from a purely technical framework to one that is centred on people.

From insights to action

Listening is only meaningful when it informs action. Practical Action uses the insights and findings from The Missing Voices approach, to improve how projects are designed, implemented, and evaluated. They also guide our advocacy and policy work, ensuring that the realities of the most marginalised and of people living in poverty shape the decisions that affect them.

By grounding our work in lived experience, we can question assumptions, strengthen inclusion, and create solutions that last. This approach shifts the focus from how many people are reached to whose perspectives are shaping the change.

Building systems that listen

The Missing Voices approach reminds us that systems change begins with listening. It challenges the idea that expertise only comes from those in positions of power.

Through this approach, Practical Action learns directly from people who experience the consequences of inequality every day. Their insights reveal what needs to change, not only in policies and practices but in how we understand resilience itself.

When we listen to the people that systems overlook, we move closer to a world where everyone’s voice helps shape a more just and sustainable future.

Why this matters for the 16 Days of Activism

As we mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the Missing Voices approach reminds us that inclusion and participation are powerful drivers of resilience and equality. When people who have long been unheard gain the space to participate, they help shape systems that are more responsive, just, and sustainable. Listening to missing voices is not only about representation; it is about transforming how decisions are made so that every person has the power to shape their own future.