Capacity Building for Young Entrepreneurs

Dear Supporter,

I have just returned from Senegal after spending one month in the field, and I am delighted to tell you that our Young Horticulturists of Saint-Louis have now started harvesting and selling their African eggplants/aubergine as well as their first onions!

The replanting of the onion seedlings turned out to be a much bigger task than they had imagined, having never worked on such a scale before, but they got there in the end. With the technical support provided, in particular by the young agronomist from the university farm, they are learning every day how to tackle the challenges of the land. Under his guidance, they are currently updating the calendar of crops to not only make the full use of the available land, but also take into account the market prices and potential profits to be made. With the water now flowing and the temperatures in Saint-Louis rising, the conditions are ideal for the watermelon, okra and cucumbers they just planted to thrive.

Meanwhile, their network of customers (actual and potential) has been growing by the day and they have had no problems selling their produce. They also made their first two visits to the bank to make deposits, a very encouraging development for all of us . With all the technical & business sides well taken care of, the current challenges we are facing are dealing with health issues & the lack of support from some parents, both leading to absences. While I seized the opportunity to undertake family visits while in Senegal, we realized our project manager needs to spend more time with the parents to keep them fully on board. To tackle the access to medical care, we visited the university’s medical centre nearby, whose staff is now willing to look after our beneficiaries at no cost. On our visit however we also witnessed the severe shortage of medical equipment and medications the centre has.

Our young horticulturists have shown great perseverance in often challenging conditions. They are very much aware that the strategic planning of crops and quality produce can make all the difference. However, as planned, they will need the continued guidance to guarantee their success.

Please help us provide ongoing support for The Young Horticulturists of Saint-Louis by donating to this project again. Regular donations would be particularly helpful.

If you happen to know how to access donations of medical equipment or drugs to help the university medical centre, please do get in touch.

Thank you for your continued support!!!