Education Senegal Project #29284

Secure livelihoods for vulnerable youth in Senegal

by Aspyre Africa

Project Report | Mar 8, 2018
Graduation time

By Savina Geerinckx | Director

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that the first group of talibés has now finished their 10 month training. We were back in Senegal last month to witness the final weeks of training and most importantly the module in chicken rearing, which was received with great enthusiasm! It took some careful planning and teamwork to secure the regular feeding and watering of the chicks, but they all did an excellent job and of the 100 chicks raised, only 2 died. They will soon be sold at a unit price of 3000 CFA (£4), of which all the profit will go to the talibés. The CIPA training centre will only recover the initial investment for the 100 chicks. Usually the CIPA shares the profit of the sales with the students, but because of the extreme vulnerability of the talibés CIPA Director Mr Diop decided to give all of the profit to them. We highly appreciate his caring gesture towards our vulnerable students.

At the end of the training the talibés all passed a comprehensive assessment test of knowledge and skills acquired through the “Competence-based Approach” method. Mr Diop was very pleased with the outcome as he confessed that the beginning had not been easy at all due to the low, often non-existent, level of education of the talibés. The talibés found it particularly difficult to get used to the formal and stringent system throughout the training: a way of life they had not previously been exposed to in the Koranic schools. Worried that the delicate timetable might clash with the talibes’ other commitments, he had been hesitant to include the chicken-rearing module in their course. However, they made it work and the results were impressive. Today the Director is totally open to renewing this enriching experience with other cohorts of talibés!

The graduation ceremony is scheduled for the 20^th April, the National Day of the Talibé Child, and we are planning to invite authorities, other Koranic teachers, potential partners as well as the media. We will also seize this perfect opportunity to launch our “Sustainable Livelihoods” project that you are supporting, for which we may have just found the perfect partnership with free access to land and further capacity building. In the coming weeks the talibés will be working closely with our local partner to develop their business plans with both collective and individual targets. Our aim is to be able to launch their activities around their graduation time. We look forward to updating you on the progress soon after the ceremony, including with some videos!

Thank you so much for your support!! With warm wishes, Savina

Our Project Manager with the CIPA Director

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Dec 8, 2017
Field visit to Saint-Louis Senegal November 2017

By Savina Geerinckx | Project Leader & Director Aspyre Africa

With one of the Koranic teachers we work with

“I was born in Guinea...where I lost both my parents when I was still very young. I never went to school in Guinea, but when I was old enough I started working as a builder. My aim was to save up enough money so I could travel to Dakar. All my friends had parents who looked after them, but I had no one there. So I made it to Dakar, and from there to Saint-Louis because I had heard about the "daaras", and I wanted to learn the Koran. I am so grateful today that in addition to receiving a religious education, I am also learning horticulture. We are learning so many things! If only I could access some land when I graduate, I know I could do a great job!” (Abdoulaye, 18)

I have just returned from my most recent field visit to Senegal, and wanted to share with you how amazing it was to discuss the future with every single one of our 20 talibés. While they are still finishing their 10-month training in horticulture, it is thanks to your support that I was able to explore with them the next steps towards a sustainable livelihood. Through individual interviews, I got to hear their personal stories first hand, just like Abdoulaye's.

Many expressed how unsure they were about their future before the training, and how they feel much more confident today because of the skills they learned. But they also shared their fears about the road ahead, aware that training alone is not enough. Their testimonies showed me how important it is to take the time to fully understand every person's situation. Some of them have a family and fertile land to go back to, others left remote areas ravaged by droughts. Few of them were considering going back without some savings in their pockets, and more work experience to succeed on their own. I also spent hours talking to their Koranic teachers to understand their point of view and the commitments they had made towards the talibés’ parents. This made me fully understand the importance of making room for a transition phase, where these talibés can start earning a living through horticulture, while fulfilling their other commitments.

My next visit is already booked for the end of January, and it is our objective to have individual & collective plans in place by the time they finish their training at the end of February. Thanks to your support we will be able to help them with accessing land, equipment and provide further capacity building after their graduation. I look forward to updating you soon on each one of our young men's progress.

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Thank you once again for your generous support and warm wishes from the Aspyre Africa Team!

Horticulture training in progress

Group portrait

Individual Portrait

Trainer demonstrating to student

Conversation at the mobile office

Links:

Aspyre Africa Website

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