Senegal

AGSP/Senegal At a Glance:

• Program Start Date: November 2005
• Academic Focus: Primary and Secondary School
• Academic Year Start: October
• Number of Local partners: 3
• Number of Scholarships to Date: 5,678 (Girls: 4,783 Boys: 895)
• Number of Schools: 104
• Number of Mentors: 104
• Geographic Focus: Fatick, Kolda, Tambacounda

AGSP local partners in Senegal are Femme, Enfance, Environnement (FEE, in Fatick), Groupe d'Action pour le Dévéloppement Communautaire, (GADEC, in Tambacounda), and Organisation de Formation et d'Appui au Dévéloppement (OFAD, in Kolda).

This school year, with the inclusion of boys, 2,190 scholarships were awarded in Senegal, 1,295 for girls, and 895 for boys. The scholarships are comprised of school supplies, books, a hurricane lamp, and money for school fees and food. The scholars are using their scholarship items and are attending school regularly. Across the board our partners are noting an improved performance in school among beneficiaries. Though communities ask for more support to more students, AGSP parents continue to express their gratitude to the US government for their generosity with this program, especially with the addition of boys this year.

The mentoring activities focus on raising awareness around the negative impacts of early marriage and child migration to urban centers. There are currently 104 mentors in Senegal. Mentoring activities involve checking on scholars both while in school as well as while at home. Mentors in the Fatick region, where implementing partner FEE operates the AGSP, report that during their home visits, they also address certain issues that affect the scholars of the region. In particular, the mentors talk with parents about the negative effects of early marriage and the dangers of sending girls to urban centers to look for work. Additionally, the issue of excessive household chores and their negative effect on girls' education is being addressed with parents. Mothers often need to work outside the home and are unable to maintain the household themselves. This burden then falls on the girls and often contributes to their dropping out of school as it becomes impossible to stay on top of their studies while being responsible for the maintenance of the home. Mentors are working with schools administrators and parents to talk about this and figure out the best way to minimize the burden on girls and give them time to study while at home.

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Basic Information

• School year calendar: October – June
• The target areas of this assistance are Fatick, Kolda, and Tambacounda
• To date, visits have been conducted to the region by IETC (World Education's subcontractor) representatives
• This semester, visits have been conducted to Dakar and Fatick by Kadiatou Coulibaly, World Education Program Director for the AGSP. Monitoring and evaluation sub–contractor, the International Evaluation and Training Corporation (IETC), conducting a monitoring visit to Tambacounda. The AGSP in–country consultant, Aminata Fall makes frequent visits to the regions.
• World Education has relationships with three local organizations: FEE in Fatick, GADEC in Tambacounda, and OFAD in Kolda.
• Funding level for Year 4: $309,687

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Program Overview

In Year 1, the AGSP in Senegal provided 1,015 scholarships to girls in the three regions of Fatick, Kolda and Tambacounda. The program has been implemented with assistance from a Local Consultant, Ms. Aminata Fall Diaw.

In Year 2, the program expanded support to more girls, serving 1,197 scholars in the 2005–06 school year. Scholars are selected through a transparent process which increases accountability and inclusiveness. The NGOs send selection forms to the AGSP schools for the school directors to send them out to parents. The directors contact the parents to verify the information on the forms and to talk to them about the scholarship. Next, the forms are sent to the department education inspector who then sends them to the regional level. The forms are then submitted to the NGO partners. A selection committee is formed and consists of a USAID representative, the AGSP consultant, a representative from the NGO, the governor's office, education inspectors at the regional and department levels, parents' association members, women leaders, women teachers, MOE/SCOFI members (girls' education advisers at various MOE levels), and other local organizations. The committee reviews the forms based on the selection criteria and makes the final decision.

In Year 3 again the number of beneficiaries increased to 1,276 girls. Scholarships are comprised of school supplies, books, a hurricane lamp, and money for school fees and food. The scholars have used their scholarship items and attended school regularly. In the schools where there is a feeding program, meals are provided three days a week (including Tuesday and Thursday, when the school days are longer and therefore the need for a meal is greater). Across the board our partners are noting an improved performance in school among beneficiaries.

In Year 4, communities were overjoyed with the addition of boys into the program. They continue to express their gratitude to the US government for their generosity with this program and for answering their call for support for more needy children including boys. This year, AGSP is supporting 2,190 scholars, 1,295 girls and 895 boys.

The mentoring program is well underway. The activities in Fatick and Kolda are focused on raising awareness around the negative impacts of early marriage and child migration to urban centers. There are currently 104 mentors in Senegal: 26 mentors in Fatick, 28 mentors in Tambacounda and 70 mentors in Kolda. They are volunteers in the communities that have AGSP scholars. Mentoring activities in Senegal involve checking on scholars both while in school as well as while at home. Mentors in the Fatick region, where implementing partner FEE operates the AGSP, report that during their home visits, they also address certain issues that affect the scholars of the region. In particular, the mentors talk with parents about the negative effects of early marriage and the dangers of sending girls to urban centers to look for work. Additionally, the issue of excessive household chores and their negative effect on girls' education is being addressed with parents. Mothers often need to work outside the home and are unable to maintain the household themselves. This burden then falls on the girls and often contributes to their dropping out of school as it becomes impossible to stay on top of their studies while being responsible for the maintenance of the home. Through home visits and being in communication with school officials, mentors see a clear link between absences, tardiness and responsibilities in the home. Mentors are therefore working with school administrators and parents to talk about this issue and figure out the best way to minimize the burden on girls and give them time to study while at home.

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Exemplary Practices

GADEC Practice: Selecting Mentors from Existing Women's Community Groups

In order to retain strong mentors without a large mentoring budget, GADEC selected women mentors who are already involved and active in the community through unofficial women's groups, as well as formal women's organizations, such as the SCOFI (Scolarisation des Filles/Education for Girls).

• The women chosen as mentors are respected by the communities and schools they serve and provide important support to girl scholars through AGSP mentoring and their own organization's activities. Mentors support the scholars in all aspects of their lives: in school, in their families, or in the village.

GADEC–Tambacounda Practice : Selecting Elementary Schools Close to USAID–Supported Middle Schools

AGSP Elementary schools were strategically chosen in the proximity of middle schools in order to facilitate and encourage scholar access to middle schools.

• In collaboration with USAID, regional educational authorities and the WEI Country Consultant, Ms. Aminata Fall, GADEC aligned their selection of elementary schools with middle schools affiliated with PAEM, a USAID–funded program for support of Middle School Education that has middle schools in villages throughout the region. By aligning AGSP school sites with PAEM middle school sites, elementary scholars have increased opportunity to continue their studies in their village instead of having to walk long distances to attend secondary school. This synergy between AGSP and PAEM has had a very positive impact, as PAEM local coordinators support AGSP activities in order to keep girls motivated to continue their education with the opportunity to go to school in their home villages.

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