Happy students receiving new school supplies at one of our partner schools.
With your support we have met our goal and will build three classrooms for the students at Fas Toucouleur Primary School. 100% of gifts made towards this project were matched by One Days Wages!
Check back often for construction updates, photos and more.
This is an example of what the temporary classrooms look like, half of this one had recently collapsed.
Construction at a previous primary school
Enjoying a meal in our nutrition program.
Why a rural Senegalese school?
Currently, the school only has three classrooms for the six grades that meet there. This necessitates the use of three decrepit and dangerous temporary classrooms, or significant chunks of class time missing as the classrooms are used by other grades. Many parents in the community do not feel it is worth it to send their children to a school in this condition, resulting in extremely lagging enrollment rates, where particularly disadvantaged students are forced to work in agriculture or elsewhere instead of attending school. Other students may be sent out of the community to attend a different school at great cost to the families.
As part of this project, we will also construct a proper block of latrines to be used by the students. The current lack of these facilities forces students into unsanitary conditions in adjacent fields. In addition to these efforts, we will establish a small classroom library in each room, install a sufficient number of desks to seat each child, and create a suitable playing field for students.
As we have seen from similar programs in the past, we anticipate increases in attendance, enrollment, test scores, community involvement, along with other immeasurable advancements such as an increase in everyone taking pride in the school and a stronger hope for the future.
There are currently about 125 students enrolled at the school, but we anticipate this number to nearly double as a viable educational environment will draw those who are leaving the community to study elsewhere, combined with those who are currently unschooled. Further, this greatly enhanced academic atmosphere with accompanying education-boosting materials will translate into more students receiving additional schooling beyond the primary level. This means more families with more students with more opportunities.
Join us in empowering these young students and providing them with a safe space to learn and grow.