Keeping vulnerable children off the street and in the classroom in Senegal
© David Snyder/ Counterpart International.
By Jennifer O'Riordan
The old “classroom” used by a religious school called the Daara Thierno Malal Talla was nothing more than a small roof made of thatched branches held up by some old poles. It leaned against a hut made of mud that looked equally shaky.
Today, the new classroom has a concrete floor, sturdy walls and a proper roof. A volunteer teacher writes on a blackboard and the children have an opportunity to learn.
Not long ago, however, the children at the Daara Thierno Malal Talla were like other “talibe” kids in Senegal. They were sent to the streets to beg for money or food for their Koranic school.
These independently run religious institutions typically lack sheltered classrooms and food, let alone notebooks, pencils and other basic school supplies.
To fill this gap, it is commonplace for the school’s religious leader, called a Marabout, to send students out to beg for the money needed to fund the school. This practice not only reduces the amount of time children spend learning but it also puts them at risk of exploitation.
For many of these children, school is also where they live. Many are orphans or have been sent there by their families who cannot afford to provide for them.
As part of the Basic Education of Vulnerable Children Program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Counterpart is working with 65 Koranic schools to keep children off the streets and in the classroom.
USAID and Counterpart have helped these schools to construct classrooms, install latrines and provided school supplies and food, thus giving the Marabout less reason to send the children out to beg. Counterpart also provides food commodities to these schools, knowing that a healthy child can participate in their schooling a lot more.
“We have to remember that malnutrition and poor health were also reasons for poor attendance,” explains a volunteer teacher at one of the Daara Thierno. “The children attended more when they were receiving food and they had more energy. For those children, it's easy to see that without Counterpart's help it would be almost impossible for them” to survive.
More varied curricula has also been developed so students learn basic skills, how to read and write in French and even some vocational skills they can use to make a living afterwards. With Counterpart’s help, these schools are collaborating with training institutes so that pupils can acquire new skills in fields such as tailoring, metalwork or computer science.
Overcoming doubts
The Marabout at the Daara Thierno Ousmane Koranic School says that some of his peers were skeptical about accepting help for the school out of fear that it would require them to make changes that were not consistent with the institution’s goals. Despite such concerns, he wanted to improve conditions for the hundreds of kids under his care.
The children were living in unsafe conditions and he could not let that continue. At night, for example, they would sleep on the ground and the scorpions would sting them. During the day, they would sit in the blazing sun with temperatures that would soar above 100 degrees. Learning took a backseat to survival.
“One of our strategies was to conduct what we call exchange visits,” explains Medoune Diop, Counterpart’s Deputy Country Director in Senegal. “We brought Marabouts and religious leaders from this area to another region in Luga to see one of the biggest Koranic schools in the country where they are learning the Koran but they’re learning other things.”
After that visit, Diop recalls, that “they spent the whole week there, and even before they came back, they said, ‘we definitely want to do the same thing.’”
Today, the Daara Thierno Ousmane Koranic School has proper facilities, including a one-room classroom, latrines and a kitchen. The volunteer French teacher provides about 12 hours of instruction a week, which ensures that the children will have basic educational skills.
Reaching 45,000 children
The program’s objective is to keep around 55,000 children off the streets.
“We’re in the third year of five years and we’re already at 45,000” students, says Josephine Trenchard, Counterpart’s Country Director in Senegal. “I think anybody would agree that education is one of the important things. The more educated you are the more opportunities you have.”
Counterpart has helped these schools to construct classrooms, install latrines and provided school supplies and food, giving school leaders less reason to send the children out to beg.
With Counterpart’s help, these schools are collaborating with training institutes so that pupils can acquire new skills in fields such as tailoring, metalwork and even computer science.
“We also hope this will have a knock on effect on the poverty within families here,” says a State Education Inspector in St. Louis Province. “Because the child has access to education and professional training and then can be employed and not only have their own lives but contribute to their families.”
February 8th, 2012 | Tags: Basic Education for Vulnerable Children Program, children, education, Koranic schools, rehabilitation, Senegal, USAID | Category: | Leave a comment
Filling stomachs, feeding minds in Senegal
© David Snyder/ Counterpart International.
By Jennifer O'Riordan
The children attending the Agnan Lidoube elementary school in northeast Senegal were considered the more fortunate ones. Although many of the students went to school hungry, at least they had an opportunity to attend school.
Senegal’s province of Matam, which borders with Mauritania, is neither easy to get to nor easy to live in. Since most families survived by herding goats, cows and other animals, education was a lower priority.
More than 77 percent of Senegal’s labor force works in agriculture and this can certainly be seen in Matam. Farming there is incredibly difficult. Its arid terrain and erratic climate often force local farmers to move from place to place in search of grazing pastures for their livestock.
Malnutrition is a constant challenge in Matam.
“Matam is one of the biggest areas of Senegal and we have the highest acute malnutrition rates in the country,” says Medoune Diop, Counterpart’s Deputy Country Director in Senegal.
This tendency to move around, along with poverty and high malnutrition, has had a very negative impact on school enrollment.
That has changed. Now the children at Agnan Lidoube elementary school are no longer hungry – and many more have joined them – thanks to a special program funded by the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) and implemented by Counterpart that has changed the face of education for tens of thousands of kids in the region.
Through the program, each child at the Agnan Lidoube elementary school receives a hot lunch prepared fresh each day. Eager for lunch, the children first wash their hands. Then, as is tradition in Senegal, they form into groups of about six kids, each one with their own spoon and share lunch from a large metal serving bowl.
Since 2006, more than 450 teachers and school officials and 850 Parent Teacher Associations have received training on nutrition, food safety and how to manage commodities for a school feeding program.
As part of the USDA-funded program, Counterpart has distributed food commodities, take-home rations for pregnant or lactating mothers, school supplies and constructed latrines.
Today, the school feeding program in Matam serves hot lunches to more than 22,000 children in 105 schools. Positive results are not only being seen in children’s health, but also their academic performance.
The results are impressive.
“We had 70 students up until 2008,” says a teacher at one of the schools. “Now, in 2011, we have more than 200 students. Every year we get new students and yet every year we maintain our record of 100 percent pass rate at exams.”
Community participation: Key to longevity
Trenchard says one of the most important parts of the program is that it coordinates administrators, parents and community leaders to take ownership of the program – from preparing the meals to deciding on a long-term strategy to keep it alive.
For example, since the food assistance is temporary, parent associations have created school gardens to replace the USDA supplies. They are educated in contemporary agricultural practices and trained to prepare the hot nutritious lunches for their children.
Key to the success of the program in Matam is partnership and involving the community from the very beginning. Within the first 18 months of the program, there was a 25 percent increase in enrollment at participating schools.
“That’s when we knew that we were doing something right,” says Counterpart’s Josephine Trenchard. “They’re involved in a program every step of the way from the designing to implementation. We make sure that they’re on board and that they own the programs.”
Senegal’s Education Ministry has also taken a considerable interest in Counterpart’s school feeding program.
“We’ve been able to work with the Minister of Education to sensitize them on the importance of school feeding and because of that there’s been a new department of school feeding opened up - with a budget,” says Josephine Trenchard, Counterpart’s Country Director in Senegal.
Meanwhile, at the Agnan Lidoube elementary school more improvements are on the way. Money donated by the Senegalese diaspora living in Europe is being used to build more classrooms.
The changes have had a remarkable impact on the students. During a visit by a delegation to the school, the children were eagerly raising their hands to answer a teacher’s questions – and, to the pleasure of the village chief who was watching, the kids had the right answers.
February 8th, 2012 | Tags: education, FFE, food, Food for Education, food security, rations, schools, Senegal, USDA | Category: | Leave a comment
Starting early with those who need it most in Senegal
By Jennifer O'Riordan
The word malnutrition commonly conjures up an image of a small child or infant in need of nourishment at perhaps the most critical time of their growth. However, they are just as vulnerable to malnutrition before they are even born.
A woman who is unable to maintain a certain level of nutrition while pregnant is often at risk of giving birth to an underweight child. Children born underweight are much more prone to conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
As part of the Food for Education program, funded by the U.S. Agriculture Department, Counterpart has trained community health workers and rehabilitated a number of health huts that give people easy access to healthcare and guidance.
Malnutrition is a condition that not only affects small children, but adults too. And so in Senegal, Counterpart is focusing its efforts on two of the most vulnerable groups; pregnant and lactating women and children.
In Ndioum, northern Senegal, the rehabilitated health hut there is proving to be an invaluable addition to the community. Without the maternity services offered at the Ndioum clinic, many women would be forced to give birth at home as they cannot afford the treatment at the nearby hospital.
“Given that we live in an impoverished area the women prefer to receive quality care here for a better price than pay exorbitant prices for hospital care,” says Saidou Sall, Head Nurse of the facility’s maternity ward.
Senegal has an infant mortality rate of 56 in every 1000, according to the World Bank. This may not be the highest rate of infant mortality on the continent, but it is certainly too high to ignore.
At another health hut in Matam, Counterpart-trained staff are also distributing nutrient-packed rations to malnourished children and monitoring their progress over time. The provision of this food is combined with counseling so that mothers can improve their child’s nutrition in the long-term and not just the short-term.
“We've had so many success stories of finding women and educating them to the point where she knows what is good to give her baby. That's real success,” explains Idrisse Gueye, who works with Counterpart’s health program in Senegal.
“Change is not just happening with mothers in the community but here as well,” Idrisse continues. “The staff here even before would not have had any idea about nutrition or health or community health or project management but now they are things we all know.
February 8th, 2012 | Tags: children, commodities, FFE, Food for Education, health, healthcare, malnutrition, mothers, rations, Senegal, USDA | Category: | Leave a comment
Civil society takes on diesel prices, transportation issues in Chad
By Jennifer O’Riordan
Chad’s civil society has found that organizing roundtable discussions produce more than just talk, which it learned last summer when discussing diesel prices and later the high cost of transportation.
In early July, the price of diesel was $1.61 per liter. Chad imported diesel from neighboring countries, until late July when the government put in operation the Chad refinery and set the price of diesel at $1.83 a liter. After this decision, diesel disappeared from the local market and a black market for diesel emerged. The price of locally produced diesel on the black market varied from $1.22 to $1.60 per the liter.
On the heels of that move, the Civil Society Forum, established and supported by Counterpart’s PEACE Program in Chad, organized a roundtable discussion in the capital of N'Djamena that focused on the supposed shortage of diesel in the area. The Civil Society Forum was concerned since it affected public transportation diesel generators, which are commonly used for electricity in Chad.
Chamber of Commerce President Souraj Koulamalah and the Hydrocarbon Company of Chad General Director Mohamat Kasser Younous attended the forum and publicly denounced diesel shortage speculation and exorbitant prices at the pumps. A week later, the government took measures to enforce lower prices for consumers.
“The government should work with merchants and fulfill its obligations to control the prices at the market place,” said Koulamalah at the Aug. 5 forum. “Official prices need to be enforced in order to protect citizen’s rights”
The National Advisor of the Chadian Association for the Promotion of Human Rights chaired the roundtable discussion, which was attended by around 40 civil society representatives and 11 media organizations.
The forum, which meets regularly to highlight issues faced by citizens and devise solutions, was established as part of the Promoting Elections, Accountability and Civic Engagement (PEACE) program.
The PEACE program – funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Counterpart – also provides forum members with technical assistance and advice based on best practices learned from similar civil society initiatives.
On August 19, the Civil Society Forum held a discussion on the cost of urban transportation. The event opened dialogue with officials and private transport companies about lowering prices for consumers as a result of the lower price of diesel.
The following week forum organizers met with Transportation and Civil Aviation Minister Abdelkerim Souleyman Teryo, who encouraged them to put forward suggestions for the government to consider.
“These Civil Society Forums have a proven history of success in other countries,” says Martina Hanulova, a Program Coordinator with Counterpart. “And they are having the same impact in Chad, as events clearly show; the main focus of civil society is to voice marginalized people’s rights.”
Forthcoming issues to be discussed by the forum include: the increasing cost of living; lack of access to water and electricity; high population density; and the need for clear urban planning.
PEACE is a two-year, USAID-funded program that began in July 2010 to assist civil society organizations in their efforts to inform citizens and increase involvement in the electoral process. The program also supports these organizations in their role as government watchdogs and advocates for positive change in Chad. It also supports the Independent National Electoral Commission.
February 6th, 2012 | Tags: Chad, civil society forum, diesel, PEACE, Promoting Elections, Accountability and Civic Engagement | Category: | Leave a comment
Anti-corruption training for government staff begins in Yemen
.jpg)
USAID's Elizabeth Richard, Deputy Chief of Mission and Mission Director Robert Wilson were joined by leaders from prominent anti-corruption bodies at the workshop launch.
By Jennifer O’Riordan
More than 130 junior employees from Yemeni government ministries have been recruited to combat corruption, with their first intensive training taking place on Jan. 7 and 8 in Sana’a.
The target audience – described as critical in fighting corruption – come from the ranks of public procurement, warehousing and financial auditing.
"This represents the start of a partnership towards implementation of the National Strategy for combating corruption, to root out corruption and prevent it,” said Ahmed Mohammed Al-Anis, Chair of the Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption (SNACC), at the opening session.
The Peer Learning and Mentoring workshop, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will run until the end of January. Counterpart’s Responsive Governance Project (RGP), which is carrying out the training workshop, is working with key government agencies in Yemen to fight corruption, strengthen financial management and accountability in government and promote civil society engagement among Yemini citizens.
Yemenis fighting corruption
Anti-corruption protests that began in February 2011 have become more focused in recent months. Protestors and workers in Yemen are increasingly demanding the dismissal of corporate and institution leaders linked with the corruption that has marred the country for decades.
In a number of focus group discussions, carried out by Counterpart as part of the project, corruption was cited as a major problem by those surveyed.
“The work you are beginning today is a good first step,” declared Elizabeth Richard, U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, who attended the workshop launch. “In the next phase of the transition, the national Consensus Government and all Yeminis must address the problem of corruption head-on and I believe they are committed to the task.”
The Peer Learning and Mentoring workshop compliments the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, which was released in 2010 by the SNACC.
This month’s training is only the first phase in a series of workshops that are expected to include almost 500 government employees along with representatives from civil society organizations, SNACC, the Central Organization for Control (COCA) and Audit and the High Tender Board (HTB).
The willing participation of Yemen’s most prominent anti-corruption bodies shows a great sense of belief and commitment to the initiative.
“The implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy will not succeed unless we have everybody on board,” said Mr. Al-Anisi, SNACC Chairman. “This represents the start of a partnership towards implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy for combating corruption, to root out corruption and prevent it.”
The training motivates key junior staff to protect public funds and combat corruption, highlighting the positive impact anti-corruption measures will have on Yemeni society.
In addition to SNACC’s Al-Anisi, other attendees of the Jan. 7 and 8 gathering included Dr. Abdulla Abdulla Al-Sanafi from COCA and Abdulmalek Ahmed Al-Anisi from the HTB. Twenty-two civil society organizations also attended the opening.
January 12th, 2012 | Tags: Anti-corruption, COCA, governance, HTC, Responsive Governance Project, Sana'a, SNACC, training, USAID, Yemen | Category: | Leave a comment
