Learning for 100 more adults in Senegal.

The Diapalante Community Education Centre welcomes everyone regardless of age or background. Children attend in large numbers but it is often the adults who feel the most pressing need for help. Many Senegalese adults have jobs that do not provide an adequate income to support a family, leading to constant financial struggle and to long hours of work. The long hours make it difficult to look for other work or gain the skills needed to seek better work. So the Centre operates on a “drop-in” basis offering learners as much flexibility in attendance and learning objectives as possible. Adults often need more individual attention than youngsters both because of work commitments and because they are often learning formally for first time or after only a brief period of schooling.

Your funding is enabling us to help more adults gain appropriate work skills. Three months after launching our GlobalGiving appeal between 50 and 60 adults are learning English for their work (many are traders), more than 20 learn basic literacy - to speak, read or write in French, Senegal’s official language and about 20 more learn computer skills. As some learn more than one subject this is about 75 individuals. This significant increase in adult learners takes us towards our target of helping 100 adult learners each year and is made possible by your financial support.

Meet Makhtar

Makhtar is a motorcycle-taxi mechanic. He is in his late 30s and married with three children. The son of a mechanic he left school at the age of ten to join his father's home-based workshop. Today he very much regrets leaving school so early, and prioritises his children’s education.

Nowadays the situation in Senegal is changing. Makhtar is losing work as more and more organisations require him to be able to read contracts, issue invoices etc to secure their work. He is unable to read, understand and sign contracts which are in French, Senegal’s official language, learnt in school but not a mother tongue. He can speak some French and knows the French vocabulary associated with his work but needs to improve his reading and writing skills. Unable to pay for private lessons, he heard about the Diapalante Community Education Centre about 2 months ago. He now attends 2-3 times a week sometimes for a group lesson but often for a one-to-one session as his learning has to fit around his work. Makhtar is making rapid progress towards his goal as each newly learnt phrase is relevant to his work and contributes to improving his livelihood.