Maintain 50 vulnerable girls in school in Senegal

The commitment of the Association Jeunesse Espoir for an education of quality girls is a constant challenge. As mentioned in our previous reports, the Assocciation Jeunesse Espoir takes an innovative approach to combat the social norms that constrain the economic and social development of young girls and their mothers.
This community-based approach places the development of the beneficiary's family at the heart of the program's concerns. Since the beginning of our activities we have repeatedly supported girls by distributing school supplies and textbooks, reinforcing them with remedial classes and sensitization sessions and this has had an important impact on the level of education of children. youth.

But now we have initiated an approach that aims to strengthen the capacities of the families of beneficiary girls living in rural areas to support them in a stepegic way to abandon the traditional practices that are harmful to the development and development of the girl who is especially exposed to early school leaving, non-schooling, non-reporting of births of girls, early marriages, excision of girls, excessive housework in homes In a rural area.

This new approach is being developed for its implementation starting in January 2020. Family members of young girls, mainly parents, will be involved in the whole process of family support for the well-being of children. to be the girl for a bright future.

As this process is in preparation and should start by the month of January with the effective participation of several foreign volunteers who will be housed within the community targeted in this program, we apologize for not being able to illustrate this report of photos or videos. But in the next report, I illustrate the activities with photos and videos will be provided.

As the old saying goes, "Everything you do for me without getting involved since conception is done against me". This is why the Espoir Jeunesse Espoir intends to roll out this program for the education and well-being of girls by involving families and the community as a whole.

We continue to reiterate our appeal to the fantastic Global Giving community to continue to support this important and vital program for the future and education of the girls benefiting from this project.

One general truth worldwide is "Education is the key to ending poverty" in Africa, specially girl-child education. In africa, both in rural and urban areas, women occupy a prominent place in the economy of their country, despite a very low rate of literacy among them and a huge burden on their back that is ancient traditions that constitute barriers, a considerable obstacle to their emancipation.

The UNESCO 1997 report shows that two thirds of all those who have no access to education are girls and women. Sixty five million girls and women never even started school, and an estimated 100 million do not complete primary education, often because the quality is poor and their opportunities are far from equal to those of boys. More than 542 million women are illiterate, many as a result of inadequate or incomplete schooling. In an age of enormously expended effort to increase access to all levels of education, of high aspirations for political participation, and huge growth of knowledge, nearly three quarters of a billion girls and women are being denied education (UNESCO, 2000).

This alarming situation on the education of women around the world must challenge all of us to act in a consistent and effective way against this discrimination that risks mortgaging the future of girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

That' why Association Jeunesse is continuing to support girls' education through this project posted on GlobalGiving. Since we have posted the project to support 50 vulnerable girls to stay in school, we have raised for them $2070 from wonderful donators who believe that our action could make a difference and contribute to offer these girl-children a brighter future.

The support provided to these girls allowed many of them to have good results at school and despite the fact that we have not yet completed the sum of $ 5000 budgeted at the beginning of the project, we was able to provide most girls' school kits with the help of other AJE partners.
At this moment, the Association is preparing girls to return to school in a month where it will be an opportunity to distribute school kits to girls for the imminent start of the 2019/2020 school year.
This is another opportunity for the Espoir Jeunesse Association to invite the wonderful community of GlobalGiving to accompany us in offering these girls hope for a better future.

the Espoir Youth Association of St. Louis continues to help vulnerable girls who are enrolled in their education program.
Since we have the support of the wonderful community of global giving, the impact on girls' education is making a difference.

N G, a young girl whose precarious family left no chance of continuing her studies at the top of her class at the last exams in her class. Here is his story about the Global Giving community: "I sincerely hope to have the chance to meet in person with each Global Giving donor to thank them so warmly for their support that keeps us going to school. I do not borrow the books of my girlfriends, nor their pens, nor their geometric materials to do the math as I did before AJE paid for my registration and for my teaching materials which allowed me to be first of my class this year, I sincerely pray that the Global Giving community will continue to support girls' education in Saint-Louis of Senegal for a long time".

Another girl, CS, tells us: "My parents are no longer there, but thanks to the Global Giving community, I manage to stay in school and hope for a better future, I kiss AJE very hard and all superb donors who helped me to continue my studies.

These moving testimonies among so many selected girls show how grateful they are for the ravishing community of global giving.

Since the beginning, AJE has collected 1956 dollards that have helped support the education of 10 girls so far, so we invite current donors and members of the global giving community who have not yet made a donation for this a wonderful project to help us get more vulnerable girls at risk of dropping out of school in our program to keep girls in school in Saint-Louis, Senegal.

According to UNICEF: "girls formed the majority of the 120 million children who never go to school in the developing world. Basic education for all is a human right and social development issue that is fundamental to gender equality and women’s empowerment in all societies".

Despite this right girls continue to suffer from discrimination in access to schooling in most parts of Senegal in West Africa.

A number of studies have shown sufficient evidence of problems of school attendance and dropout rates among girls. 

Other studies have also analysed the economic and social benefits of female education in addition to the health benefits enjoyed by educated women.

All these studies indicated that in most developing countries most females receive less education when compared with males.

That's why this must be the fight of all goodwill willing to fight against the injustices done to girls against their will as:  gender inequality and discrimination against women in general due to patriarchal systems of social organization and other socio-cultural practices of early marriage, child slavery, and fostering or trafficking of children, poverty, and multiple household duties, and a lack of economic and social opportunities for their parents to permit school access.

Since we posted this project that is really important to us, we are doing everything we can to help at first 50 girls from vulnerable families in Saint-Louis of Senegal, West Africa.

At first we had a great start with the donors of the incredible GlobalGiving community with more than 50 donors. And the money raised, which was just over $ 2,000, helped to relieve school expenses for many girls at risk of dropping out of school.
"It's an inexperienced chance for me to be able to get notebooks, pen books, etc. knowing each year that my parents can not afford to pay for them." An unexpected chance to know that thanks to help from the AJE I will not have to borrow from my friends of books that I should have had like them "said Fatou Thjioub, a beneficiary helped in this project.

In order for us to help the maximum of 50 vulnerable girls at risk of dropping out of school, we reiterate our commitment and our request to all donors who have built with their own hands the foundations of this wonderful endeavor which must be a success in maximum number of girls to have access to education and a secure future, please continue to support us to continue to help these girls.

we also appeal to all potential donors to make their contribution to the building by joining the wonderful group of donors who started this wonderful project with us.

"Women and girls are Africa’s greatest untapped resource, and it is they, not diamonds or oil and minerals, that will be the foundation for solid, sustainable and equitable progress. Health and development experts, economists, non-governmental organisations, UN agencies and even banks agree that expanding the freedoms, the education and opportunities for women holds the key to kick-starting inclusive economic growth. This is true the world over, and particularly true for Africa." These strong words from former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano further strengthen our position to support and work for the vulnerable girls' education in Saint-Louis of Senegal to go and stay in school.

Despite the insufficient resources collected through GlobalGiving our association continues to mobilize all its volunteers for a good socio-educational monitoring of girls to improve their school performance.

Thus we organize reinforcement classes for girls, a frequency of two sessions per week with the support of volunteers who come on humanitarian missions in our association.

Volunteers who come on humanitarian missions are placed in African host families where they have a well-equipped room and their contribution helps to fill the gap between the resources of our association and the expression of needs. for girls' school supplies at school.

This report is an opportunity for us to sensitize the entire globalgiving community to support the education of vulnerable girls through donations or humanitarian missions in Saint-Louis, Senegal.

Our support for girls' education is paying off as one of the vulnerable girls: Néné Gackou, whose case we mentioned in previous reports, finishes top of her class this school year  with an exceptional average of 17/20 . Congratulations to Nene.

Nene's school report card is attached to the report as proof of its exceptional performance. This means that vulnerability is not an end in itself if goodwill donors make sacrifices, give a helping hand, a boost to make better the future of an innocent and vulnerable girl who was dedicated to failure.

Like Nene the other girls have all worked well and have good grades at school.

We so strongly believe that the suffering of Africa will end when the suffering of these girls, who will become tomorrow these energetic women who will contribute in a sustainable way to the development of Africa, will end.
We will conclude this report with the words of the famous African angelic singer Kidjo, a perfect illustration of the position of girls' education: "“Everyone wins when children — and especially girls – have access to education. An educated girl is likely to increase her personal earning potential and prepare herself for a productive and fulfilling life, as well as reduce poverty in the whole community. Investing in girls’ education also helps delay early marriage and parenthood. Our booming economies in Africa need more female engineers, teachers and doctors to prosper and sustain growth.” Angelique Kidjo

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