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Volunteer Care Projects with Children in Senegal
Senegal, in Western Africa, is a wonderful place to spend time volunteering with disadvantaged children in kindergartens, care centers and organizations for street children. Despite Senegal being one of the most stable and democratic countries in Africa, there is widespread unemployment with over half of the population living below the poverty line. Many of its people migrate illegally to Europe in order to find work. This, among other issues such as HIV/AIDS, has left many of Senegal’s children on the streets, sometimes with no family members to care for them.
Senegal has a large number of street children, known locally as Talibés. These children receive no formal education and are forced to spend much of their time begging for scraps of food and small change. As a Projects Abroad volunteer you are sure to encounter them in your day-to-day life, but many of our volunteers choose to spend some of their spare time helping out at a Talibé drop-in center.
You will find there is a role for you on our Care project whether you are volunteering during a college break, gap year - or even a gap month - from further education, a career break, your annual leave or if you are no longer working and want others to benefit from your experience. You can come to us as an experienced Development or Care professional, or with no experience at all. All we ask is that you have energy, enthusiasm and a commitment to the work. Our local staff will support you for the duration of your placement.
Volunteering in Childcare and Community Development work with Projects Abroad
Projects Abroad Senegal is based around four hours north of the hectic capital city of Dakar, in the town of St Louis. St Louis is perhaps the most 'French' of all Senegalese towns, and you will need to have at least a basic knowledge of French before you arrive.
From 9am to 1pm, all volunteers on Care projects work in a local kindergarten with children aged from 3 to 6 years old. Many parents are very happy to send their children to these kindergartens, and it's not unusual to find classes of up to 45 children. As well as being overstretched, teachers tend to be poorly trained, and have very few ideas on to how to work productively with such large numbers of children.
Many Projects Abroad volunteers then choose to spend at least part of their afternoon working at the Talibé drop-in center for street-children on the mainland of St Louis.
Volunteering with Children on a Care Project in Senegal
Volunteers at the kindergartens may find themselves working alongside local staff in the main classes, or taking smaller groups of children aside to focus on specific activities. Your duties will involve teaching basic numbers, building vocabulary in French and English and organizing arts and sports activities to improve coordination and motor skills.
You will have an important role in adding to the staff's repertoire of songs, games and activities, ensuring that your contribution lives on beyond your placement. The children themselves will be particularly appreciative if you prepare coloring-in sheets or organize arts and crafts sessions.
At the Talibé drop-in center our volunteers regularly prepare and serve breakfast and lunch to any street-children who attend. This can often mean over 150 meals in the same sitting! You may also want to help the children with activities such as brushing their teeth and washing their clothes, and just spend time with them drawing pictures or playing.
Volunteers will occasionally take the children to the nearby beach or arrange evenings of wrestling and soccer. This is a welcome break from their daily routine of begging on the streets for food and money.
All of the volunteer care projects in Senegal are eager to have volunteers with fresh ideas and energy to help the permanent staff. Our local staff will work with you to help make the most of any particular skills or special interests – artistic, dramatic, sporting or other – that you have, and you are sure to return home with many more!
This project is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. This project has been selected by our local colleagues as being suitable for short term volunteering for both the host community and the volunteer. Although you will gain a valuable cultural insight and work intensely within the local community please be aware that you may not be able to make the same impact as someone volunteering for a longer period.