Success!
In Senegal, going to school is difficult for girls. Only 29.2% of Senegalese women over the age of fifteen can read or write, due in large part to a lack of support or money at home. Many girls want an education but, instead, are forced into early marriages, or live in households where their parents cannot afford to pay for all of the children to attend school—and sons are always given priority. Being exposed to this blatant gender inequality and the negative effects it is having on the development of Senegal has motivated me to dedicate my Peace Corps service to providing Senegalese girls with the support they need to continue their education and make a better life for themselves, their families, and all Senegalese people.
During the last school year, I worked with three local middle schools to offer the SeneGAD (Senegal Gender and Development Organization) Michelle Sylvester Scholarship. I interviewed thirty-six scholarship candidates and went through the grueling process of trying to pick the one girl from each school with the most financial need. After meeting all of the girls, seeing where they lived, and getting to know them a little better, I realized they were all in need of a scholarship. Unfortunately, SeneGAD was unable to do outside fundraising at that time and all money for the scholarship was generated from fundraisers done within the current Peace Corps Senegal Volunteer community (made up of people, such as myself, that make about $12 a day). This being said, forty-three Senegalese middle schools applied for the scholarship and when it came time to distribute the money, SeneGAD only had enough to sponsor 35 girls. Luckily, many of the volunteers, myself included, have very supportive friends and family in the U.S. and we were able to raise the additional money (even though our former boss forbade outside funding because it “isn’t sustainable,” even at the expense of not providing some of the girls with the scholarships we had promised were available) necessary to provide every winner with a scholarship.
As of late, Peace Corps Senegal has a new Country Director, SeneGAD is now allowed to accept outside funding for the M.S. scholarship and our other activities and events, and I am the new Scholarship Coordinator. This said, the tide has changed and I am excited to spend my second year in Senegal working on youth and gender development projects that will contribute to the future and development of Senegal.
Just this past Saturday, some fellow volunteers and I organized a leadership conference for the scholarship candidates in and around Tamba. We arranged for the very inspirational Training Coordinator at our training center in Thies, who happens to be a Tamba region native, to come and lead the day long conference. She spoke about her early life in Tamba, how she overcame sexual harassment at school, evaded an early and forced marriage, and made the difficult but correct choices that led her to getting a university education, and a husband that supports her desire to work outside the home. Each of the thirty-five participants was encouraged to speak about controversial and rarely spoken about issues such as sexual harassment, sexuality, and early marriages, and to share their dreams for the future. Overall, the girls seemed to have a great time and the event was a huge success.
As the Scholarship Coordinator, I am hoping to encourage other volunteers to host the same kind of conferences and continue involvement in the lives of all the scholarship candidates. I’m also focused on working with even more middle schools across Senegal, to provide more girls with scholarships, and to support more girls in achieving their goals. At SeneGAD we believe to empower a girl is to empower a village. With some encouragement, I believe many of these scholarship candidates will one day become leaders in their communities and I am dedicated to ensuring that they get the support they need and deserve.
Interested in Making a Donation?
Please contact me or leave a message on this blog with your email address and I will contact you! A donation of $50 will sponsor a girl to attend school for a year. Anything you can donate would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you are a member of a service club or organization looking to make contributions, please consider SeneGAD. The girls and I really appreciate your support!
During the last school year, I worked with three local middle schools to offer the SeneGAD (Senegal Gender and Development Organization) Michelle Sylvester Scholarship. I interviewed thirty-six scholarship candidates and went through the grueling process of trying to pick the one girl from each school with the most financial need. After meeting all of the girls, seeing where they lived, and getting to know them a little better, I realized they were all in need of a scholarship. Unfortunately, SeneGAD was unable to do outside fundraising at that time and all money for the scholarship was generated from fundraisers done within the current Peace Corps Senegal Volunteer community (made up of people, such as myself, that make about $12 a day). This being said, forty-three Senegalese middle schools applied for the scholarship and when it came time to distribute the money, SeneGAD only had enough to sponsor 35 girls. Luckily, many of the volunteers, myself included, have very supportive friends and family in the U.S. and we were able to raise the additional money (even though our former boss forbade outside funding because it “isn’t sustainable,” even at the expense of not providing some of the girls with the scholarships we had promised were available) necessary to provide every winner with a scholarship.
As of late, Peace Corps Senegal has a new Country Director, SeneGAD is now allowed to accept outside funding for the M.S. scholarship and our other activities and events, and I am the new Scholarship Coordinator. This said, the tide has changed and I am excited to spend my second year in Senegal working on youth and gender development projects that will contribute to the future and development of Senegal.
Just this past Saturday, some fellow volunteers and I organized a leadership conference for the scholarship candidates in and around Tamba. We arranged for the very inspirational Training Coordinator at our training center in Thies, who happens to be a Tamba region native, to come and lead the day long conference. She spoke about her early life in Tamba, how she overcame sexual harassment at school, evaded an early and forced marriage, and made the difficult but correct choices that led her to getting a university education, and a husband that supports her desire to work outside the home. Each of the thirty-five participants was encouraged to speak about controversial and rarely spoken about issues such as sexual harassment, sexuality, and early marriages, and to share their dreams for the future. Overall, the girls seemed to have a great time and the event was a huge success.
As the Scholarship Coordinator, I am hoping to encourage other volunteers to host the same kind of conferences and continue involvement in the lives of all the scholarship candidates. I’m also focused on working with even more middle schools across Senegal, to provide more girls with scholarships, and to support more girls in achieving their goals. At SeneGAD we believe to empower a girl is to empower a village. With some encouragement, I believe many of these scholarship candidates will one day become leaders in their communities and I am dedicated to ensuring that they get the support they need and deserve.
Interested in Making a Donation?
Please contact me or leave a message on this blog with your email address and I will contact you! A donation of $50 will sponsor a girl to attend school for a year. Anything you can donate would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you are a member of a service club or organization looking to make contributions, please consider SeneGAD. The girls and I really appreciate your support!
posted by Ashleigh | 8:01 AM
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