Senegal Country Fund

Description

Volunteers across Senegal partner with local communities to implement community-driven projects in agriculture, environment and health. Working through participatory approaches to develop these projects with communities and to ensure the engagement of women, youth, and other marginalized groups, Volunteers support communities with community gardens, health post improvements, wells, and small business enterprise trainings. The country fund supports Volunteers and communities in reaching their development goals.

One example of a Volunteer-supported project is a school garden club in southeastern Senegal. Inconsistent rain throughout the year makes gardening difficult in this area, which has some of the worst malnutrition rates in the country, and local communities do not use sustainable gardening techniques. Students at the middle school were interested in starting a school garden, but did not have tools, materials, or knowledge of gardening best practices.

With a $1,214 grant, a Peace Corps Volunteer worked with the students and teachers to create a school garden club, which transformed the school grounds into 22 garden beds with three vegetable nurseries and a fruit tree nursery. The club also provided training to students during 15 meetings in the fall semester. The students learned about basic soil science, the water and carbon cycles, climate change, nutrition, sustainable gardening techniques, the nutrient cycle, basic garden financing, and leadership skills.

Over 100 community members attended a training session for the surrounding community organized by the students and the Peace Corps Volunteer. Garden club students presented information learned in the program and used the garden as a demonstration space. In the following weeks, students were able to take home vegetables every week, and the club sold lettuce, onions, okra, bitter tomato, hot and green pepper, eggplant, cabbage, and hibiscus. The club is now self-sustaining with an elected student board and a detailed program plan developed by the students.

Your contributions are needed to help ensure Volunteers in Senegal can undertake life-changing activities like the one in this community.