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Volunteer Care Projects with Children in Senegal
You will find there is a role for you on our Care project whether you are volunteering during a college break, gap year, career break, as a worthwhile volunteer vacation. 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.
Projects Abroad Senegal is based around four hours north of the hectic capital city of Dakar, in the coastal town of St Louis. St Louis is perhaps the most “French” of all Senegalese towns, and it is best to have at least a basic knowledge of French before you arrive.
Projects Abroad Care volunteers in Senegal can choose to work in a drop-in care centers for street children or a kindergarten.
Volunteering with Street Children in Senegal
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. We have set up two centers to help these children and as a Care volunteer you have the opportunity to work at one of the centers if you wish to.
The work at the drop in centers revolves around providing education, healthcare, sports activities, and a general positive environment for the children. The volunteers follow schedules in order to ensure that the children are exposed to these different areas on a regular basis.
You can get involved with a variety of different activities from administrating health care to distributing food to the children. You may also want to help the children with tasks such as brushing their teeth and washing their clothes, or just spend time with them drawing pictures or playing.
Returning to the U.S. and entering university, I am a thousand times more focused on my pre-medical plan of study, as what I am learning now resonates strongly beyond the classroom for me. My love of the work I did in my placement in Senegal is a constant reminder to me of why my courses will one day prove so valuable. When I imagine what I would be like today had I never gone to Senegal, I see myself studying away having never gained sight of why I am doing it. Read more...
These centers are vital and help ensure that the street children stay healthy and are taught basic life skills in order to help them in the future.
Volunteering at a Kindergarten in Senegal
The local kindergartens in Senegal where our volunteers work are open from 9am until 1pm for children aged from 3 to 6 years old. Many parents are very eager 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 as to how to work productively with such large numbers of children.
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 letters and 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 sheets or organize arts and crafts sessions.
All of the volunteer Care projects in Senegal welcome 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 that you have, and you are sure to return home with many more!
This project is available for less than a month 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 shorter durations for both the host community and the volunteer. Although you will gain 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 participating for a longer period.