The final two classrooms nearly complete at Keur Soce High School.
December in Senegal marks the start of the cool dry season. The hard work of harvesting rainy season crops is finished, families are starting their seasonal vegetable gardens, and kids are settled into the rhythms of a new school year. It’s a steady time of year, with lots of work to be sure, but more measured with less heat and a definite air of abundance from the harvest. This is also the time of year when a lot of Andando’s yearly projects come to fruition, especially in our education sector. We are thrilled to share that in Podor our new classrooms at Ndiawara Middle School, and Donaye Teredji High School are finished and classes have already started in these beautiful new buildings. This is our second year partnering with both of these schools and we are already seeing incredible benefits from the improving conditions. After building the first set of classrooms last year we visited and discussed with the administrations to evaluate the needs of each school. Both reported increased enrollment and we decided that rather than moving on to another location we would stick with these schools to finish another set of classrooms to meet the full needs at each location.
Students gather outside their classrooms at Donaye Teredji High School, where 100% of the students who took the advanced S2 science course, held in the new classrooms we constructed last year, passed their exams!
When talking with the principal of Donaye Teredji High School we also learned that 100% of the students who took the advanced S2 science course, held in the new classrooms we constructed last year, passed their exams! Because of this tremendous success the administration has decided to offer the highest high school level science course, S1, this year. This is the first time this course has been offered in the region outside of Saint Louis, which is over 120 miles away! Very few families have the means to send their children away for school, especially to large cities, so when courses aren’t offered locally that usually means the end of a student’s education in that subject. We are thrilled for these students’ accomplishments and are so happy that the classrooms we were able to construct are helping them to continue their education.
The last two (of eight) classrooms in the final stages of construction at Keur Soce High School.
In Keur Soce we are putting the finishing touches on the last two classrooms of Keur Soce High School. This new two story 8 classroom block is being praised by everyone from students and parents to educators and even the Education Ministry for the quality, and speed of the construction. Taking on an infrastructure project this large was a new and daunting task for Andando but with diligent planning and management from our staff and partners we got it done and the results are amazing! Here’s what one of teachers, Mr. Touré, had to say about it:
Mr Touré, Life & Earth Science and Math teacher in Keur Soce Schools since 2005
“We started the school with two classes and I was fortunate to be there when it started… If today we have a high school, it’s thanks to Andando. And we’re very thankful to you who provided us with classrooms the way they should be with floors and walls well made. Before, the classes we had were shelters with lots of dust. The effects of the dust on the kids and their clothes was so bad. Now that we have the clean floors, that we can work without getting dirty, we say bravo to Andando.”
BEFORE:
Temporary classrooms constructed on dirt floors left teachers and students exposed to the elements.
AFTER:
New classrooms are elevated above the dirt with concrete floors & walls, and a durable metal roof - protecting students and classroom furnishing from the elements.
Mr. Touré went on to tell us that because of the increased enrollment at the high school and the excellent conditions of the new classrooms, the Education Ministry has decided that this high school should become a regional science academy that will feed into a new university in the regional capital of Kaolack. This is huge news for the students of this region and will provide many more options and resources for them to continue their education. With this news in mind we have decided to continue our commitment to this school and next year we will construct our first school science garden here with an incorporated aquaculture training program. The garden will be used to facilitate practical lessons in science, statistics, and business and will be a source of extra income for school programs and will increase nutritional options for students and their families. This will be the first high school in all of Senegal with an aquaculture program, giving students here a huge leg up in their educational and professional careers after graduation.
Access to sanitary bathrooms has a huge impact on the quality of life of students and can help to increase student attendance and enrollment, especially for girls. UNESCO estimates that 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their menstrual cycle due to lack of facilities or sanitary products. [Photos: Latrines under construction, and completed —shiny, and new, and ready to use.]
The last thing we want to talk about is a little less romantic, but no less important. Classrooms and gardens are great but one of the most important things that students need to get through a successful day at school is a bathroom. Access to sanitary bathrooms has a huge impact on the quality of life of students and can help to increase student attendance and enrollment, especially for girls. UNESCO estimates that 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their menstrual cycle due to lack of facilities or sanitary products.
UNESCO estimates that 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their menstrual cycle due to lack of facilities or sanitary products.
This is hugely detrimental to their education and increases the chance that they will drop out of school prematurely. Installing sanitary bathroom facilities with running water at our partner schools is an essential element of Andando’s education sector. Keur Soce High School currently has only 4 toilets for the entire school with an enrollment now of over 1,000 students. We are in the process this year of building an additional two blocks of toilets, 4 for girls and 4 for boys, helping all the students there to have the facilities they need to continue their education.
Students in one of the newly constructed classrooms at Donaye Teredji High School.
Donaye Teredji High School has an even larger enrollment this year of over 1,300 students and are in desperate need of more bathroom facilities. This was a project that we had planned to start next year in 2023, but because of the tremendous success of our yearly Auction Gala we are able to begin construction immediately. We are very often operating at the limits of our capacity and your support truly makes a difference in what we are able to do with our partner communities. Thank you so much for helping to provide the facilities these students deserve so they can thrive and gain the education they need to help lift themselves and their communities out of poverty.