| “In
Senegal, FDH and its partner, UGPM, work toward the social
and economic integration of youth, through education.” |
| Faced with the degradation of their way of life and a
massive exodus of young people, farming communities in the
Thiès region, in western Senegal, have formed the Méckhé
Union of Peasant Groups (UGPM), and have developed a development
project, supported by FDH.
Their principal objective is to give young people a better
perspective on life and better employment opportunities in
their villages, through education and adapted professional
training that will allow the agricultural and craft professions
to perform better and become more profitable.
To find out more about this project, click
here
UGPM website :
http://reseaucitoyen.be/
index.php?Bombolong
EtMeckhePageUn |
Project co-financed by the Midi-Pyrénées
region
| Statistics
on Senegal |
Area: 196 200 km2
(2)
Population: 9 662 000
in 2001 (2)
Population below the poverty line
(-$2/day): 67.8% (1)
Illiteracy rate (over 15 years):
62.7% in 2000 (1)
Life expectancy at birth:
52.3 (2)
Rural population: 53.3%
(2)
Infant mortality rate:
62.4/1000 (compared with 5/1000 in France) (2)
Human development index:
154 out of 173 countries (1)
State and government:
centralized republic with a multi-party presidency
Languages: French (official),
Wolof, Peul, Serere, Dioula, etc.
Religion: Muslim (84%), Catholic (6%), animism (7%), other
(3%)
(1)World Human Development Report 2002, PNUD, De Boeck University
(2)State of the World 2003, La Découverte
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| The 4000 members
of UGPM, FDH’s partner organization, have mobilized
to implement a child education program, in order to
promote their social and economic integration in rural
settings, instill confidence in agricultural and artisan
professions, increase family income, and improve the
economic outlook for the region. © FDH |
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| On this 16-hectare
field, we are helping build an educational center,
wood and metal workshops, sewing shops, two cowsheds
and sheep barns, six water collection basins, and
two storage barns, in order to allow rural youth
to have a practical and theoretical education that
will prepare them for their future. © FDH |
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| Training young
people in the production of honey, peanuts, niebe,
cassava, gardening, and forestry, will take place
in the educational center. Intensive animal breeding
will be done with sheep, cows, and goats. © FDH |
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Senegal - Social and economic integration
