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A surprise party was organized in honor of kindergardens4senegal, after I had announced, that for various reasons I would already be leaving for Switzerland in February. The "Chef du village" declared entusiastically that the villagers as well as the responsible people elected "Mme Marielle Furter" as the mentor of the kindergarten on 15 December 2016 and that the kindergarten will be named accordingly. Additionally I also received various certificates. Aside from the village officials many Mothers and Fathers of the kindergarten children expressed their gratitude too. Their words of thankfulness really touched me. But that was not all, two women came to me and started to clothe me in a beautiful dress and presented me with a traditional necklace. This is a great honor in Senegal and a very special occasion for me.
This shows me, that the village population is beginning to understand how important preschool is for the smaller children. They observe, how their youngest enjoy attending our kindergarten and can also see how positive the lessons are for the children's development. The closer our cooperation with the village is, the more we can achieve and I appreciate that very much.
Our next Project is in Koudiabya
The preperations have started out well and first talks have taken place in the village "Koudiabya". A good cooperation between the village and kindergardens4senegal is very importat to us. Good cooperation contributes a lot to a successful organization and construction as well as the start-up of the kindergarten.
Currently we have an active communication with the most important contact person, the Chef du Village, Mr. Arouna Koudiab. We also received a suitable piece of property, free of charge for the kindergarten. We would also like to find out, in what other way the village can contribute to the planned kindergarten (e.g. clearing the building site, board and lodging for the workers, sand from the region for building, etc.). This is not just about saving money, we also want to confirm that the people of Koudiabya are really interested and sincere about building a kindergarten in their village.
Our idea of "Helping People to help themselves" is to found a kindergarten, that will be running independently after a few years of collaborations with inspectors, teachers, parents council and other responsible people. Chances are good that we will secceed, because the structures of an advanced school system in Senegal are already present. It is just not possible for the state to finance kindergartens and schools in every village. The rural region of Casamance is especially affected. Many children don't have the possibility to attend school and some must deal with a very long walk to a neighboring village to go to school.
My local assistant, Elhadji Mamadou Dieme, will be representing me during my absence. He has accompanied and supported me with all of our projects since May 2015.
Greetings,
Marielle Furter
Recognition from Niaguis >>
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