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Since its creation 75 years ago, the chain of happiness has defended the rights of children, in Switzerland but also abroad.Report in Senegal, where disadvantaged communities benefit from educational projects funded by the Swiss organization.

We circulate by car on a clay road, shared with carts.On the aisle, dilapidated stalls follow one another, offering clothes, street cuisine, hardware, tires or sofas, exposed to the sand.In Malika, a popular district located on the outskirts of the Senegalese capital Dakar, the population lives mainly on informal activities.

In front of a metal construction workshop, several teenagers hammer an aluminum gate on a workbench.Among them, a young woman, Mariam, 17 years old.The group is in apprenticeship with the Non -Government Organization (NGO) Senegalese Alphadev.External link

Ce programme d’insertion de jeunes déscolarisés ou analphabètes est mené depuis 2011, avec l’accompagnement de Terre des Hommes SuisseExternal link. Il fait partie des bénéficiaires du fonds d’aide à l’enfance de la Chaîne du BonheurExternal link au Sénégal.In 2018, the Swiss charitable organization granted it funding of 210,000 Swiss francs, for just over two years.

"All the projects supported are guiding the defense of the rights of the under 18s," explains Judith Schuler, communications director and fundraising of the chain of happiness.And it involves maintenance and protection.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

Alphadev delivers literacy courses and diploma training.The center considers it essential to improve the job prospects of young people to protect them from poverty, crime or temptation to emigrate.

Welding training attracted Mariam for a long time."The job of metal is an art, it is my passion," says the teenager, ".But I couldn't do it all alone, it's difficult by not going to school.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»Especially since his family disapproved of his interest in this "boy's job"»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»». «Au début, on me disait: ‘Tu ne pourras pas continuer, retourne à la cuisine!’»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», raconte-t-elle.

Alphadev practices positive discrimination assumed with regard to young women - over the period covered by the financing of the chain of happiness, 80 of the 132 beneficiaries were girls.Obtaining his certificate of professional aptitude was for Mariam a first victory before perhaps, one day, to open his own workshop.

Graduates respectively of training in sewing and electricity, Babacar and Bachir managed to establish themselves on their own. «C’est grâce aux compétences personnelles et entrepreneuriales acquises ici»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», assure Babacar.For his part, Bachir met his partner during learning, and said he was convinced that "his quality training will in turn allow him to supervise other people"»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»».

Video preview of childhood assistance projects supported by the Chain of Happiness in Senegal:

Education, a course strewn with pitfalls

Alphadev also supports upgrade classes for outburst young people.In this suburbs swollen by the rural exodus, which is only about thirty kilometers from the residential districts of Dakar, we meet a lot of children in the streets during the day.

«C’est une zone oubliée par l’État, l’école publique la plus proche se trouve à 5 kilomètres»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», déplore un leader communautaire du quartier voisin de Yeumbeul."We know that idle children are delayed bombs, which is why we appreciate any help with any help to educate them.We need to be accompanied.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

Decolarization affects all of Senegal, West African country of nearly 17 million inhabitants to the young population - the median age is 18 years.About 1.5 million children do not go to school and, among them, two thirds have never been registered.

Despite notable progress in access to basic education in recent years, few students are carrying out their education at its end: from 59% to the elementary level, the completion rate drops to 27% in secondary, according toFigures provided by the NGO Save the Children.

Numerous obstacles sometimes stand from birth.It is still quite common that parents do not declare their baby, because civil status centers are too far apart or out of ignorance. Les Nations uniesExternal link estiment que près de 30% des enfants de moins de 5 ans n’auraient pas d’acte de naissance au Sénégal.The lack of official identity compromises their future, because this document is essential to integrate the national education system.

The school struggles to make the weight in the face of parents' traditions or poverty.For girls, it is difficult to get out of a destiny of home -in -house mothers.Although they are as much as boys to start schooling, weddings and early pregnancies often force them to give up.Almost a third of them are married before the age of 18.

À Guédiawaye, dans l’agglomération de Dakar, l’ONG sénégalaise Intermondes travaille sur ces aspects, en partenariat avec IAMANEH SuisseExternal link.Their project to prevention of early pregnancy and promotion of sex education also received in 2018 200,000 francs from the chain of happiness, covering a period of three and a half years.

Consulting and dialogue sessions dedicated to 10-18 year olds have been set up in health centers in the department. «Chez nous, la sexualité est très taboue»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», déplore la sage-femme Nafiba Diop, directrice du poste de santé de Fith Mith, un bâtiment aux murs ornés de fresques représentant femmes et nouveau-nés, à la fois cabinet généraliste, maternité et centre de planning familial.

"We don't talk about it at home, and very often children do not understand their bodies.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»"Madame Diop, as it is designated here, says to see regular teenage girls when they arrive at their first rules, of which they do not know everything.Above all, she tries to destigmatize the gynecological consultation, surrounded by prejudices in this 95% Muslim traditional society.In the waiting room that a single ceiling fan struggles to refresh, some women hide their face behind their veil by crossing us. «Si une jeune fille vient voir une sage-femme au poste de santé, on pense forcément qu’elle est active sexuellement et elle risque d’être mal vue»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», explique la professionnelle.

Hear children's voice

Intermondes also collaborates with 26 schools, which allows him to reach several hundred students.Artistic expression is used to help children verbalize their concerns. «En général, [ils] n’ont pas le droit à la parole au Sénégal et c’est un mal très profond qu’on doit traiter»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», note une bajenu gox - une «marraine de quartier»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» – associée au projet.In addition to the educational aspect and awareness, "the chain of happiness greatly values this participative aspect, underlines the spokesperson for the organization Judith Schuler.It is very important that children learn to express their voices.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

Local, organizations of organizations know what cultural levers can be exploited. Pour diffuser leurs messages de prévention dans les quartiers, les ONG mettent par exemple à contribution les «marraines»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» et les «tontons»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», des personnes de référence dans leurs communautés, traditionnellement impliquées dans l’éducation des enfants.

These NGOs also resort to the ancestral practice of talks. Nous assistons à l’une de ces sessions de dialogue communautaire dans une école coranique («daaraExternal link»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»») de Kaffrine, une région rurale parmi les plus pauvres du pays.About twenty students, called Talibés, and their Koranic master (the marabout) are seated on the ground in the shade of a huge pagoda fig tree.

The man they listen to with interest is Mohammed Sankhe. Quatre fois par mois, à l’initiative de Save The Children SuisseExternal link, il rassemble ces enfants de 14 à 17 ans autour de lui dans la cour pour leur parler de leurs droits. La finalité est qu’ils «sachent distinguer ce qui est acceptable ou pas»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», précise-t-il.

The question of the fight against violence arises acutely in Koranic schools.Whether they have been placed there by their parents for Islamic instruction or by financial constraint, children are entirely taken care of by the marabout, which becomes their legal tutor.The lack of supervision exposes them to all kinds of abuse.

«Dans certains daaras, les marabouts s’estiment dans leur bon droit de réclamer une rétribution aux enfants, ce qui les contraint au vol ou à la mendicité, faute de quoi ils sont battus»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», illustre le préfet de Kaffrine, Moustapha Diaw.It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 talibé children in Senegal. Les écoles coraniques coexistent avec le système scolaire promu par l’État – qui tente depuis plusieurs années de les moderniserExternal link.This is why the prefecture supports the project. «On ne peut pas rejeter ce modèle traditionnel, mais Save The Children est là pour nous aider à encadrer les problèmes et les défis qu’il pose»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», salue Moustapha Diaw.

Since the launch of the project in April 2021, the NGO has identified seven intervention daaras in the department.In parallel, it has set up talks about non -violent parenting, and started to train a hundred adolescent girls in the prevention of domestic violence and economic exploitation.Thereafter, they will in turn be responsible for raising awareness among those around them.A total of 2,000 children and just over 300 adults are the target audience.

The chain of happiness allocated 405,000 francs to this program, for the next two years."With children's assistance projects, we generally try to have a little term impact than with our other collections, which normally last rather 18 months," notes the Jadith spokespersonSchuler.These funds are also used to initiate projects that can be perpetuated afterwards.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

The subject of RTS on the chain of happiness programs in Senegal:

Continue their work and extend it is what NGOs we have met.At the very beginning of his project, Save The Children plans within two years who have just developed his collaboration with the authorities of Kaffrine and to obtain an increase in budgets allocated to child protection.Intermonde hopes to be able to reply in the future its prevention model of early pregnancies to other health districts.

Alphadev ambitionne pour sa part d’ouvrir des centres d’apprentissage ailleurs au Sénégal, afin de répondre à une «demande forte des communautés»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», selon le directeur de l’ONG Mor Diakhate.Mariam believes in any case that his training has already changed his life.Wolof mother tongue, she speaks to us in a French almost without fault."All I can tell you in French is Alphadev who taught me.Before, I only knew how to write my name, she smiled.They made us people we were not.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»