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Before & After

Photo: AED/Faouzi Benjaloun

BEFORE: This dilapidated structure was the only building that could house a middle school — but it was too dangerous a place for children. Leaders from the village of Karantaba wanted to provide a middle school so that students finishing nearby elementary schools had the option of completing their education. Normally, children who wanted to continue studying after elementary school left home to attend the next-closest middle school – 90 kilometers down a

Photo: AED/Larraine Denakpo

AFTER: With USAID support, community members pitched in to build four classrooms, a library, a science room, staff offices, separate restrooms, and a fence, all in five months. Local youth were hired to do the work when possible. The new school was inaugurated in 2005 and welcomed 300 students. Having a well-built middle school within walking distance is allowing more girls and boys to get a basic education and increase their chances of becoming productive and healthy adults.

USAID is closing educational gaps and opening school doors for teenage students in rural Senegal. For years, parents in Karantaba village had little choice but to keep their children home after they finished elementary school because there was no local middle school. It was impractical, expensive, and often impossible to send children far from home to attend the nearest middle school, 90 kilometers away. Community leaders had already built temporary classrooms to keep up with rising elementary school enrolment, so they knew what needed to be done. With help from USAID, they put their knowledge to work.

USAID is working closely with the Government of Senegal and 30 communities to build or improve schools throughout the country. Local communities are getting involved in the construction, renovation, and school management. The renewed attention to schooling is boosting local demand for quality education, especially for girls.

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