Library Partners: Nghoky

Year: 2014
Country: Senegal
Project Status: Funded
Impact Sector: Health
Project Investment: $937.50

Project Launch:

Nghoky is a medium sized village located in the Dabo region of Senegal with about 1,000 residents. The village is located on a main road which connects the town of Dabo to a large weekly market in Guinea Bissau. There are a few cement buildings in the village, but most people live in grass-roofed huts, on compounds with their extended family surrounded by farmland and nearby to a seasonal river where rice is cultivated. Most men work the days as farmers, growing food for their families, while women work primarily in the home. From pounding food, to pulling water, to caring for large numbers of children, their work is never done.

There are currently three schools in Nghoky, a preschool, an elementary school, and a middle school; however, most adults in the community did not have the luxury of these schools, meaning basic literacy and numeracy is not widespread, and the value of education has not yet taken root in the community. Generally speaking, boys are favored over girls when it comes to completing schooling, and oftentimes young girls are pulled out of school between middle school and high school and given to husbands. As a result of this educational context, only about 30 people in the village have completed high school and only a handful of men have made it through university. The goal of the Library Partners project, approved by village leaders, is to launch a library in the middle school, to improve the environment for education and to diversify the educational opportunity provided to students in Nghoky. Village leaders have committed to establishing a library fund to support the sustainability of the project.

 

Project Update

Books have been purchased and the library classroom is complete, providing 163 middle school students access to books and after-school study sessions. The community is very excited about the library as it will allow all community members access to new information. The Principal will continue hosting community fundraisers to raise money for additional books, with hopes of expanding the library.

 

Testimonials

“This library will be a huge benefit for the students, but also for the entire communities’ future. I think it has also helped to open communication between teachers and parents and bring a bigger focus to education.”Chelsea, Peace Corps Volunteer

 

"This project is very important to the village.  We have been waiting for a long time to get books and it is very difficult for students when they don't have any learning materials." - Adama, Teacher, Project Beneficiary 

 

"This library will be good for the students.  They will have books for the school year and a place to study.  This will help both men and women with their education and advance through university." - Project Beneficiary 

 

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