When you volunteer in Senegal you travel to the village of Warang near Mbour, 45 km south of Dakar.
Senegal offers a total change of scenery. As the land of music and poetry, Senegal is a safe country and one of the most diverse states in West Africa located next to the Atlantic Ocean. The country has a tradition of openness, talkative and welcoming people. You’ll discover the true form of African Senegal during your stay. Tourism is increasing and the beautiful country has many breathtaking sights included in the UNESCO heritage.
The country almost has 20 ethnic groups each with their own language and culture and is a model of society worldwide. In addition to their own ethnic language, 70% of the population speaks the “Wolof” language. The language of instruction is French. The main industry includes: agriculture, fishing, tourism, phosphate mines, building materials and oil refineries.
Almost half of the population earns less than € 1.50 per day, which often promotes (forced) corruption. Most women and half of the men are illiterate. Child mortality is the highest among children in rural areas, in poor families and families with low educated mothers. Child mortality is strongly linked to poverty. Earning more money is not a big help, as long as it is not combined with better education, public healthcare and drinking water.
Education, especially for girls and mothers, will undoubtedly save children’s lives. Most families (60%) live from agriculture, but their fields often do not provide enough to feed an entire family. Our children’s parents have never been to school and cannot read or write. They live in large families. From the age of 10-12 they go fishing with their father or they trade vegetables, fruit, fish, grains, etc. that they transport by horse / donkey and cart.
Warang is a quiet tourist village where the school and your place of residence is located. Located along the Atlantic Ocean, beach walks and beautiful sunsets are certainly possible.
The “Petite Côte” has become an important tourist destination, ideal for seaside activities. There are plenty of beautiful places, villages and scenic (quiet) beaches that you can visit.
8 km north is Mbour, the nearest city. Mbour is an important and typical African city, full of activities and the most important economic center of the Petite Côte. The largest part of the income consists of artisanal fishing. Make sure to visit the fishing port, the market and the arrival of the beautifully colored fishing boats around 4 p.m.
The projects below are perfect for a diverse group of friends who want to volunteer in Senegal. All projects take place in the same school group, meaning volunteers of the different projects work closely together. In addition, all volunteers stay in the same accommodation. Students, “gap-year” and recent graduates are welcome in all projects.
What do volunteers do?
The volunteers have several responsibilities. It is important to observe the toddlers to respond to their interests, possibilities, preferences, feelings, but notice important skills or attitudes that are insufficiently developed.
All these components are therefore also included in the duties of the volunteer and include supervision (including creative visual, rhythmic, musical and communication skills), in consultation with the responsible teacher.
The volunteer discovers and encourages how he / she can prepare, organize and guide the learning activities for preschool children. How do you stimulate the development of preschool children? How do you organize that?
The volunteer works in a nursery school with 111 children with ages between 3 & 5 years.
Requirements
Volunteers must be interested and able to assist local teachers in the education of children between 3 and 6. Personal and creative ideas are
appreciated. Propose solutions / recommendations for the quality of education. Support and ideas for innovation and improvement are always
appreciated.
The volunteer must understand and know that the future of the Senegalese society lies in education and training. Therefore, he / she has to be able to assist and improve the education of children from poor families. For this he / she will be well informed by the board and competent teachers. Personal proposals / recommendations are welcome.
Good knowledge of French is necessary.
Typical day: The volunteers follow the timetable of the lessons. School time runs every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and during the weekend you’re off.
Minimum: 4 weeks
Schedule:
All year long. During July, August, September (rain season) and during the holidays (Christmas and Easter holidays) there are no classroom activities. We need less volunteers during this period, but there still are regular tasks that need to be performed. You will learn more about this during the application for your volunteer work.
Maximum amount of volunteers (at the same time): 6 (2 per class)
What do volunteers do?
Volunteers help to develop lesson plans, in line with curriculum objectives for different subjects, including mathematics, languages, history, geography and world orientation.
They use the content of their learning experience and encourage our students to gain more insight into all topics the children are interested. Volunteers also contribute to school events and communicate with experienced colleagues and the school management.
Personal and creative ideas are appreciated. As a volunteer you propose solutions and quality recommendations. Support and ideas for innovation and improvement are encouraged. The volunteers are well informed and supervised by the board and competent teachers.
Volunteers are workong in a primary school with 494 students consisting of 12 classes:
Requirements
Typical day: The volunteers follow the school’s timetable. School is every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. our school is close on Wednesday afternoon and during the weekends.
Minimum: 4 weeks
Schedule: Year round, but keep in mind that during July, August, September (rain season) and during the holidays (Christmas and Easter holidays) there
are no classroom activities. We need less volunteers during this period, but there still are regular tasks that need to be performed. You will learn more about this during the application for your volunteer work.
Maximum amount of volunteers (at the same time): 24 (2 per class)
In Senegal, society consists mainly of residents who do not accept entertainment, education and work with auditively deficient people. While the deaf are excluded and live on the edge of society, they represent an important group (1%).
It has been discovered that deaf children hear with their eyes and that, with the help of their hands and expression, they can express themselves as easily as their non deaf friends . Unfortunately, there is no organized and adapted state education for these deaf people in Senegal.
Some very limited literacy projects allow children and adults to express themselves with gestures, but there is no real education here. The result is that thousands of deaf children grow up without developing their cognitive, emotional and social skills …
The chance of being able to make a productive contribution to society is virtually non-existent for them. Their exclusion and isolation as a child, and later as an adult, remains a major problem.
Our school association refuses to accept this situation, because this large generation demands recognition and socialization, problems that go far beyond deafness itself.
We also regret the lack of responsibility from the government for their integration into society, especially since decisions or laws have already been signed in the past (Social Orientation Act 2010-15 of 6 July 2010) … The superiors should do something about this, but nothing has happened, and the situation remains unchanged.
As there is no official and special education for the deaf, there is no special training for teachers. On a pedagogical level, the school association works with the school for the deaf in Dakar and can count on their support. At the start of the 2014-2015 school year, 3 new classes were opened. In 2019 we will have 80 pupils from 4 to 17 years old in primary school with 6 classes.
Sport and relaxation are an essential part of every child’s education. The energy of deaf children can also be properly directed with sport. Thanks to our school, the deaf also participate in football matches, practice rugby, basketball and learn to swim. Judo also promotes mutual respect and discipline.
The school group continues to provide education for deaf children. For this they try to extend their range to more remote areas, where there is no education for deaf children. Therefore, in October 2016, a boarding school was opened within walking distance of the school group to accommodate 15 children from 5 to 15 years old. The children are fully taken care of and can relax and develop in various areas. A happy and large family was created in this way. The costs for their training and their stay are funded by donations. In time, the boarding school will develop in function of the number of admitted children who have reached school age.
The activities for these children are diverse and gradually replace the hard times of their first years of life: sports, manual activities, trips, collective games, playing with LEGO, etc.
In order to let the young deaf people function autonomously later, we set up workshops so that they can learn different skills, like sewing, gardening, knitting and crocheting, ceramics and pottery, bookbinding, joinery, metal processing, patisserie, etc. This requires an efficient and professional approach.
What do our volunteers do?
Volunteers must be interested and able to assist local teachers in the education of deaf children. Personal commitment and creative ideas are always welcome. Support and ideas for innovation and improvement are appreciated.
Requierements
Typical day: The volunteers follow the school’s timetable. School is every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. our school is close on Wednesday afternoon and during the weekends.
Minimum: 8 weeks
Schedule: Year round, but keep in mind that during July, August, September (rain season) and during the holidays (Christmas and Easter holidays) there are no classroom activities. We need less volunteers during this period, but there still are regular tasks that need to be performed. You will learn more about this during the application for your volunteer work.
Maximum amount of volunteers (at the same time): 12 (2 per class).
You work on the agricultural project of our education projects in Senegal.
Permaculture is a science that favors a human living environment that is ecologically sustainable and economically stable. Complex ecosystems in nature serve as a model for permaculture.
Permaculture is a philosophy of cooperation with nature, and not against nature. Long-term and well-considered observations are used, in contrast to the existing, and in the long run, harmful work.
We look at plants and animals from many different perspectives instead of treating them as an isolated product system. It has many extensive branches, but is not limited to ecological designs, ecological engineering, regenerative design, environmental design and construction.
Permaculture also includes integrated water management that develops a natural and sustainable architecture, as well as a regenerative and self-sustained habitat and farming systems, modeled from natural ecosystems.
Permaculture has several purposes:
Requirements
Minimum: 8 weeks
Schedule: continuously
Typical day: The volunteers arrange their work in consultation with the school’s management team and the local plantation managers.
Maximum amount of volunteers: Depending on the period and the products to be processed.
Various approaches are possible:
What do our volunteers do?
Our goal is to contribute to the quality and continuity of care provision within a specific domain in the our school group.
The core of the volunteer’s contribution is to perform diagnostic research, monitor the patient’s health and, if necessary, act therapeutically.
The duties of the volunteer include: investigating, monitoring, treating, guiding and communicating with all patients with all types of disorders within the (medical) field.
The pupils can use first aid during school hours in a separate room under the supervision of a professional nurse. Volunteers are informed by the board and the approved nurse.
Requirements
Minimum: 2 weeks
Schedule: Year round? but keep in mind that during July, August, September (rain season) and during the holidays (Christmas and Easter holidays) there are no classroom activities. We need less volunteers during this period, but there still are regular tasks that need to be performed. You will learn more about this during the application for your volunteer work.
Typical day: The volunteers arrange their work in consultation with the management of the school group.
Children with Down syndrome are more likely to have medical problems causing physical problems over the years. Problems also occur with behavior, upbringing and mental development.
Regular monitoring from the first month of life up to and including the teenage years is very important. Problems can be detected early and treated as well as possible. This way we can also guide the child but also the family.
Thanks to improvements in medical science, the health and life expectancy of children with Down’s syndrome has increased enormously. In this way, early detection of problems can contribute to a better quality of life for the child.
What do our volunteers do?
Practicing and integrating into daily care.
Requierements:
Minimum: 2 weeks
Schedule: Year round, but keep in mind that during July, August, September (rain season) and during the holidays (Christmas and Easter holidays) there
are no classroom activities. We need less volunteers during this period, but there still are regular tasks that need to be performed. You will learn more about this during the application for your volunteer work.
Typical day: The volunteers arrange their work in consultation with the management of the school group.
It would be an endless job if we had to list all the members of the local team. The local team consists of a management board and a board of directors
who manage, orient and guide the various groups. Kindergarten, primary school, primary school for deaf children, the care of children with Down syndrome and the care of deaf children in the boarding school are provided by competent teachers and staff. Traditional professions for deaf children are taught by professional trainers.
Below the people who will introduce you to our magnificent team
René is the school group’s administrative director and will guide you through your work.
Mady and Mathilde are the volunteer’s “parents”. They will welcome you upon arrival and they are always willing to explain the hundreds of cultural, religious and habitual differences.
They provide the volunteers their meals and a place to stay every day.
The guesthouse where we house the volunteers is located about 1.5 km walking distance from the school & only 500 meters from the Atlantic Ocean.
All rooms are equipped with a double bed or 2 separate beds, each with storage space, a mosquito net, a fan, sheets and towels. You share the room with maximum 1 other volunteer.
There is western sanitation and hot water showers. You share the bathroom and toilet with a maximum of 4 other volunteers.
Electricity is 220 volts and there are plenty of sockets available. Wi-Fi is present in the entire building.
You eat breakfast and dinner on the roof terrace of the guesthouse. You eat lunch at your workplace in the school group.
Volunteering in Senegal is more than just work. You cannot compare voluntary work to a full-time day job. You will have full say in your hours and have enough time to explore the area together with the other volunteers.
Volunteering abroad does cost money and it is not our intention that the community you are going to help has to pay for this. If there was enough money to bear these costs, we would rather spend them on a local employees who understand the local culture and daily customs.
If you want to learn more about our transparent system, take a look at our transparency page.
These costs, which you pay on site, are related to your stay in Senegal such as your accommodation and meals. By paying locally, you are also sure that your contribution will end in Senegal and will not stay behind at various “stations”.
What is included?
Probably there are other expenses that you have to keep in mind. Below a brief summary of the most common possible costs:
any projects require a continuity of volunteers to create impact and we want to ensure sufficient inflow of volunteers to keep every project viable. Unfortunately volunteer recruitment comes with a costs such as marketing. The fundraising done by the organizations in our alliance are exclusively used for development projects in the countries mentioned on this website.
The alliance fee serves to bear the costs of the alliance’s platform. We ask every participant a one-time alliance fee of € 130. This is a one-time contribution which you pay after being accepted for your first volunteer placement. After payment of this contribution you can do unlimited voluntary work in any project in the future (if there is availability and you meet the set requirements for that project).
As a member, we always inform you as soon as new projects are added in our alliance.
What is your alliance fee used for?
You can read more at our transparency page.
We will not let you leave without a thorough preparation. We have a detailed system, so you can sleep on both ears and leave with peace of mind. Once you have been accepted and everything has been put in order, you can count on the guidance of our experts.
As soon as you applied and you are accepted to volunteer we start with your preparation. You can already read a lot on this website, besides this we also prepare you through other channels. Once in the field you also can rely on our local team.
Volunteering abroad will have an impact on you but also on the local community. We think it’s very important, that you as a volunteer are aware about what to expect. So you can start prepared with your volunteering experience. When you are accepted as a volunteer and you confirmed from your side, you will receive the access codes for our secured volunteer page. At this page you can read all information which is important for your preparation, Such as information about your project, accommodation, How to apply for your visa, a packing list, a complete chapter about cultural differences and much more …
You will be assigned a mentor who you can contact for any help or needed advice. Our mentors are members of our alliance and have years of experience in the projects we support. This system ensures that you receive good guidance from VAA.
Your safety is very important to us. We only allow volunteers to travel to areas that are politically stable. If this is not the case, the project will not proceed. Every member of the alliance keeps a close eye on the security recommendations. Of course, we can also rely on the local employees of the projects. They live and work there themselves and know the area very well.
Senegal is located in the tropical climate zone at the transition zone from the dry Sahara in the north to a moist tropical rain zone. There are roughly two seasons: the rain and the dry season.
The rain season, July to mid-October, is characterized by tropical rain showers that often fall at night. In the coastal region, however, a sea breeze brings the necessary cooling. During the dry period, the temperatures on the coast are pleasant and the temperature rises the further you go inland.
Every project has at least one permanent employee. This employee organizes your project and your stay together with the participating organization of our alliance. During your stay you can always connect with them; they are available for advice and practical information, but you can also count on them in case of an emergency.
Upon arrival at the international airport Blaise Diagne in Dakar you will be met by a taxi or school bus that will take you to your place of residence in Warang, 45 km south of Dakar.
Upon arrival at the residence you will be welcomed with open arms by Mathilde and Mady who immediately give you an inviting and welcoming feeling.
You will receive a detailed route description, once you are accepted as to volunteer in Senegal. Here you can read all contact information, addresses, etc
In the past we had problems with sharing our operations address therefore we deliberately not share this information in advance. The organizations within our alliance take their duties seriously, our projects are not tourist attractions and we do not want uninvited guests to disturb our operations. Moreover, it is very disturbing for the local employees of our alliance but also for other volunteers if someone suddenly appears at the projects to take a look.
We are not doctors and we do not know your personal & medical background. That is why we advise everyone to make an appointment with your doctor or travel vaccination center before traveling to your destination. You can always take a look at the website of the WHO for the latest situation in Senegal.
Every organization within our alliance has an emergency procedure and you also receive all emergency telephone numbers once accepted as a volunteer. You will find all this information on your personal project page, you will receive the code as soon as you are accepted as a volunteer and you completed your application.
For Senegal, you only need an international passport that is valid for at least another three months upon arrival. You will receive a visa for three months upon arrival. It is no problem at all if you want to stay longer. We can help you with a visa run (quickly cross the border) to Gambia.
There is no typical day or script to follow – every day will be different and full of surprises. That is the beauty, but also challenge, of international volunteering. We expect you to understand this and be flexible, open and proactive at all times.
The projects run Monday through Saturday and Sunday are usually free days. Depending on your project, you will work some combination of different hours during.
There are always new initiatives being launched and other volunteers looking for a helping hand. The projects are very dynamic and responsive to the community’s needs, and we encourage you to be flexible and willing to help wherever there is need. It is very likely that you will have the opportunity to work across multiple projects. Remember, the more you put into your experience, the more you will get out of it.
The official language in Senegal is French. We also ask that our volunteers at least have an moderate knowledge of French.
All organizations active in the alliance take their work very seriously. From general preparations to details that you never imagined that they exist, but that are important to give you a safe, comfortable and meaningful experience. We invest a lot of time in preparing, following up and implementing our preparation materials, but also our projects on site. We hope that you, for your part, commit yourself 100% during your volunteer work and this is done in a respectful way for us, but even more so for the local community you are going to help.
Daily behavior when you volunteer in Senegal
Volunteering in Senegal is possible from 2 weeks. Depending on the project you register for.
Our team members are already active for years in development aid so you can rely on years of experience.
We do not believe in voluntourism. Volunteers are not tourists. Volunteers expect to serve, tourists expect to be served.
Create a network of people and organizations to have a positive impact on disadvantaged communities.
Registered as a non-profit organization with a clear financial structure.
