ActionAid has been operating in Senegal since 2001. We work to improve access to basic services like healthcare, water, sanitation and education – and to bring lasting improvements to the lives of children and families.

Child sponsorship in Senegal

Yasira Diallo (from Togoro village, pictured right) wants to be a doctor. She would like to go to school but her parents can't afford to lose her help during the day.

ActionAid is working to help people improve their livelihoods. Child sponsorships are helping those with land set up irrigation systems, learn new techniques that enrich the soil and introduce new crops with greater yields. Then, farmers will be able to grow enough food to feed their families – and sell the excess to buy essentials like medicines and send their children to school.

• Sponsor a child in Senegal

Education and hunger in Senegal

Access to land is also a problem: 70 per cent of the population rely on agriculture for their income, yet only 12 per cent of land is suitable for farming. Almost half the population is unemployed.Because fertile land is scarce, most farmers have only a small scrap of land to grow crops. In the dry season, with no proper irrigation facilities, it is impossible for farmers to harvest a decent crop.

A shortage of teachers, school fees and the cost of uniforms are just a few barriers to education for many of Senegal’s children. We’re working alongside local communities to get more affordable schooling for all, particularly in rural areas. We’re also developing programmes to keep more pupils – especially girls – in education for longer.

How you can help

When you sponsor a child in Senegal, you'll be providing the resources for real, long-term change. You'll get two letters a year from the child you sponsor, and updates from the country programme to tell you how the money you are spending is changing the community your child lives in.

• Sponsor a child in Senegal