By Savina Geerinckx | Project Leader
Late February, Aspyre Africa’s Dakar team and beneficiaries had the great privilege of being interviewed by Radio France International (RFI English). RFI is the state-owned international radio news network of France, and with 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world.
In a context of political instability and rising poverty, migration continues to appear as the only option to many young people in Senegal. RFI wanted to find out what Aspyre Africa does to give young people an alternative to risking their lives at sea.
Read the report / watch the video
After months of protests and insecurity about Senegal’s future, the Senegalese will go to the polls on Sunday 24th March to elect their new leader. We are hoping for a peaceful and prompt transition.
Mohamed’s Story
Two beneficiaries who shared their stories with RFI were sadly edited out of the report. I therefore wanted to seize this opportunity to share one of their testimonies with you:
“Before this training in metal welding, my only plan was to emigrate to Europe by all means. I felt desperate about my economic and social situation. The pressure was coming from all directions for me to go and find work as a construction worker.
When I had the chance to join this training programme provided by Aspyre Africa, it was a huge relief for me. During the training I acquired a lot of technical knowledge in metal welding, which totally changed my thoughts about Europe.
Now, I have more consideration within my family than before the training. I also understand the importance of training. What I would like now is to set up my own business so that I can earn a decent living out of poverty. I also intend to train other young people who are in the same situation as I was.
I would like to thank Aspyre Africa for their help so far, and really hope they will be there all the way to support me in making my project a success.”
Matching donations are back
Last but not least, it’s that time of the year again. From the 8th to the 12th April GlobalGiving will match donations for the “Little by Little" Campaign. In a nutshell:
Can we count on you to mark your diaries, spread the word, and seize the opportunity to increase your impact?
Together we can make sure many more young people like Mohamed can be helped out of poverty, while working with the new government to develop long term, systemic solutions.
Forever grateful,
With warm wishes from the whole Aspyre Africa team
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