Encouraging Girls' Education

The group of female students who attended the ceremony. Hopefully many walked away motivated and determined to succeed in school and if not, that they are proud of their fellow students for their hard work.

Every year for the past 10 or so, Peace Corps Senegal Volunteers across the country run a scholarship competition aimed at promoting girls' education. Named for a PCV named Michele Sylvester, who was killed during her Service in an automobile accident. She was committed to girls' education in Senegal and so in 1993, a memorial scholarship fund was begun in her name to continue her work and passion.

The scholarship competition has never been done (that I know of) in my part of the Delta, so last May, with the help of my then newly-installed neighbors, Mary and Chris, we held it for the first time at the middle school in Djilor. [Side note: middle school students in Senegal range in age from 13-17 or so] We had teachers select the top 6 female students, who then had to write essays on where they see themselves in 10 years, and then we interviewed them at their homes (if possible). The interviews were interesting though awkward and difficult, conducted in French, which is the language of academic instruction in Senegal, and the girls had some difficulty understanding our American French accents. Students in Senegal aren't used to being asked questions like "What do you want to be when you grow up?" or "When you have free time (no school or house work to do), what do you like to do?", so we really had to push the girls for answers (or beg their parents to keep quiet and not answer for their daughters). The awarding of the scholarships was based on personal motivation, academic achievement, personal essay, interview, teacher recommendation, and demonstrated financial need (determined from visiting their homes during the interviews).

From the 6 girls chosen to compete, we gave our recommendations and passed 4 applications along to the PCSenegal scholarship committee in Dakar, who met in August to choose winners for all of the regions of the country. One winner was chosen from each school to win a scholarship of $40-$60 USD to cover the cost of inscription fees, school supplies, and any other school expenses which may occur. Due to some beaurocratic issues and various regulations, scholarship awards were not available in time for the start of the 2009-2010 academic year (the greater Kaolack Region particularly had some issues, but alas). Since most of the school expenses for the year have already been covered, the money will probably wind up going to their families, but hopefully it will serve as an encouragement to their continued academic achievements. [Monitoring and follow up of scholarship funds is something PC Senegal is trying to improve, so as to make sure money is not just solely going to the girls' fathers' wallets, but it's hard to check up on.]

Just 2 weeks ago, we were finally able to properly honor the winners and finalists in the Djilor branch of the competition. Held just days after the peer educator training weekend, we gathered a group of about 45 female 5eme students (eighth grade or so, according to US equivilent) plus the winners (all currently in 5eme except for one girl in 3eme which is the French equivilent of a sophomore) and invited the winners' parents to also show up. We wanted to screen an awesome video, "Elle Travaille, Elle Vit!" (http://www.senegad.org/gallery.html), but yet again technology failed us. Instead, we had a dynamic discussion, asking the girls what they want to become when they grow up (teacher, nurse, premiere ministre in the government, police/gendarme, lawyer, etc) and why it is important to encourage girls' education, before awarding certificates and school supplies to the winners/finalists and sharing sodas with all of the attendees.

Awa Ba (3rd place), Awa Diallo (4th), Oumi Diallo (1st), Fatou Diallo (2nd)

[Though 3 of the girls share the last name Diallo, they are not related...Diallo is a very common Pulaar last name]

1st place: By far the strongest academically, Oumi rocked her interview and also demonstrated major financial need. The youngest of 7 children, Oumi is the only child to make it to middle school, while the rest of the family farms. She lives in a small village 4km from Djilor, without electricity (and no one in her village has a cell phone, which is rare in this part of the country) and walks that distance to school each day. She wants to be the government minister of education and enjoys English class because speaking English will "allow her to communicate with the rest of the world." She also expressed her refusal to marry before finishing her studies (a big issue here, I sure hope she will follow through and not have to cave to early marriage due to financial need). What most impressed us was her interest in the greater world outside of her village and even Senegal, balanced with her obvious care and concern for her family and village. Since we interviewed her last May, she has been chosen as "La Responsable" of her 5eme class, meaning she is basically like her classes female student president, showcasing her leadership abilities as well. Her father has also recently fell ill, adding to the family's hardship, but she is still rocking out in school.

2nd place: Though the youngest one competing (probably about 11 or 12 at the time), Fatou surprised us with her understanding of the questions, poise in answering, and humble confidence, even in the French language. She has high grades and incredibly strong teacher recommendations. Her family was friendly and inviting, especially her dad who is active in their neighborhood and understanding of the situation of girls in Senegal, though their financial need was quite evident. [While 1st place was the only one officially allotted a scholarship through the memorial fund, because multiple girls were deserving, local PCVs contributed to give 2nd and 3rd places a small financial award as well.]

3rd place: From the first introductory meeting about the scholarship competition in April '09, Awa Ba blew us out of the water with her motivation, determination, and desire to win. The oldest of all of the participants, Awa exuded confidence (a rarity among middle school girls, both in Senegal and America) during the interview process. She shared that she wants to be a doctor when she finishes school and while she did not have quite the same financial need as Oumi or Fatou, her academic achievements and motivation alone deemed her worthy of recognition. She participated in our November Girls' Leadership Day with Awa Traore from PCSenegal.

4th place: From Nguekokh (Chris/Jaime's village), Awa Diallo missed her first interview because she had to go to Djilor to grind millet for her family's dinner that night. We rescheduled and she did a great job, talking about how she enjoys math class. We were not able to give her a financial award (just some notebooks and pens), but hopefully she will use 4th place as a jumping off point and will apply for the scholarship again next year.

Here's some pictures from the afternoon:

The winners, Oumi's mom, Fatou's Dad, and a few school officials

Presenting Oumi with her first place certificate, notebooks, and pen's.

It was a great afternoon and though my time in Senegal is running short and I won't be able to do the proper follow-up I would like (such as starting a girls' group or something), I hope that several of the activities I've started with the Djilor middle school (and not just those involving monetary funding), will be able to be continued and improved upon in future years.