USAID helps teenagers continue their education close to home
New middle school in Karantaba enriches community development

USAID supports the Government of Senegal's efforts to provide a quality education to all children, even those living in remote rural areas. USAID is working with 30 rural communities to improve school infrastructure so that Senegal's teens can complete middle school close to home. Construction and renovation activities have dramatically increased community participation in school management and in local demand for quality education, particularly for girls.

Before

The village of Karantaba is in a remote area of Senegal, 90 kilometers from the regional capital of Kolda. Access to Karantaba by dirt roads and over small streams is difficult and takes two hours when conditions are good. In December 2003, USAID met with village leaders to discuss their desire to have a middle school in their community so that children graduating from the eight elementary schools in or near the village would be able to attend middle school without having to abandon their education or move away from their families during the school year.

The community leaders had already made considerable efforts to build temporary buildings like the ones shown above to handle the increased enrolment in elementary schools. USAID, the Ministry of Education of Senegal and Karantaba's leaders hope that having a well built middle school in their midst will allow more girls and boys to get a basic education close to home, thus greatly increasing their ability to be productive and healthy adults and parents.

After

Construction of four classrooms, a library, a science room, principal and teacher offices, separate restroom facilities for boys and girls, and a surrounding fence took place over a five-month period with the community providing sand and water. Local youth were hired whenever possible.

In mid-2005, community and national leaders inaugurated the new school. Furniture and equipment will be provided by the project and a principal and teachers have already been nominated and received training so that at the start of the 2005/2006 school year over 300 students will be enrolled in Karantaba's new community middle school.