ALLIANCE FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA FOUNDATION

AYDA Team Spotlight- Elhadj Fall

How long have you worked in the nonprofit sector and why are you passionate about it?

My name is Elhadj Fall I have been working in the non-profit sector for 15 years— from 2006 to present.

In my previous roles, I was responsible to renovate buildings abroad. My passion is to help vulnerable people. I live in the suburbs of Saint Louis in a district called DAROU. A neighborhood where there are a lot of vulnerable people and it makes me happy to do something for them. My work includes citizenship actions, helping vulnerable children get education, helping the community to have access to care, reforestation, and build schools as well as dormitories.

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What inspired you to start AYDA Senegal?

As I have experience in social work, it was time to create our own association to be closer to the population. To give a chance to many young people who are in difficult situations. Allow them to have good supervision on the side of education and training. To help them have access to health care and to allow the community to have good social assistance.

Since its inception, how has the vision for AYDA Senegal evolved?

Since its inception, AYDA Senegal has evolved on all sides— the center, the construction, the projects. The AYDA Senegal Centre is extremely valued by the community through its activities.

For the center, the number of students has doubled as much as last year. At present, AYDA is renovating the primary schools in nalla Ndiaye, the daara will be the DAROU daara and at this moment construction of the ACS school in ngalelle.

For the projects, AYDA has a green street project to preserve the environment, fight against plastic waste, and fight against floods. AYDA Senegal also has a henhouse to finance our activities.

Could you describe AYDA Senegal in five words?

Vision – strategy – creativity – motivation – team work.

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Can you share one story of an individual whose life changed because of AYDA Senegal?

One of our volunteers named Alioune, a political science student who teaches at the AYDA Centre, is a good example. He is passionate about education who is wants to become a full-time educator.

The Sustainable Development Goals are a roadmap for countries around the world to work together and create a better, more sustainable world for all. The Sustainable Development Goal 4 is focused on education, aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, and promote lifelong learning opportunities for everyone.  How does AYDA Senegal support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals?

AYDA supports sustainable development. To support this policy, we have a plan to help young people. First of all, to impart good education, to provide professional and vocational training to ensure a better future. Secondly, to create funding structures and even to take charge of some training for young people in order to fight against illegal immigration.

So far, what is one of the key achievements of AYDA Senegal?

One of the key achievements of AYDA Senegal is the construction of the ACS school.

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How do you finance the projects run by AYDA Senegal?

There are two ways to finance our projects
a. We receive donations from our partners who are: AYDA foundation and AASOA.
b. Our activities are also financed through our henhouse, which generates an income that can be used to cover some expenses such as electricity, water and electricity rentals, etc…

At present, what is an initiative/project that AYDA Senegal is working on and how do you plan to achieve it?

The initiatives or projects that we are focusing on at present are- finishing the construction of the ACS school and starting the fight against plastic waste.

In order to carry out our projects, we would like to have the support of our partners AYDA Foundation and AASOA and others if possible. We will also take steps towards youth structures to benefit from their support.

How do you decide on taking on new projects/initiatives to best help the youth in Senegal?

In order to have more initiatives to better help young people, we ask the young people how to best serve them and eliminate their troubles. We ask the volunteers to make visits to the daaras and parents to hear their opinions.

Going forward, what are the priorities for AYDA Senegal in 2021?

  • Finish the construction of the ACS school
  • Reforestation for the preservation of the environment
  • Fight against plastic waste by providing bins for the population
  • Having our own land for farming
  • Above all, help the DAROU district to have its own infrastructure such as a health center, high school etc.
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Anything else you would like to mention?

I would like to thank the AYDA Foundation team for the remarkable work being done and the trust they have in me. You have inspired us to be useful for our community and we hope to do more in the future. THANK YOU again.

Edited by Naina Anand

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