Supporting young people affected by war

The Casamance region of Senegal has experienced over two decades of conflict and civil unrest which has destroyed infrastructure, devastated communities and left many children and young people without access to education, health care and employment.

From 2006 to 2010, Y Care International, with support from Comic Relief worked with Senegal YMCA to help rebuild the lives of children and young people affected by the conflict.

A young entrepreneur with her daughter, who's been trained in tailoring can now earn a regular income to support her family.

Hannah Maule-ffinch

How we helped
This project is helped to improve the living conditions of children, young people and their families in 10 rural communities in Casamance. It aims to directly reached over 3000 orphans and vulnerable children; former child soldiers; victims of landmines; young widows; and unemployed young men and women.

By the end of the project in June 2010, it is expected that over 3,000 children, young people, parents and opinion leaders will have been reached.

What we have achieved so far
• By reconstructing 31 houses which were destroyed during the conflict, the living conditions of vulnerable young people and their families have been improved
• The project has increased the access of 10 communities to basic services such as education, health and clean water through the construction of three schools, seven water points and three health clinics
• 580 vulnerable young people were given vocational training
• 125 young people secured employment or set up a small business in trades including baking, building, auto-mechanics and tailoring. These young entrepreneurs are earning a regular income, which has led to improvements in well-being for themselves and their families.
• Through the training of 125 ‘Peace and Health Ambassadors’, the project has promoted the participation of children and young people in health education, with a focus on malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention, as well as rebuilding trust and reconciliation among their peers and within their communities. Incidences of intra- and inter-community conflict have reduced, young people and their families openly discuss issues of sexual reproductive health and better understand how to prevent the spread of HIV and malaria.
• Mosquito nets have been provided to over 1900 pregnant women and children, and this combined with peer health education has led to decreased malaria rates in target communities
• Over 1000 orphans and vulnerable children have been sponsored to continue primary education and with support of after-school groups, teachers report over 90 per cent pass rates in school

Next steps
From 2010 to 2011 YCI continued to provide support to Senegal YMCA to sustain its work in target communities. It also conducted an impact assessment on a previous joint entrepreneurship programme with the Gambia YMCA, to inform future programming.

A new project is currently under development to build on the above work and expand into new areas.