Senegal is one of West Africa’s more stable countries, but poverty is widespread and most young people face an uncertain future, with deep-seated and chronic unemployment, juvenile delinquency and drug addiction, especially in urban areas.

A long-running, low-level separatist war in the Casamance region of southern Senegal,  which ended with the signing of a peace agreement in December 2004, has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.

The YMCA has been present in Senegal since 1982, and there are now 12 local YMCA associations in the country. Y Care International has been working in Senegal since 1985, in partnership with the country's National Council of YMCAs.