During the second half of my time here in Senegal, I have been working with an NGO called Jeunesses et Développement (Youth and Development) to help them design a website. The NGO was founded in 1988 with the intent of improving living conditions for individuals as well as the collective in areas such as environment, health, education, and community development.
Jeunesses et Développement is similar to a scout organization like Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, and it uses this aspect to help protect at-risk youth in Dakar. Jeunesses et Développement also works along side many other NGOs and organization, including UNICEF, to promote and instill values like gender equality, social justice, human rights, human dignity, and reproductive health. When kids have nowhere else to go, they can go to Jeunesses et Développement, which also - when necessary - takes responsibility for feeding and educating their participants.
Previously Jeunesses et Développement only had a Facebook page. I hope that the addition of a website will help them get their name out to more people and organizations so that even more kids can participate in their programs. I’m looking forward to getting to know more about this cool NGO as I work with them more during my last few weeks in Dakar.