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MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL DIRECTOR

Dear colleagues,
Dear partners,

On the verge of this New Year and new decade, I am delighted to share with you this year’s edition of Annual report, my first since stepping into my new role, which summarizes some of the most exciting accomplishments from the last year 2019. The transformative impacts you would read is a result of partnership that met the tireless efforts and dedication of the larger World Vision Family, starting with those frontline staff for the well-being of the children we serve. We celebrate the hand of God, visible through the work accomplished among the most vulnerable in our communities, while recognizing the need for God’s presence at the center of our future interventions.

Since 1984, World Vision has been working in Senegal to help address the despair of vulnerable children, acting as a global advocate for child well-being, a voice for the voiceless, and a partner for poor communities and the oppressed. From our earliest beginnings it was clear that we needed to get closer to local people through community development programs that would empower them and restore their dignity, above all to the children among them. This goes a long way towards explaining why our long-term programs are anchored in communities.

Among many notable achievements, we are proud to have contributed to:

1 - Furthering equal access to quality education and training for children by increasing the number of reading clubs;
2 - Increasing the number of people having access to the community health insurance system;
3 - Improving nutrition for children under five and ensuring that all women of reproductive age gain better health and nutritional status throughout World Vision intervention areas;
4 - Ensuring that all children live in households that are resistant to shocks and can feed everyone, thanks to the burgeoning numbers of Savings and Credit Groups or S4Ts (Savings for Transformation);
5 - Expanding the number of Child Protection Committees to ensure that children are shielded from violence, exploitation and abuse.

Furthermore, World Vision attaches great importance to Advocacy, which it considers a crucial to attaining the main objectives of World Vision’s global strategy ‘Our Promise’, focused on building a better future for the most vulnerable in our communities.

Thus, during this fiscal year, we reaffirmed our commitment through a moment marked by the launch of the national advocacy campaign ‘Je sais lire’ (‘I can read’), in partnership with the Ministry of National Education and all actors in the education community, to mobilize all stakeholders around the issue of the quality of education in Senegal. The launch of the ‘Je sais lire’ campaign laid the groundwork for a flagship stage of definition of its 3 years Action Plan aiming to improve the reading skills of all school age children of school age across the country.

The campaign ‘Together for a Senegal Without Child Marriage’ that we launched some time ago also hit also hit higher heights throughout the year, as a result of the celebration of the week of the African Child at national level, which saw the involvement of World Vision in various commemorative activities. Note also that World Vision is one of the key players who initiated the official launch of the National Guide on the Protection of Children in Senegal.

This work would not have been possible without the unconditional support of our partners, donors around the world, to whom we owe a great deal of gratitude.

We were particularly delighted this year to welcome our major international supporters from France and England, who visited us this year; their contribution allowed us to make impactful strides in field projects in the areas of education, water hygiene & sanitation and nutrition. Their various visits strengthened our bonds and above all helped us to see the greater potential in our partnerships for the years ahead.

Lastly, this year saw significant progress in terms of partnerships that allowed World Vision to secure additional grants, with the acquisition of seven new projects in which nearly 50% of the funding is earmarked for health and nutrition.

God Bless.

Mrs Antoinette Habinshuti
National Director
World Vision Senega