During the 15th Francophonie Summit held in Dakar, Senegal between 29-30 November 2015, World Vision Senegal hosted an exhibition of its work at the ‘Village de la Francophonie’. The village was a place set for National Francophonie Governments, businesses, donors, and local & international NGOs to share their work. The World Vision Senegal’s stand was popular with visitors, including school children, members of the general public, businesses, donors, NGOs and members of the visiting Canadian Government Delegation including the Vice Minister of Development Aid and various Canadian Members of Parliament. World Vision Senegal staff were happy to explain to the visitors the work of World Vision to bring ‘fullness of life’ to children, families and communities in Senegal.
Over the three days, many people visited the World Vision Senegal stand which focused on the fight against malnutrition, food security & economic development and Ebola awareness & prevention.. Visitors could see firsthand the instruments that are used in the field by World Vision to monitor the growth of children - the scale to measure the weight of infants, the measures for children’s height the MUAC (Measuring Mid Upper Arm Circumference) tool and the growth charts to assess overall child health and nutrition.
The public could also see, touch and feel local processed products used to nutritionally feed malnourished children in addition to posters from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade & Development’s SATISY project. These posters are used to teach communities how to both increase production and income but also to assist aid nutrition, particularly of children. The Canadian Deputy Minister of Aid and other Canadian Members of Parliament commented on the depth of knowledge of World Vision Senegal staff of not just the problems of food security and nutrition but also the solutions.
Another feature of World Vision Senegal stand, were two large Ebola posters which are used in World Vision Program areas to educate communities on the disease, raise awareness and ultimately prevent the further spread of the virus in Senegal. The public including many visiting school children were particularly interested in this part of the display. World Vision staff reminded visitors to not lower their guard, even if Senegal successfully contained Ebola during August this year. Visitors were given had sanitizer upon entering the stand as a reminder of the importance of washing your hard in preventing Ebola. They were also given a Ebola awareness brochure as the left the stand to reinforce what they learned at the World Vision stand and to take home to their family.
Mrs Justine Tossou Gomis World Vision Senegal Grant Manager expressed her satisfaction with the event, a first of its kind for World Vision: " After these few days of the "Village de la Francophonie" I realized that, these kinds of events are very important to assist explain our mission to improve the wellbeing of children in Senegal, to the various visitors ranging from school children to donors to senior government ministers from Francophonie countries. It was also an opportunity to teach them about successful development approaches World Vision Senegal is implementing together with communities, government and donors and for them to hear and see the results of this themselves. We hope this will inspire others to become more involved in our work to bring fullness of life to children, families and communities in Senegal.
World Vision Senegal is the largest NGO in Senegal and has been working in Senegal for nearly 30 years to improve the lives of children, families and communities through programs in health and nutrition, education, economic development, leadership and child protection. World Vision Senegal receives funding from a number of donors, including the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development through the SATISFY Grant.
