CADRE

Background

Despite numerous reforms to support the basic educational needs of its population, Senegal's education system, based on teaching French literacy, leaves a large percentage of the population marginalized or outside the formal education structure. In this largely Muslim country (Senegal is 97% Muslim); most children attend an informal Quranic school or DAARA where the Quran is memorialized for up to 6 years before formal education is started.  However, after memorizing the Quran a large percentage of these students do not attend the French language primary schools.  As a result more than 50% of the population is illiterate and 70% of rural women are illiterate.  A majority (80%) of children aged 15 to 16 find themselves out of school without a diploma and without vocational skills. They become part of the informal labor market selling items on the streets without any hope for social and professional integration into the formal economy. Approximately half of the population lives on less than $1.25 per day and the youth unemployment and underemployment rates is over 50%. The Centre d’Appui pour le Développement des Ressources de l’Entreprenariat (CADRE or Center for Support for the Development of Entrepreneurship Resources) seeks to change this. 

CADRE is an outgrowth of the Seddoo Ndam ("Share the Knowledge" in Wolof) organization based in Thiès led by Serigne Malick Fall. Sedoo Ndam designs programs and to implement research concepts to address illiteracy and lack of vocational skills and the resulting marginalization of a large percentage of the population. Since government cannot address the full needs of the marginalized. It is in this context Seddoo Ndam, was established bringing together opinion leaders from rural areas and technical people with various specialties to invest in the sub-sector of Non-Formal Education (NFE) and funding education of youth and illiterate adults. NGOs and people with technical and vocational skills needed by the rural communities where it works. Teaching in Wolof and other national languages rather than only in French, we target the segment of the populatoin left outside of the formal education system. Working from where people are at, we seek to impact people from the inside out, working from who they are to transform what they are able to do. in addition or more than 20 years, Seddoo Ndam has been giving grants to community- based organizations (CBOs) and informal groups to implement grassroots programs for literacy training. Funding has come from the local communities, other nongovernmental organizations, private and public sector and such partners as the World Bank. We have learned that our strategic partners, CBOs, need significant guidance and training themselves before grants can be given or programs implemented.  In other words, we can not just do grant making, we must provide capacity building as well. Partnering with community based organizations, we come along side them, and in the same spirit of respect we educate in local languages, we accompany them in developing the capacity to fully be all they are capable of being.
​

 ​