The Ndiagamar School Project
Let's help Ndiagamar, a Senegalese school project, and make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children in the suburb of Diamaguène, Dakar, Senegal Learn More
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My dear friends...in case anyone of you was planning to buy me a present or post card for my upcoming birthday....please donate the to the Diagamar school project instead !!!!
Every cent helps us helping the children of Diamarguene !
Thank you so much, may the Most High bless you always in all ways !
World Day Against Child Labour 12 of June 2009
In the Millennium Development Goals the United Nations has set targets of ensuring that by 2015 all boys and girls complete a full course of primary education and that there is gender parity in education. These targets cannot be met unless the factors that generate child labour and prevent poor families from sending children to school are addressed.
A key indicator is the percentage of girls that complete their primary education. According to Gapminder World statistics, the percentage of primary school completion among girls in Senegal has grown from 34% in 1999 to 42% in 2004.
The ILO has estimated that some 165 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are involved in child labour. Many of these children work long hours, often in dangerous conditions. Child labour is closely associated with poverty. Many poor families are unable to afford school fees or other school costs. The family may depend on the contribution that a working child makes to the household’s income, and place more importance on that than on education. And when a family has to make a choice between sending either a boy or girl to school, it is often the girl who loses out.
The Ndiagamar School Project is doing its best to tackle barriers to girls education in the area of Diamaguène and tries to provide catch up education opportunities for children and youth who have so far missed out on formal schooling. Let us give all the possible support to the small team of teachers who are doing their best in creating a decent learning environment to children!
AFRICA: Tell us more – Children call for sex education
DAKAR, 11 December 2008 (IRIN) - Children in sub-Saharan Africa want to know more about sex and how to protect themselves from HIV, but taboos surrounding children's sexuality can mean life-saving information is kept from them, according to an international NGO.
Children in the region say they need access to sex education that is comprehensive, practical, and free from moral judgment, according to the report Tell Me More! by Save the Children Sweden (SC-S). The NGO researched children's views on sexuality, sex education, HIV prevention approaches and sexual identity in nine sub-Saharan African countries.
"Adults think we're too young to know anything about sexuality. They don't explain things clearly. They don't want to give the information to children," Carine Hlomador, a 15-year-old AIDS activist from Togo, told IRIN during the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
With nearly 1,800 new infections every day among children under 15 worldwide, some through sexual activity, sex education for children is vital to prevent the spread of HIV, Save the Children says in its report, released on 1 December.
Right to information
The 2001 UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS states that young people aged 15-24 should have access to information and services to protect themselves from HIV infection, and aimed to reach 90 percent of youths by 2005.
But three years past that target only 40 per cent of young men and 36 percent of young women worldwide are armed with accurate knowledge on HIV prevention, according to a 2008 UN report.
Under-15s are not targeted at all, despite more than 10 percent of interviewees between 15 and 19 claiming to have had sex under the age of 15, according to Amé David, SC-S programme manager in Dakar.
"Children under 15 have been largely ignored in HIV/AIDS prevention education programmes, because talking about children's sexuality is taboo," David said.
Taboos around children's sexuality also mean that little is known about children aged 7 to 14, according to Save the Children. "There is clearly a need – if not a moral obligation – for studies [on these age groups]," the report concludes, adding that children are being exposed to HIV from a young age, becoming sexually active early and developing their own strategies to protect themselves.
Studies show that children with access to accurate information tend to delay having sex for the first time. "It is the children who don't have the information who try to discover what it is all about," SC-S's David said.
David is convinced that suppressing children's sexuality can only make things worse: "If we say nothing is happening at adolescence, we are deluding ourselves. If we look the other way and put our head in the sand, children will look for information in the media which is not always a good source."
Bayala Rodrigue, 16, of Côte d'Ivoire, told IRIN adults would be wrong to avoid the subject. "In Africa, adults say there is an age after which you can teach sexuality to children. But there is no age limit. You think you know your child, but in reality you don't. On the street you don't know what he or she is learning."
Why the taboo
The silence surrounding children's sexuality in some sub-Saharan countries comes partly from adults' unease with the subject, says Anta Fall Diagne, programme officer for reproductive health at the Population Council, an international NGO working on reproductive health in Senegal.
"It is adults, policymakers and ministers who are afraid of [talking about it]. The youth themselves are open about their problems."
Religion also plays a significant role, she said. People are reluctant to talk to children about sexuality in societies where sex outside of marriage is frowned upon.
But Fall said: "One thing is sure – many of them [youths] have a sex life. Another thing is sure – they have problems with their sex lives. Thirdly, they do not have the right information to deal with these problems."
Better sex education in schools
Children surveyed by SC-S who do receive sex education in schools said that it is often negative, contradictory and too focused on biology. Instead children want knowledge that is relevant to their situation and the skills to negotiate prevention methods in a relationship.
"You've told me to protect myself," Rodrigue of Côte d'Ivoire said. "OK, I know that you put the condom on the penis. But there are other things to negotiate. We need more realistic information."
The report also found that teachers are often unprepared to openly discuss issues of sexuality with children and frequently take a moralistic and negative stance.
"Teachers don't seem to want to open the debate to allow children to express themselves, talk about what's happening to them and find solutions for their problems," Souadou Ndoye, a 17 year-old Senegalese student, told IRIN.
Source: Irin Africa (26 December 2008)
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?R...
AFRICA: Tell us more – Children call for sex education
DAKAR, 11 December 2008 (IRIN) - Children in sub-Saharan Africa want to know more about sex and how to protect themselves from HIV, but taboos surrounding children's sexuality can mean life-saving information is kept from them, according to an international NGO.
Children in the region say they need access to sex education that is comprehensive, practical, and free from moral judgment, according to the report Tell Me More! by Save the Children Sweden (SC-S). The NGO researched children's views on sexuality, sex education, HIV prevention approaches and sexual identity in nine sub-Saharan African countries.
"Adults think we're too young to know anything about sexuality. They don't explain things clearly. They don't want to give the information to children," Carine Hlomador, a 15-year-old AIDS activist from Togo, told IRIN during the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
With nearly 1,800 new infections every day among children under 15 worldwide, some through sexual activity, sex education for children is vital to prevent the spread of HIV, Save the Children says in its report, released on 1 December.
Right to information
The 2001 UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS states that young people aged 15-24 should have access to information and services to protect themselves from HIV infection, and aimed to reach 90 percent of youths by 2005.
But three years past that target only 40 per cent of young men and 36 percent of young women worldwide are armed with accurate knowledge on HIV prevention, according to a 2008 UN report.
Under-15s are not targeted at all, despite more than 10 percent of interviewees between 15 and 19 claiming to have had sex under the age of 15, according to Amé David, SC-S programme manager in Dakar.
"Children under 15 have been largely ignored in HIV/AIDS prevention education programmes, because talking about children's sexuality is taboo," David said.
Taboos around children's sexuality also mean that little is known about children aged 7 to 14, according to Save the Children. "There is clearly a need – if not a moral obligation – for studies [on these age groups]," the report concludes, adding that children are being exposed to HIV from a young age, becoming sexually active early and developing their own strategies to protect themselves.
Studies show that children with access to accurate information tend to delay having sex for the first time. "It is the children who don't have the information who try to discover what it is all about," SC-S's David said.
David is convinced that suppressing children's sexuality can only make things worse: "If we say nothing is happening at adolescence, we are deluding ourselves. If we look the other way and put our head in the sand, children will look for information in the media which is not always a good source."
Bayala Rodrigue, 16, of Côte d'Ivoire, told IRIN adults would be wrong to avoid the subject. "In Africa, adults say there is an age after which you can teach sexuality to children. But there is no age limit. You think you know your child, but in reality you don't. On the street you don't know what he or she is learning."
Why the taboo
The silence surrounding children's sexuality in some sub-Saharan countries comes partly from adults' unease with the subject, says Anta Fall Diagne, programme officer for reproductive health at the Population Council, an international NGO working on reproductive health in Senegal.
"It is adults, policymakers and ministers who are afraid of [talking about it]. The youth themselves are open about their problems."
Religion also plays a significant role, she said. People are reluctant to talk to children about sexuality in societies where sex outside of marriage is frowned upon.
But Fall said: "One thing is sure – many of them [youths] have a sex life. Another thing is sure – they have problems with their sex lives. Thirdly, they do not have the right information to deal with these problems."
Better sex education in schools
Children surveyed by SC-S who do receive sex education in schools said that it is often negative, contradictory and too focused on biology. Instead children want knowledge that is relevant to their situation and the skills to negotiate prevention methods in a relationship.
"You've told me to protect myself," Rodrigue of Côte d'Ivoire said. "OK, I know that you put the condom on the penis. But there are other things to negotiate. We need more realistic information."
The report also found that teachers are often unprepared to openly discuss issues of sexuality with children and frequently take a moralistic and negative stance.
"Teachers don't seem to want to open the debate to allow children to express themselves, talk about what's happening to them and find solutions for their problems," Souadou Ndoye, a 17 year-old Senegalese student, told IRIN.
Source: Irin Africa (26 December 2008)
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?R...
