Why Teaching in Senegal?

Senegal has deserts, forests, miles of beautiful coastline, a lively Franco-African music scene and plenty to see and do.

The most visited country in West Africa, Senegal is a land full of natural beauty and thriving commercial centres. With a cool but tropical climate and a more lush, fertile land than many of its neighbours, Senegal makes an ideal introduction to this vast continent.

Senegal maintains strong French links despite gaining independence in the 1960's. The African influence however is still prevalent and Senegal combines a mix of colonial traditions and specialised African customs. As the cultural and literary centre of West Africa, Senegal is home to among other things, some of the region's most well respected African musicians and has inspired numerous poets and artists over the years.

Volunteering in Senegal

We are based in and around the island city of St Louis in the north of Senegal. St Louis island, in the mouth of the Senegal River, was one of the first European settlements in West Africa. French influence is everywhere from the sound of French being spoken on the streets to the beautiful but crumbling colonial buildings. With its traditional fishing villages scattered along the coast and its reputation for being one of the indigenous cultural centres of West Africa, St Louis offers volunteers the chance to get a true taste of modern-day Senegalese life.

Why do voluntary Teaching?

Voluntary teaching is beneficial to everyone involved. Firstly, it provides our volunteers with the opportunity to work in an environment culturally different from their own. This provides volunteers with an experience that is unique to Senegal and they will return home with a far greater understanding of the way in which millions of the world's population think and act. They will more importantly have an understanding and appreciation for Senegalese youth culture and during their teaching classes will gain an insight into the way in which their students think, live and interact. Teaching will ultimately equip them with fuller and better cross-cultural understanding.

Secondly our volunteers are providing an important skill for the students they teach, that of conversational English. Having a native English speaker is a massive advantage and very helpful to the schools in which they teach. Both students and staff members alike wholly appreciate the language skills and enthusiasm our teaching volunteers bring to their classes. The students also use the opportunity of having a foreign teacher to learn about the customs and practices of the West.

We hope our teaching programme will provide an opportunity for two different cultures to learn from each other. In the 21st Century the importance of greater cultural and linguistic exchange cannot be underestimated. We hope to provide new language skills for the students in the schools in which we place volunteers and also for the volunteers themselves to learn and gain knowledge from the classes in which they teach.