28.10.2007 12:02
Senegal: satisfactory balance
Marc Parramon
The FC Barcelona delegation, which has been in Senegal to inaugurate a XICS centre, is satisfied with the initiative which Hill provide 150,000 Euros and three years of field work.
Beyond its great alliance with Unicef and the work undertaken in Swaziland, the Club’s
Foundation is carrying out a wide social, cultural and solidarity programme. The XICS programme is
a great example. This international network of solidarity centres has begun its first chapter this
week.
This city chosen to build
the first centre has been Richard Toll, a poor town in north Senegal near the border Mauritania.
There has been a buzz of excitement around the town this week with the
inauguration of the centre
. It lies in an area virtually untouched by international aid, due to the poor state of road
and rail connections. The town is a victim of Senegal’s centralism, which results in the area
of Dakar and its environs, as well as the areas in the south in political conflict, receiving most
of the country’s international aid.
Funding
The FC Barcelona Foundation has undertaken the building of this centre,
designing the type of collaboration offered, setting the objectives and choosing the entities that
have helped the project. What’s more, the Foundation has also financed the construction of
the centre with 150,000 Euros, thanks to the collaboration of the Agencia Catalana de Cooperación
al Desarrollo (ACCD) and the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI). These two
cooperation agencies have pledged 60,000 Euros towards running the centre for the first year.
Three years in the field
The Foundation’s direct involvement in this project will last three years, which is
standard in international cooperation. The Foundation will fund the running of the centre for the
next two years, whilst already working on the involvement of local entities.
Institutional aid
The Local Council of Richard Toll has also collaborated in the project, ceding the
land on an indefinite basis, and laying on water and electricity supplies. ASBEF, the Senegalese
family welfare association, has co-managed the Project, and has recruited the centre’s
director and staff. The Barcelona AIDS 2002 Foundation will provide child healthcare, and finally,
local community and religious leaders will be ensuring that the local children, especially the
“talibés”, will take part in the cooperation programmes. The Foundation has also
assigned a field coordinator to make sure the programme achieves its objectives.
The main beneficiaries
Almost 40% of the 250 youngsters enrolled in the centre will be ‘talibé' children, who board
in the ‘daares' or Koranic schools. Here, in exchange for humble board and lodgings, the
youngsters are obliged to beg in the street. The remaining beneficiaries will be local children
facing risk of social exclusion, and specialised care will be provided for girls. “Thanks to
this centre, we have energised the commitment of the local authorities, religious leaders, and the
community as a whole towards the plight of the most vulnerable children”, said Marta Segú,
the Foundation’s Director of International Projects. She has accompanied president, Joan
Laporta, and vice-president, Alfons Godall, in the inauguration of the centre in Senegal.