Senegal – As part of the Xalé Sama Yité “L’enfant ma priorité” project, aimed at empowering young girls and boys against sexual and gender-based violence, a training workshop for facilitators was held in Mbour from June 24 to July 2nd 2024, as part of the partnership with the École Nationale de Travailleurs Sociaux Spécialisés (ENTSS).

One of the targeted outcomes of this project is the development of a specialized training kit on children’s rights for the social sector, to enable practitioners to lead child-friendly practices that respect their rights. Following the development of this kit, its validation, and the pilot course held last June, the final workshop was a training for trainers, bringing together 30 participants from various child protection sectors, including ENTSS, the Direction Générale de l’Action Sociale (DGAS), as well as civil society organizations dedicated to child protection. The main goal was to strengthen their skills and expertise in using the training kit, and to certify them in its teaching. 

Spanning nine consecutive days, the training adopted an interactive approach, enabling participants to explore the kit’s modules in depth, master the facilitation aspects suited to adults, discuss the content and, above all, prepare to teach it through practical simulations.    

At the end of the workshop, a positive assessment emerged:   

• Participants have assimilated the modules from the training kit. 

• Participants are equipped with facilitation techniques.  

• The conditions for appropriate teaching of the kit have been identified.  

• Experiences and best practices in adult education have been shared.   

• The 30 beneficiaries of the training are officially certified to teach the kit. 

This workshop not only consolidated the skills of the trainers from the social sector, but also strengthened their commitment to securing the rights of Senegalese children at risk or victims of violence, and to contributing to the empowerment of young girls and boys against sexual and gender-based violence.