LVIA presence in Senegal

LVIA has already been in Senegal for thirty years.In fact,the first project dates back to 1973.It concerned the Thiès region.More than 60 volunteers were sent there at that time and activities expanded into the regions of Diourbel and Tambacounda. Over the years, LVIA activities in Senegal, particularly in rural areas, have centred on the following fields:

hydraulics,provisioning villages through drilling of wells, construction and installation of wind-operated pumps;
public health, with programmes to set up and renovate health facilities, professional training and awareness programmes for local populations, building of health centres and "health posts";
the environment,with the setting up of waste collection and plastics recycling;
socioeconomics,generation of revenue through creating and aiding cooperatives and EIGs (Economic Interest Groups) of stockbreeders and craftsmen.

Thiès is still LVIA's centre for development strategy in the country and allows the association to keep a close eye on the rapid process of urbanisation and rural depopulation which is characteristic of the region.One of the most important areas of intervention at the end of the 90s, at the express request of the community and the local authorities, was the fight against the degradation of the environment and the improvement of hygiene conditions in the urban areas.The historic partnership with the Diocese of Thiès, an institution that closely monitors the country's development programmes at the national level, encouraged LVIA to extend its actions to the rural sector.

Women working in the Proplast Center for the recycling of plastic garbage

In the mid-80s, the Integrated development programme of the Diourbel region (former province of "Baol"), whose objective was to fight the extreme poverty of natural resources, the substantial deterioration of the soil and the socioeconomic effects of drought, together with interventions in the hydraulic sector, made Senegal the leader in the area of windmill production for the Sub-Saharan belt countries.
Also within the framework of aid to rural communities, LVIA's actions extend to the region of Tambacounda.Despite its great natural resource potential this region, which along with seven other Senegalese regions was the object of a zoning study carried out by LVIA in partnership with Eau Vive, has become the most disadvantaged in terms of local organisation, level of water provision and access to primary health care services, and also in terms of productivity. Five of the region's local communities were the object of a local development aid programme to strengthen institutional capabilities at the local level, as part of the national decentralisation programme.This programme has now ended but aid and training to rural communities in the region continues.

LVIA, along with 25 other European NGOs, set up the“Plateforme des ONG Européennes au Sénégal”in Dakar in October 2002 - A charitable association, the platform for European NGOs in Senegal aims to support the participation of non-governmental organisations in the economic, social and cultural development of Senegal.

Following two years of presidency, LVIA has remained on the committee. Since May 2005, LVIA has also been designated the Senegal coordinator by the Italian NGOs' aid group of the Sahel producers' movement. In this role, LVIA is a member of the national fund management committee of Italy-CILSS for the fight against desertification and for the reduction of poverty in Sahel.

Lastly, LVIA in Senegal is part of the “Trait d’Union” consortium of sevenItalian NGOs in partnership with UNICEF,in a programme financed by the Italian government and dedicated to fighting the worst forms of child exploitation.