DUBAI: The Amadeus-funded School in Senegal is well underway following a recent ground-breaking ceremony organized in partnership with Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives. Marking Amadeus Gulf’s 30th anniversary, four representatives from Amadeus Gulf along with other UAE-based volunteers travelled to Ngol Ngol village in Senegal to set the foundation of a new school adopted by Amadeus under the umbrella of Dubai Cares’ Adopt a School initiative. The volunteers joined members of the local community in activities that included digging, lifting, pumping water, mixing concrete, reinforcing steel bars, among others.
Upon completion, the community-based primary school will benefit 60 school children, 60 illiterate adults and 300 villagers.
Graham Nichols, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, said: “With the support of our customers, we are enabling generations of Senegalese children to access education, something that has the potential to be life-changing in so many ways. We’re thrilled with the progress that has been made on the school and are eager to see it completed next month. Our continued partnership with Dubai Cares to provide education to children in Senegal enables us to create a powerful legacy that will have a meaningful impact on the lives of individuals as well as their community.”
Naqqash Jaleel, Director of Products and Marketing at Amadeus Gulf, attended the ground-breaking ceremony. “It was amazing to work together with a local community in laying the foundation for this school—staying with families, learning their culture, and telling stories to children. These memories I will always cherish, especially after I have seen how important education is to the community.”
Senegal has a low literacy rate of about 39% and low enrolment rates in primary and secondary schools. More than half the people in Senegal live below the poverty line, and many children face difficulties in attending school due to lack of opportunity, or the distance to the closest school is too long. The rural areas in Senegal are one of the most economically challenged and underserved regions in the country and is in need of major educational investment.
Dubai Cares is a UAE-based global philanthropic organisation working towards providing children and young people in developing countries with access to quality education through the design and funding of programs that are integrated, impactful, sustainable and scalable. That mission aligns closely with Amadeus Gulf’s corporate responsibility program which actively supports social development in the global markets that the company serves. Says in press release
