Le Korsa's first school construction project was the Sinthian Kindergarten in 2010. Because French is the official language of education in Senegal, which formally begins at age seven, it is imperative that students learn the language at a young age in order to progress.

In Sinthian, the children speak Pulaar at home, but the kindergarten offers them 20 hours of instruction per week in the French language, and in other basic subjects such as arithmetic, art, social and environmental awareness, and physical education. It provides over 100 girls and boys each year with an education that improves their chances of excelling academically and remaining in school through university. Due to demand, in 2020 we added another classroom to the kindergarten.

Three teachers—Maimouna Diop, Amy Cisse, and Kadiatou Kante—work at the school, and their salaries and housing are provided for by Le Korsa.

We also built primary schools in the villages of Sare Sidi, Sinthian Sombocourou, and Koar Mbilar, where students were attending classes in temporary shelters. These structures, made of wood and thatch, were built by parents eager for their children to learn, and they hosted government-assigned teachers, who often came from hundreds of kilometers away. Yet the teachers struggled to apply the standardized curriculum in a difficult environment, and the students were hindered by uncomfortable conditions.

Thanks to a grant from the Clara Lionel Foundation, Le Korsa built beautiful school buildings in these three villages. Completed in early 2019, these bright spaces have desks, chairs, and blackboards, and are well-protected from the heat and dust of the region. Students and teachers now work together in an ideal classroom setting.

Our support for rural schools also extends to academic supplies. When families in the Tambacounda region cannot afford the modest cost of pens, pencils, notebooks and other items, they often won’t send their children to school. So in the villages of Sinthian, Koar, Saal, Ngene, Dialico, Bidiancoto, Samba Courou and Goumbayel, Le Korsa provides the supplies that each child will need.

Le Korsa works with teachers in those villages to identify the proper textbooks and materials for that year. We then purchase the supplies in bulk to save on cost, and teachers come to Thread, in Sinthian, to pick up the supplies for their schools. Thanks to this system, over 2000 students are able to attend school each year.