The first programme to be set up in West Africa, it is also, without doubt, one of the most comprehensive. When we arrived in 1986, in Kara, and in 1995 in the Savannah, the two regions had levels of schooling which were amongst the lowest in the whole country and living conditions which were amongst the most precarious.
The important role of women in development inspired us to set up a large number of projects focusing on the education of girls. We are also supporting local initiative schools (EDIL), created by the people themselves and in partnership with GREF (an international association of retired teachers) we have started teacher training courses in order to help voluntary teachers improve their teaching methods.
Furthermore, the division of our programme into two distinct parts was begun on the 1st of January 2001, as well as pulling out of the region of Kara, opting instead for the savannah region and for becoming a support group to help local operators, in the region of Kara.