Coming from the regions of Diourbel, Kaffrine (center) and Thiès, they worked on calculation, reading and writing in Serer and Wolof.

The goal of the training is to enable them to strengthen the efficiency of women in the management of microenterprises. They are to teach them how to keep an operating account, write minutes of meetings, activity reports, etc., in Wolof or Serer.

The government of Senegal, with the help of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), wants to remove the "constraints" associated with illiteracy.The government of Senegal, with the help of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), wants to remove the "constraints" of illiteracy and unemployment with PALAM 2, according to the program's director general, Khady Fall Ndiaye Mbacké.

PALAM contributes to the reduction of poverty among rural populations and women in priority, through access to functional literacy and focused on skills, access to Islamic microfinance services," said Ms. Mbacké.

Abou Bâ, speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries of the training, praised the quality of the knowledge learned and the conditions in which they were taught.

He submitted to PALAM's executive director some grievances related to the lack of training follow-up and didactic material, as well as the low level of remuneration for the facilitators' work and the delays in payment. He also called for the integration of facilitators into the civil service.

The director of PALAM was sensitive to their grievances. However, she said that the increase in remuneration and their integration into the civil service were not within her competence.

The treatment of facilitators is the subject of an agreement between them and their employer, said Ms. Mbacké, adding that negotiations can be conducted on this by both parties.

Djiby Guèye Diongue, a deputy governor of Thiès, praised the "very strong citizen action" of literacy facilitators. They work in "difficult" conditions, he acknowledged.

Mrs. Mbacké was pleased with the results of the first phase of PALAM.The basic community schools (ECB) of this program have enabled the literacy of more than 600 out-of-school or out-of-school children, with a view to their return to the traditional education system, according to her.

Four hundred literacy facilitators are assigned to the three PALAM 2 intervention regions: Fatick (center), Kaolack and Thiès.

One hundred and fifty ECBs will be built in these regions by the literacy program financed with 13.7 billion CFA francs from the IDB.

The pilot phase of PALAM was implemented between 2008 and 2016 in the regions of Diourbel and Kaffrine. It helped reintegrate 620 children into the education system, according to program officials.

Twenty-two of the beneficiaries continued their education until they obtained a vocational certificate. Two hundred and sixty-two others are working in the microenterprise.