Breaking ground on new school in Senegal

From L-R: The team from buildOn and the village Chief (blue robe) and Iman (white robe) preparing to break ground on the construction of the “GE Switzerland School” that will educate 150 learners from Kaolack.

Source: GE

GE Steam Power, alongside its longstanding nonprofit organisation, buildOn, announced the groundbreaking of a new school in Kaolack, Senegal. This marks the fourth of five schools to be built in Nepal and Senegal, bringing the total to 47 schools worldwide. In addition to this, close to 10 schools have been built in South Africa as part of GE Steam Power’s school infrastructure project aimed at creating a conducive environment that will aid learning.

“GE Steam Power is committed to supporting the SSA region in all aspects – from providing the best technology for dependable power generation to developing local communities and offering those in serious need a chance to better their lives,” said Lee Dawes, regional leader for GE Steam Power SSA. “We are proud to continue our partnership with buildOn with this new school in Senegal. Thank you to all employees, volunteers and supporters for their contributions and donations towards this important project.”

Known as the “GE Switzerland School”, GE’s Steam Power businesses – which is headquartered in Baden, Switzerland - is the main contributor to the project. This is one of several community development projects GE Steam Power is involved in across the SSA region. Along with the support of the GE Foundation’s 1:1 gift matching programme, GE Steam Power has fundraised a total of $30,000 to build the new school. Once completed and fully operational, 150 learners will be invited and admitted into the new school.

Community Members from the Santhie Nguedi village, 100km east of Kaolack, Senegal, laying foundation for the construction of the “GE Switzerland School” that will educate 150 learners.

Source: GE

GE Steam Power and buildOn volunteers traveled to Kaolack, Senegal recently to help break ground and lay down the foundations of the school. The teams on the project also spent time with the families and local communities through buildOn’s cultural exchange program where they had an opportunity to learn about the culture of the communities they were supporting while also sharing pieces of their own lives.

buildOn is a non-profit organization that aims to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy through education. They select some of the poorest countries in the world and recruit volunteers to fundraise and travel to build schools.