CRWRC is working with churches in Senegal called to Isaiah 40:1-11 ministries. In a country that is 94 percent Muslim, and where there are fewer than 5,000 Protestant and evangelical Christians, CRWRC provides a framework for community action, equipping the poor and marginalised to transform their communities. In the assurance of God’s grace extended to all creation, CRWRC works through collaborations among partner churches, other Christian groups, and communities.
A 20-year civil war in the southern half of Senegal continues to take lives, chiefly through anti- personnel mine explosions. The country has the second highest number of people living with AIDS in the Sahel sub-region, and the third highest rate in the sub-region among young women ages 15-24. Senegal struggles with a weak resource base and a growing population of which less than one-fifth of school-age children are in school.
CRWRC works with national partners to engage Biblical justice while practicing a systematic approach to health improvement and reducing disparities in access to resources. AIDS care and prevention has been part of CRWRC Senegal’s programme for over 14 years. Poverty reduction through developing critical consciousness about oppression, building empowerment and working toward societal change establishes a culture of peace-making and civic responsibility. Community transformation based on the capacity to live out justice is an approach that values diversity of all kinds and the creativity that exists in the community.
Fast Facts
Population: 13,711,597 (July 2009 est.)
Area Comparative: slightly smaller than South Dakota
Literacy rate: 39.3%
Life expectancy: 59 years
Population below poverty line: 54% (2001 est.)
Gross Domestic Product per capita: $1,600 (2008 est.)
Religions: Muslim 94%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic), indigenous beliefs 1%
Languages: French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
(From the World Factbook. Click here for more information on Senegal)
Partners
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Senegal (EELS)
With EELS, CRWRC has programmes in adolescent health, AIDS prevention, literacy and justice. These programmes are closely linked, building collaboration and mutual learning as well as providing opportunities for leveraged action. Graduates of the adolescent health programme are working through community advocacy action plans to improve conditions for adolescent health. The church-based AIDS prevention programme links up with the adolescent health programme to improve their actions at community level.
Evangelical Health Coordination Committee (CECS)
CRWRC has been working for 4 years with 4 national churches in Senegal to establish an association partnering with rural communities and churches to:
- build capacity for good governance through local leadership training
- mobilize communities for HIV and malaria prevention through community health education;
- bring Muslim and Christians together to work jointly for the development of their communities
- work for Biblical justice by recognizing, analyzing and addressing situations of injustice in their own communitie
EXCELSIS Pastoral Training
CRWRC is working with the Excelsis training program to strengthen churches through pastoral training. Harold Kallemyn and Henry Persenaire-Hogeterp, a CRWM missionary in Niger, are doing the actual training.
West Africa Francophone Civic Education Project
CRWRC and partners in Senegal have provided the support and context for the development of this effort to build the capacity of CRWRC francophone partners in civic education and social justice. The manual, translated through the efforts of CRWRC and partners in Niger, Senegal, Mali and Nigeria is now available on the website http://www.educationcommunautaire.org.
Wyva Hasselblad (USA)
is the full-time expatriate staff for Senegal. She is joined in her work by Jatu Weber and Abdallah Weber, who are national staff.
Email: whasselblad@crwrc.org
Staff Newsletters
Take time to read a staff newsletter- direct from the field!
Hasselblad_Oct09.pdf
Hasselblad_Aug09.pdf
Hasselblad_Dec08.pdf
Hasselblad_Oct08.pdf
Hasselblad_April08.pdf
Hasselblad_Nov07.pdf
Hasselblad_Nov06.pdf
Hasselblad_Jan06.pdf
Hasselblad_Oct05.pdf