Inclusive Technical Training, a Solution to the Exclusion and Underemployment Challenges Facing People with Disabilities

Kolda - Kolda - In the Kolda region in Senegal, a significant proportion of people with disabilities face considerable obstacles in gaining access to education, training, decent employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. According to data from the Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (ANSD) for 2023, the overall prevalence rate of the various forms of disability places Kolda among the regions with the highest rates, at 7.4%.

Limited socio-economic opportunities, societal stigma and inadequate support systems compound the challenges faced daily by young people, mainly those with disabilities.

Yaya Baldé is a case in point. At the age of 35, despite his reduced mobility, the difficult living conditions and stigma he faces from the community, he nevertheless decides to give himself the means to build a better future:

In 2007, faced with increasingly onerous family burdens, Yaya left his home village in the hope of making his way to Europe, along the same route taken by many young people in his region. After spending two years in Rabat as an employee on a livestock farm, he decided to return home: “I decided to return to Senegal in 2009 because I realised that the work I was doing there could be successful in my local community,” he says.

His primary aim in his new venture is to demonstrate his resilience and dedication in the face of the many obstacles he would have to overcome. It was not an easy decision, as Yaya had to confront several psychosocial, social and financial challenges. He had to develop unfailing mental strength not only to face up to society’s stigma, but also to overcome the limitations imposed by his disability. “I wanted to show that it’s always possible to get back up after a failure, and that’s how I started my market gardening project with my own resources,” he says.

After two years of operation, he obtained equipment support from the Projet de Valorisation des Eaux pour le développement de Chaines de Valeur Agricoles (PROVALE-CV), which enabled him to expand his farm and diversify his production.

Full of ambition, he succeeded in being selected, along with 150 other young people from his community, to take part in IOM’s “Consolidation of Achievements in the Reintegration of Returnees in Senegal through Integrated Support to Micro and Small Enterprises, Phase II” project, which aims to train young people in the agribusiness sector in the Kolda region.

The project also aims to strengthen economic opportunities for returnees to Senegal, while boosting youth employability in collaboration with the private sector and with particular support from the diaspora. Since its launch, 20 successful returnees have benefited from integrated support including eight months of incubation, mentoring and technical training, equipment, agricultural contracts, BIO certification and subsidies. At the same time, 200 young people have been given technical training in agribusiness and practical work experience on local farms. A Green Job Fair is also planned for February 2025.

Thanks to the skills acquired during the technical training course, he decided to relaunch his poultry business, which he had abandoned due to a lack of practical knowledge in this area.   

Commitment, perseverance, courage and a sense of leadership are qualities that Yaya Baldé has highlighted and that make him a role model for other young agricultural entrepreneurs. “I plan to farm 10 hectares of arable land, and create jobs for local young people, including technical skills training,” says Yaya.  

“I would like to thank IOM for its support in training young people. It has strengthened my technical skills in agribusiness and increased my self-esteem,” he concludes.

Launched in 2023, the project “Consolidation of Achievements in the Reintegration of Returnees in Senegal through Integrated Support to Micro and Small Enterprises, Phase II”, funded by the Czech Republic and implemented by IOM, has trained 220 young people from the community, as well as returnees, in agribusiness, taking care to include people with disabilities and women. Among these people with disabilities, eight (8) hearing impaired and non-verbal people also received training, using inclusive teaching methods and approaches specially adapted to their needs.

Story written by Yaya DIALLO, Senior Project Assistant, Kolda Sub-Bureau