In partnership withthe NGO MOACOSI (Miss Oumy à cœur ouvert solidarité internationale), Noureddine Hamri, a second-year engineering student and president of GaSole at the Châlons-en-Champagne campus, and his team of 15 students, wish to help schoolchildren in the Senegalese village of Diamniadio through their association.
Noureddine, a few words about GaSole?
The GaSole ( Gadzarts Solidaires) association enables students to undertake humanitarian actions by setting up projects that promote equal opportunities. Thanks to its presence on several campuses, GaSole is involved in local, national, and international projects. In Châlons, the association has 16 students.
"A desire to take action for a cause of solidarity"
My friends and I wanted to take action for a charitable cause, but we quickly realized that it was difficult to carry out a project without the help and expertise of people working in this field. That's why we formed a partnership with the NGO (non-governmental organization) MOACOSI ( Miss Oumy à cœur ouvert solidarité internationale) based in Créteil. Since its creation in 2012, this NGO has carried out numerous projects in the fields of health, education, and social action.
"A partnership based on solidarity"
Thanks to a member of the association, I had the opportunity to meet Oumy Niang, the founder of MOACOSI. During our fruitful discussion, we both saw the advantages of this solidarity-based partnership. Oumy could bring me all her organizational skills as well as her knowledge of the field. The technical skills we acquired during our Arts et Métiers education Arts et Métiers our ability to work in a team were our contribution.
"Education is a cornerstone of economic, social, and societal development."
We plan to travel to the remote village of Diamniadio, Senegal, to renovate a primary school. The walls already exist, but there is a lot of work to be done to ensure a safe environment for the schoolchildren. The decision to renovate a school was not made at random. MOACOSI and GaSole share the same conviction: education is not only a fundamental right, but also a cornerstone of economic, social, and societal development. The link between poverty and low literacy rates must be broken; education contributes to increasing the wealth of an economy. Beyond these commercial considerations, school is a means of learning about the world around us and thus acquiring a solid cultural foundation.
"We will be in direct contact with the villagers."
We are scheduled to depart at the end of June and return at the beginning of September. We will be in direct contact with the villagers as we will be staying in their homes. It will be a total immersion experience. Furthermore, we will not be arriving empty-handed. Thanks to various donations, we will be bringing school supplies (notebooks, pens, etc.) as well as computers and various connected devices. In this digital age, it is essential to have an initial introduction to these tools.
"Our ambition is altruistic."
We have calculated a budget of €8,900 for our overall project. This sum includes all costs related to the materials needed to renovate the primary school. Anyone can support us via the " Le Pot Commun"website by donating the amount of their choice. We will use our Facebook page to provide daily updates on the progress of the work. Furthermore, we do not see this adventure as an exotic desire to come and help people in need. Our ambition is altruistic and we want it to last over time. Ideally, we would like future engineering students to continue along this path and perpetuate the partnership.
