WGEP Senegal WGEP Hosts Birth Certificate Drive to Keep Students in School

In January, WGEP Senegal organized a special community forum to address a major but often overlooked barrier to education: the lack of birth certificates among children in rural areas. In Senegal, students are required to present a birth certificate in order to stay enrolled in school, especially during key exam years at the end of middle and high school. Yet in many rural communities, where most children are born at home rather than in clinics or hospitals, there’s no formal process to register births.

To tackle this issue, WGEP Senegal staff coordinated with local authorities to bring a judge from the regional capital to Sokone. Together, they hosted a two-day event at the mayor’s office to help families obtain this critical document. Outreach was conducted through both direct contact with parents of WGEP scholars and the neighborhood alert committees established by WGEP across the region.

The turnout was remarkable: over 1,000 people attended the event, and 414 birth certificate applications were submitted. All but one were successfully processed and approved—a powerful example of what’s possible when community needs are met with coordinated action and resources. WGEP Senegal plans to repeat this event next year, aiming to reach even more families and ensure that no child is kept out of school for lack of paperwork.