Creating Jobs and Cleaning up Birkelane

Year: 2017
Country: Senegal
Project Status: Funded
Impact Sector: Environment
Project Investment: $748.19

Project Launch: 8-1-17

Birkelane, Senegal became a department capital in 2009. With a growing population of nearly 10,000 and no existing waste management system, the city is in need of a hygienic means of disposing refuse. Currently, households burn or dump inorganic waste in empty lots scattered throughout the town where animals graze and children play. The youth association (Conseil Communal de la Jeunesse de Birkelane) in Birkelane is an energetic organization that frequently rallies to address community needs. With the youth association heading the charge, this project seeks to establish a waste collection service which will transport household waste to a field outside the city provided by the mayor so the community can sequester its waste in an organized, consolidated manner.

Project Update: 3-28-18

Instead of starting with two trash carts as projected, the council is utilizing 12 (2 through World Connect grant money and 10 from the Mayor’s Office). These are now servicing the entire town. There are currently 10 full-time employees serving 363 out of 671 households in Birkelane for the past two months. 54% of households in Birkilane are now properly disposing of waste. As the Hygiene Service begins to fine households that are illegally dumping trash, there is an expectation that this number will approach 100%.

Final Report: 4-13-18

The initial project initially aimed at serving just 29 percent of the town's population with three to five employees. The project now reaches the entire town with 12 donkey cart receptacles instead of two. The greatest success of this project is the creation of a strong management committee composed both of government representatives and members of a civil society organization, the Conseil Communal de la Jeuness or CCJ. Households put out their trash for collection Mondays and Thursdays weekly. 

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