Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, will return to Senegal in November 2019 for another edition of Volunteer Globally. With this announcement, the door for registration is now open for new and long-standing Dubai Cares volunteers who wish to extend their volunteering efforts beyond the country’s borders, and touch the lives of underprivileged communities around the world. This visit by 15 UAE-based volunteers, marks the 3rd Volunteer Globally mission to take place in the West African nation.

Volunteer Globally is a weeklong volunteering mission with a clear agenda: to set the foundation for a community-based school alongside the local people. Participating volunteers assist in various tasks such as digging, picking, pumping water, mixing concrete and making bricks. They also get a rare chance to be fully immersed in the local culture, interact with families, understand their values and form positive relationships with the local community.

Interested volunteers, aged 21 years and above, can submit their application online through www.volunteers.ae before June 9, 2019. Applicants will be shortlisted based on the responses provided in the application, with priority given to volunteers who register first. The 50 shortlisted applicants will be invited to participate in one-on-one interviews that will take place between June 25 and 27, 2019. Following the interview process, Dubai Cares will select 15 volunteers who will join the organization in Senegal between November 24 and 30. Once confirmed, the 15 selected volunteers will attend two briefing sessions on the country’s socio-economic background and the full extent of the mission, from the nature of activities to safety and security measures. Dubai Cares will cover the cost of the trip, including flights, visa fees, hotel accommodation, meals as well as the cost of building the school.

Commenting on this year’s edition of Volunteer Emirates in Senegal, Abdulla Ahmed Alshehhi, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai Cares, said: “We are very excited to once again return to Senegal with passionate and committed volunteers, who continue to support us tirelessly in our journey to provide underprivileged children and young people the opportunity to go to school and learn. Through this unique initiative, volunteers will get the chance to make a meaningful difference by supporting the local community through the construction of a community-based primary school, as well as immersing themselves within the local community that will be hosting them. We are confident that the volunteers who will travel with us to Senegal will demonstrate a sense of commitment, compassion and global citizenship during this week-long volunteering mission.”

The West African country of Senegal currently ranks 162 out of 187 countries on the UN’s Human Development Index, and the literacy rate among the estimated population of over 16 million is only 56 percent. Despite enjoying strong economic performance since 2015 with low inflation and an estimated GDP growth around 7% last year, Senegal’s economy is still vulnerable to external shocks. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Competitiveness Report, the country ranks 113 out of 140 countries, with a mean average of 3.5 years of schooling (129^th position) and 9 years of school life expectancy (130^th position).