Diapalante is a small UK‑registered charity supporting the Diapalante Community Education Centre in Kaolack, Senegal. Through a long-term partnership with the locally led organisation Association Diapalante, we help provide free learning opportunities for children, young people and adults.
Why this project
Access to education in Senegal is improving, but people still face significant barriers and challenges to learning.
Barriers to learning include:
Challenges learners face include:
As a result, many people leave school without the skills they need for a sustainable future, while others never have the opportunity to attend school at all.
Diapalante provides an alternative pathway: a flexible place to learn, a path open to everyone.
What we do
Through the Community Education Centre in Kaolack, we provide:
The Centre is open six days a week and designed to fit around people’s lives, allowing them to learn alongside work, school or family responsibilities.
How we work
Diapalante is built on partnership.
We work closely with the not for profit, Association Diapalante, our partner in Senegal, who understand local needs and lead the day‑to‑day work of the Centre.
Our projects are:
In the UK, Diapalante is a registered charity run entirely by volunteers.
This structure allows us to:
Our approach
We believe that learning should be:
Accessible
open to everyone, regardless of age or background
Flexible
shaped around people’s lives
Practical
useful in education, work and daily life
Supportive
building confidence as well as skills
We do not replace formal education. Instead, we complement it – providing a space where people can catch up, keep up, or begin learning for the first time.
The meaning of Diapalante
The name Diapalante reflects the spirit of the organisation.
It is taken from Wolof, one of the most widely spoken languages in Senegal.. Diapalante conveys the idea of:
This is reflected in the Centre itself, where people learn from one another as well as from teachers, and where many learners go on to support others.
The Centre’s History
In 2010 Mamadou Kane and his local team established Association Diapalante in Kaolack, Senegal. Working in partnership with the UK charity Diapalante, they created the Community Education Centre to provide learning opportunities for people who might otherwise miss out on education.
Since then, the Centre has continued to grow, supporting hundreds of children, young people and adults each year.
Our impact
Today more than 500 people use the Centre each year, including around 250 teenagers, 150 adults, over 100 primary school children and around 50 learners who have never attended school.
Through this work people gain:
This experience builds confidence, leadership skills and a sense of contribution.
Help keep learning open to everyone
Diapalante depends on the support of individuals, trusts and organisations who share our commitment to long‑term, community‑led work.
You can support us by:
Every contribution helps keep learning opportunities open to those who need them most.