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Contributing to the Development of Education and Improving People's Livelihood —— Senegal Sedhiou National Senior High School project
To change the situation, the Ministry of Education proposed the construction of a new middle school in the district. Funded by the World Bank, the project commenced in August 2021. It includes four student dormitories, two teaching buildings, teachers’ apartments, a library, a canteen, a recreation room, an administrative office building, a clinic, a guard room, a maintenance workshop, a football field, a basketball court, with a total construction area of about 17,000 square meters. Upon completion, the project will become the largest high school within 150-kilometer radius, offering subjects such as English, French, mathematics, physics, chemistry, history, geography, Arabic, and computer science. The school will accommodate 3,000 students, including 1,400 girls. In the future, the school may be expanded if necessary to provide more children with the opportunity to attend school.
As the general contractor, WIETC, after receiving the construction task, immediately refined the drawings, provided the owner with comprehensive supporting facilities and a construction plan, and then commenced high-quality construction.
Aerial view of the construction site
Due to Senegal’s relatively underdevelopment and lack of skilled personnel, the company has placed great emphasis on training local construction personnel after commencing the project. Before local employees join, the company conducts induction training to help them become familiar with job systems and responsibilities. During the work process, Chinese personnel provide hands-on technical training and periodically organize skills competitions. The project has trained over 2,000 skilled workers, including bricklayers, carpenters, steel workers, and water and electricity installers, thus providing a talent reserve for Senegal’s construction industry.
By shifting from simply hiring local employees to a combined “hiring + training” mode, the company has greatly improved the skills of Senegalese workers, laying a solid foundation for the company to establish itself in the African market and achieve localized development. This approach has also been highly praised by the Senegalese government.
The trained bricklayers, the trained technician, and the trained steel workers
26-year-old Ibrahima Sane is currently a survey engineer in the Sedhiou Middle School project. After graduating from university in 2021, he joined the project department as a survey technician. The project team assigned him a Chinese engineer as his mentor.
He said. “At first, I thought it would take a long time to integrate into the environment, but this worry soon disappeared. My mentor took good care of me, helped me get familiar with the site and master the content and methods of work. In the process of interacting with team members, I was deeply impressed by their modesty, diligence, efficiency and dedication.”
To facilitate smooth communication, the diligent Sane began learning common Chinese phrases. At work, he encountered many challenges, but with the help of his Chinese colleagues and his own efforts, he overcame them. As the localization process advanced, the project department introduced a large number of local technical personnel. Sane utilized his language and cultural advantages to become a bridge of communication between Chinese and foreign employees.
He said: “In nearly three years, I have grown from a recent graduate to a middle manager of the project team. I have gained both a career and love. Although today’s achievements cannot be attained without my own efforts, what is more important is the cultivation of my Chinese mentor and the help from my Chinese colleagues. The platform provided by the project team has given me a broad space to improve myself and realize my value.”
Survey engineer Sane is placing lines
In addition to carrying out normal production and operation activities, the project team also actively participates in public welfare activities.
On the occasion of the Children's Day in 2022, the project team, together with the Ministry of Education of Senegal, visited the Sedhiou Provincial Children's Welfare Home, and sent rice, vegetables, grain and oil, candy, books, brushes and other living and learning supplies, sending holiday blessings to the children. Mr. Ousmane Kante, the director of the Welfare Home, extended a warm welcome and sincere thanks to the project team for their visit. He said: “Thanks to WIETC for helping the children when they need help the most.”
Together with the Ministry of Education, the project team visited the local children's welfare home
Under the guidance of Director Ousmane Kante, the project team visited the welfare home, learned about its history and had intimate interactions with the children. The project leader said, “This visit to welfare home children demonstrates WIETC’s ‘care’ culture and sense of social responsibility. I hope the children can study hard in adversity. WIETC is building a modern, well-equipped high school in Sedhiou City. I hope the children can enter the school gradually grow into useful talents for society”.
