Hit by a series of disasters, such as droughts and floods, as well as energy, food, financial and economic crises, Senegal suffers from low economic progress and structural policies in the areas of education, health and social services. The first victims of this situation are the children whose rights are not always respected.

Adapted to regional and local circumstances, family strengthening programmes were designed to help children who have lost or were at risk of losing parental care by ensuring their basic needs. The programmes provided personalised assistance to families in order to enable them to become financially independent and to be able to educate their children. The aims of these plans were also to mobilise communities and to create a network of child protection and defence of their rights.These family strengthening programmes were run by SOS Children's Villages in Pikine, a suburb of Dakar, Louga in the north-east, Kaolack in the west and Kolda in southern Senegal. The project, which involved about 1,600 children and adolescents as well as hundreds of families in distress, worked at multiple levels and followed four main objectives:

• Ensuring the basis needs of the children who will be the beneficiaries;
• Strengthening the family socio-economic level in order for that family to support their children;
• Reinforcing the community / local authorities to meet the children’s needs and to ensure the children’s rights;
• Establishing a network of partners that work in preventing the loss of family care.