The Arouna Foundation · A message from Melinda and Anton

You are not expected to bring anything. Please come, simply. If you would like to mark this evening with something that lasts, you could put what you might have spent into the foundation that Arouna is building in his home village in Senegal — a school, a safe place, and an agroecology project for children who too often have none. It is a wish, not an expectation. Truly.

The Arouna Foundation

The Arouna Foundation is a social initiative led by Arouna Kande. The Foundation is focused on the creation of an integrated center for reception, education, child protection and agroecological promotion in the village of Vinsako Yero in the Sédhiou region of Senegal.

This rural region faces many structural challenges: poverty, limited access to education, vulnerability of children, early emigration to big cities, fragility of rural families and the increasing impact of climate change on livelihoods. Most children have no access to schools. They are exploited and socially vulnerable.

The Foundation proposes a response based on child protection, education, women's empowerment and ecological resilience. The project envisages the creation of a multifunctional center providing (i) educational space and tutoring, (ii) a place for the protection and psychosocial support of children, (iii) a platform of community building and (iv) a platform to promote agroecology and income-generating activities.

The Foundation's ultimate objective is to reduce emigration. To achieve this objective the Foundation aims at providing children with a safe and dignified environment. The project is based on a participatory approach involving local communities and authorities, partner organisations and child protection actors.

The Foundation is looking for technical, financial and institutional partners who can support this initiative. Investing in this project means directly contributing to the protection of children, strengthening rural communities and building a more sustainable and inclusive future in Senegal.

The Arouna Foundation is supported by Melinda Spitzer and Anton Affentranger.

About Arouna

Arouna Kande is a social worker born in the village of Winsako Yoro. He spent his childhood and adolescence as a child slave (Talibé) in an abusive Daara begging on the streets of St. Louis, Senegal.

He is also one of the main protagonists of the climate film The Letter. After successfully concluding his baccalaureate, he completed social sciences studies at the University of ENTSS in Dakar. In addition to his engagement for the Arouna Foundation, he continues to act as a social worker on the streets helping homeless Talibés.