Dao Foundation

Welcome! 

The Dao Foundation was established with the vision For the Well-Being of All, focusing on Education, Leadership, and Social Justice. Its mission is to help students find their voice and their path, and to pursue their dreams. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to promote access to education for young learners across the world. It was within the context of an educational and humanitarian project (University of Alberta, Me to We) in Kenya in 2013 that I launched the Dao Foundation for Education in Action. Aware of the importance of global citizenship and social justice, I took the opportunity to discover another African country  Kenya. This international experience included cultural exchanges, reflective practice on the educational context in Kenya, and a community service project that allowed me to contribute to the construction of a school in the rural Maasai Mara region. It was truly a privilege to work alongside Kenyan leaders, teachers, and families, and an honor to be invited to embody the message: “Think globally, act globally or locally.”

From that moment, I began developing an educational project to support initiatives that offer young students the opportunity to pursue secondary studies in my home country, Mauritania, in the community where I grew up, the commune of Dao. Deeply aware of the impact of poverty on students’ ability to continue their education, I helped several educational institutions (Canada, USA, Norway, Finland) understand the critical situation of African nations, which greatly need the support of those who are more privileged. This is when I began investing my time and skills in creating plans to establish a school in the Dao community.

Today, I call on your support to help the people of Dao in a project they hold close to their hearts: to build a school for their children. Parents in Dao know that education is the key to a better life. They are asking for nothing more than what is enshrined in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: education for all. Last year, during a special assembly, local authorities, village elders, parents, the women’s cooperative, cultural and sports leaders, and the youth themselves came together around this cause, which is now at the center of their concerns. They want a secondary school in Dao and are ready to contribute to achieving this goal. Pursuing studies outside their village represents a significant challenge, especially for young people who must leave their families to continue their education. Moreover, the current school is too small and dilapidated, and some children must even wait their turn to be enrolled. Under such circumstances, the high dropout rate after primary school is not surprising. A new secondary school would allow these young people to stay in their community and complete their education close to home. Access to secondary education in their own village would be particularly beneficial for girls, for whom distance often presents insurmountable challenges. Since education promotes personal fulfillment which is what we wish for all the children of Dao. I propose, with passion and determination, the creation of a structure that will help make this dream a reality in Mauritania.

Dao Foundation, Education.