The Migrant Project in Senegal:

Providing Livelihoods Alternatives to Potential Migrants in Need

The Migrant Project is a migration communication campaign run by Seefar, that informs potential and transit migrants about the risks and realities of irregular migration while introducing them to possible alternatives.

“It’s not always easy to live but it’s also too risky to put yourself in such circumstances. Since I started following this page, I have received very relevant information about the problems that young irregular immigrants face.” 


Dakar youth commenting on the Facebook page

Since 2016, we’ve carried out campaigns that have supported thousands across Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Afghanistan, Turkey and beyond to explore legal migration alternatives and to find out about livelihoods options individuals can pursue to improve their economic conditions. This approach has allowed us to achieve behaviour change and also to improve the lives of beneficiaries that are considering irregular migration.


Our Senegal campaign took place in 2021, and was carried out with the support of VideoPositive, reaching 1,987 young people across the country. In check-back interviews, 58% of beneficiaries reported abandoning their plan to migrate irregularly after receiving the consultation. Additionally, 61% reported that they are now considering safe and legal alternatives to irregular routes. 


Many potential migrants in Senegal are not sufficiently informed about key aspects of the irregular migration journey, such as travel costs, the risks of the journey, and realities of life in Europe and the Canary Islands. Seefar’s research has shown that word of mouth counselling for target groups plays a significant role in filling these knowledge gaps that affect decision-making around irregular migration. 


In Senegal, the campaign deployed an integrated approach to drive behaviour change, combining online and social media outreach with direct community influence, in-person and remote. The Senegal campaign prides itself for its flexibility in outreach strategy that drove trust and enabled TMP to successfully engage with community members.


Providing word of mouth counselling allows us to adapt messaging to each individual, and to achieve higher rates of behaviour change. We implemented our unique 3E Impact communications methodology, and used an ethical, effective and engaged campaign to achieve high rates of Senegalese youth exploring legal alternatives and abandoning their irregular migration plans.

 

The 2021 campaign targeted two audiences, each with a demonstrated interest in migrating irregularly. The first audience consisted of educated male youths living in Dakar. The second, of young fishermen living in the Mbour department.

Dakar

Many young people in Dakar have managed to succeed in their education but upon graduating from high school or university are unable to find a job and the financial security that their family expects of them. They may seek to travel to Europe irregularly, letting their family believe they are there through regular means. The Canary Islands are considered a layover on their way to mainland Europe, where they believe that their educational background will enable them to find work.

 

In Dakar, TMP used a combination of face-to-face and online outreach to gain brand recognition and trust. A Facebook page, including weekly polls, videos, and news articles, ensured that the audiences were engaged on multiple levels and encouraged discussion between the beneficiaries and TMP’s Communications Officer. The number of engagements on Facebook within eight months (407,347 engagements, 126% above the initial target) shows that the page, and its information, were well-received and filled a necessary gap. Facebook provided an opportunity for Dakar’s educated youth to get free and reliable information discreetly.

 

Mbour

Among the young fishermen of Mbour, migration is a family strategy to overcome economic struggles. Young fishermen from Mbour faced multiple challenges that led them to consider irregular migration. These challenges included the depletion of fisheries by foreign industrial vessels, the uneven competition local businesses face from foreign meat and fish processing factories, and pandemic-related measures taken by the government that limited the days of work and closed the fish markets. This situation is pushing many fishermen to migrate to the Canary Islands in order to find new sources of income.

 

The Mbour, fishermen engage in a top-down social structure in which decisions are made by the community leaders, often elders, whose decisions are accepted by the younger fishermen. By approaching the community leaders, TMP was able to gain legitimacy and approval to conduct consultations and events. Media engagement accompanied this approach. While TMP worked with different media outlets, attention was focused on collaborations with community radio shows (69% of media pieces). Radio is the primary media source for the fishermen due to their low levels of schooling and the nature of their work.

Livelihoods component

Young fishermen from Mbour also received livelihood training as part of the campaign, with the support of GIZ. This training programme allowed them to improve their general entrepreneurship skills as well as identifying alternative income streams, such as poultry farming and sheep rearing. Additionally, they received support from Cordaid to develop a business plan and to later seek funds from microfinance institutions to ensure the sustainability of their initiatives.


Impact

In total, the campaign reached 1,987 young people through face-to-face consultations and 367,820 through social media. We carried out check-back interviews with those who received counselling and 82% of consultees reported knowledge improvement about the risks of irregular migration, 78% reported improved understanding of the realities in the Canary Islands, and 74% of consultees reported knowledge improvement about the alternatives to irregular migration.


In addition, 58% of beneficiaries reported abandoning their plan to migrate irregularly after receiving the consultation and 61% reported that they are now considering safe and legal alternatives to irregular routes.

“We [the fishermen] say that the Migrant Project is different from other NGOs or projects that come for their own interests.” 


Fisherman from Mbour

The Senegal campaign included a strong livelihoods component as it sought to train up fishermen considering irregular migration in alternatives such as poultry farming, sheep rearing, and general entrepreneurship skills. Subsequently, The Migrant Project accompanied beneficiaries that had undertaken the training to seek funding for their initiatives via micro-finance institutions. 


Supporting potential irregular migrants in Senegal

The 2021 campaign targeted two audiences, each with a demonstrated interest in migrating irregularly. The first audience consisted of educated male youths living in Dakar. The second, of young fishermen living in the Mbour department.

Our unique approach 


Many potential migrants are not sufficiently informed about key aspects of the journey, such as travel costs and the risks and realities of life in Europe and the Canary Islands. Seefar’s research has shown that word of mouth counselling plays the biggest role in filling these knowledge gaps and affecting decision-making around irregular migration.


In Senegal, the campaign deployed an integrated approach to drive behaviour change, combining online and social media outreach with direct community influence, in-person and remote. The Senegal campaign prides itself for its flexibility in outreach strategy that drove trust and enabled TMP to successfully engage with community members.


In Dakar, TMP used a combination of face-to-face and online outreach to gain brand recognition and trust. A Facebook page, including weekly polls, videos, and news articles, ensured that the audiences were engaged on multiple levels and encouraged discussion between the beneficiaries and TMP’s Communications Officer. The number of engagements on Facebook within eight months (407,347 engagements, 126% above the initial target) shows that the page, and its information, were well-received and filled a necessary gap. Facebook provided an opportunity for Dakar’s educated youth to get free and reliable information discreetly.


The Mbour fishermen engage in a top-down social structure in which decisions are made by the community leaders, often elders, whose decisions are accepted by the younger fishermen. By approaching the community leaders, TMP was able to gain legitimacy and approval to conduct consultations and events. Media engagement accompanied this approach. While TMP worked with different media outlets, attention was focused on collaborations with community radio shows (69% of media pieces). Radio is the primary media source for the fishermen due to their low levels of schooling and the nature of their work.


The fishermen also received livelihood training as part of the campaign, which allowed them to improve their general entrepreneurship skills as well as identifying alternative income streams. Additionally, they received support to develop a business plan and to later seek funds from microfinance institutions to ensure the sustainability of their initiatives.


Impact

82% of consultees reported knowledge improvement about the risks of irregular migration, 78% reported improved understanding of the realities in the Canary Islands, and 74% of consultees reported knowledge improvement about the alternatives to irregular migration.

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