Gérrard Diedhiou, an athlete leader with Special Olympics Senegal, was featured in a powerful video highlighting the journeys of three athletes competing in different inclusive sport fields: athletics fencing, and surfing. The video, created by the French Development Agency (AFD), shares a look into inclusive sport and the impact it has had on the athletes’ lives.
Read AFD’s article below and watch the video: From Doubt to Victory.
In Senegal, sport is too often inaccessible to the most vulnerable young people; due to a lack of structures, resources, or because certain profiles are culturally excluded.
To respond to this, AFD supports three complementary programmes: Surfkids Shredding Senegal, led by the ASC Malika Surf in Yoff for young girls' access to surfing; the Special Olympics Senegal movement for the inclusion of people with disabilities, in the dynamics of the YOG Dakar 2026; and the Fencing and Restorative Justice programme, led by the APSE in conjunction with the IRD, which uses fencing as a tool for reintegration in Dakar and Thiès. This film gives the floor to three beneficiaries, Déguène, Gérrard and Macoura, who testify, three years later, to what real support has changed in their lives.
