"Housekeepers, nannies...": Mame Awa Mbaye's bold gamble to shake up the domestic work sector

“What is your dream?” A disarmingly simple question, posed one day by Mame Awa Mbaye to Saly, her housekeeper of several years. The answer, however, came as a shock: “I don’t have a dream.”

Behind these few words, Mame Awa Mbaye captures a bitter reality that extends far beyond Saly's individual case: that of thousands of domestic workers deprived of legal status, skills training, and prospects for social advancement. A workforce too often invisible, even though it forms the backbone of daily life for many households.

This awareness provided fertile ground for the creation of KaNora in May 2025. The social enterprise aims to fundamentally rethink the perception of domestic work, by establishing the professionalization and socio-economic empowerment of women as central pillars of its model.

Technical training, personalized support, contractual intermediation, but also strengthening self-esteem, autonomy, and well-being: KaNora refuses to limit itself to emergency placement. The program's beneficiaries, renamed "KaNora Ladies," are valued as true professionals destined to grow, lead, and establish themselves sustainably within an industry they sustain every day.

Since its launch, the organization claims to have supported several hundred women. But beyond the figures, the real impact is a question worth asking: have these workers actually gained financial independence? Have their incomes seen a significant increase? Do they benefit from broader access to stable and regulated jobs? And above all, has society's view of these professions truly changed?

In this exclusive interview, Mame Awa Mbaye reflects on the founding principles of KaNora, examines the realities of domestic work in Senegal, details the profiles of the women supported, and reviews the actions undertaken. She reaffirms the ambition to transform a sector historically relegated to the informal economy into a genuine space of dignity, professional rigor, and future opportunities.

Because behind every "housekeeper", "nanny" or "cook", there is an accomplished professional, a woman driven by ambitions and the legitimate right to build a dream.