Description of the integration initiative implemented
The interviewee came to Italy for health reasons. Despite the challenges posed by her situation, she managed to gradually integrate into the new social context, and to find a job. Her husband was the president of the Senegalese COSSAN Association, and she was an active member of the association: accordingly, both the husband and the Senegalese community network have determined her introduction to Italian culture and customs to be less traumatic.

Personal story
This story is about a Senegalese woman who arrived in Italy in 2016, at the age of 26. The reasons that led her to come to Italy were related to her health conditions. Since her husband had been living in Italy already, the doctors in Senegal suggested her to reach him. The planning of her trip did not take too much time, about a month.
Once in Italy, she had the support by her husband who is also the president of the Senegalese COSSAN Association: the main goal of the Association is supporting the members of Senegalese community in bureaucratic and other matters relating to their integration process in Italy.
Achieved in Senegal, her qualification in banking and finance is not eligible for a formal recognition in Italy. Yet, it was thanks to her professional profile in economic matters, as well as to her nationality that she got a place within the EU “Invest in Senegal” Project: being it jointly regulated by Italy and Senegal, it was not difficult to convert her qualification in the frames of this Project that she is currently working in as a socio-economic animator. The role of her profile is to disseminate information on this EU programme and its purposes, aimed at facilitating Senegalese residents in Italy and Europe to create and start up a new business with the ultimate goal of investing in Senegal.
Our interlocutress hopes to find another job that would be in line with her qualification, hence more beneficial for her professional growth. It is not easy though: since bilateral cooperation between Senegal and Italy that would allow the recognition of Senegalese degrees is missing, it is difficult for a Senegalese to convert her/his qualifications or to get another degree. More generally, European countries, including Italy, do not help the Senegalese community in terms of their working integration nor professional growth. Thereby, the prospect of going to Canada seems to be an opportunity to our interviewee: besides, Canada hosts a larger Senegalese community, including doctors and else people having more significant qualifications and working experiences.
Her parents are living in Senegal, and she does not hide her desire to return home. As a matter of fact, she is attracted by the idea of starting a business in Senegal, for example opening a supermarket by following the Italian pattern: since such superstores do not exist in Senegal, she regards this idea as an excellent opportunity.
According to her account, our interlocutress says she has never experienced difficulties attributable to any forms of discrimination, nor even the gender-related one. Actually, she notices that the Senegalese are rather integrated in Italy, and manage to create friendship relations with Italians. Our interviewee has not experienced any forms of conflict between her culture and religion, and the Italian ones. This balance is also reflected in the way she and her husband are educating their children: they are offered a lot of freedom of expression, which is intertwined with Islamic teachings and principles.
Nonetheless, she affirms that it is not easy for a migrant and especially a migrant woman to enter the world of work in Italy: here, many more guarantees are required for obtaining a loan; in Senegal, the procedures are simpler, for example, it is not necessary to prove a permanent employment. Furthermore, having worked or studied in Italy is a sufficient guarantee in Senegal to prove that no obstacles related to being a woman exist.
Besides, when our interviewee arrived in Italy, she noticed differences between Italian and Senegalese women: as for the former, she observes a greater freedom in their way of dressing, in their behaviour, their manners, unlike the Senegalese culture which assigns a secondary role to a woman in comparison to a man. Despite a strong androcentric cultural orientation of her native society, she obtained a degree: she says it is due to the fact that she was raised by her grandmother, and the education imparted by her grandmother was closely linked to the Koranic precepts; if she had been raised by her father instead, things would have been different, and she would have met more difficulties in this regard. Our interviewee has never had problems with her husband in terms of rules or restrictions that would have jeopardised her professional career: his open-mindedness would be due to the fact that he had also studied first in France, and then in Italy. What’s more, her Italian experience has induced her to change a certain imagery she had before emigrating, which is based on subordination of women to men in education, and other spheres of life.
At present, she does not feel professionally nor financially fulfilled for a couple of reasons, namely: in addition to supporting her own family, she is trying to send money to her mother and to other family members living in Senegal, i.e. to her brothers and sisters. As for the idea of a permanent return to her country of origin, our interviewee is evaluating the hypothesis in relation to the pandemic situation: once it will start being closer to a solution, she will think about it more thoroughly.

Analysis of the initiative and individual story
As a matter of fact, this narrative cannot be really regarded as a success story. The protagonist has met various challenges, and even undergone a traumatic event during her migration experience. The interviewee’s decision to reach Italy was dictated by her health conditions. As time passed by, she had gradually managed to integrate into the new context, and even find a job. Besides, she partly played an important role in the Senegalese COSSAN Association, directed by her husband as president. In fact, the presence and the role of her husband, and the friendship network of Senegalese nationals in Italy have helped her experience both her personal situation, and the encounter with Italian culture and customs less traumatic. During the interview, some contradictory aspects emerged with regard to the interviewee’s perception of discrimination towards the Senegalese in Italy: according to her account, neither she nor other Senegalese nationals in Italy have ever experienced forms of discrimination; at the same time, the interviewee states that she would not like to resume her studies here, in Italy, as some veiled attitudes of differentiation can be observed in the treatment between black and white students. Furthermore, her immigrant status prevents her from receiving financial support to start a business in Italy, as she cannot provide the guarantees that are required for getting such a support.

Results and Impact
At the current stage of her life, there are still too many doubts about what the protagonist of this story will do: staying in Italy, going to Canada, or even turning back to Senegal. Here, in Italy, she has met some obstacles that precluded the pathways to her personal fulfilment. She dreams about her own business, such as opening a supermarket in Senegal, or finding a job corresponding to her qualification, which would certainly make her life more satisfactory. So far, our interlocutress has not managed to do so, hence she does not feel professionally nor financially fulfilled.