Senegal
SENEGAL RNDM logo - the calebash
To express what presence in Mission is for us RNDM in Senegal, what better symbol can we find than the "calebash" – a practical and beautiful vessel.
A "calebash":
Fruit of the earth
Gift of the rain
Ripened by the sun
Emptied to receive all, to resonate the rhythms of celebration
The calebash is present in the life of the Senagalese people from birth until death … in all the ceremonies of life. It is also simply there every day, for the life of each day. The calebash is open to receive, to listen; it is ready to pour out freely as gift all that it has received. A calebash circles in communion and has the depths of prayer. May we be calebashes for the people we have been missioned to here in Senegal.
SENEGAL Statistics :
Population - 8.3 million
Religions - Islam:94%; Christian (mainly Catholic) - 4.9%; In country areas, still a strong influence of Traditional Religion.
Languages - French (official language); Six officially recognized national languages of which Wolof is widely used.
Literacy - 30% (significantly less for women).
There are two RNDM communities in Senegal: 1) Mboro in the region of Thies and 2) Ndondol in the region of Diourbel.
The Sisters arrived in Mboro September 22, 1971. On October 18th of that year kindergarten was opened and on November 8th a Dispensary was opened. Two years later (1973) was the opening of the Parish Primary School.
Photo : Sr. Amala and Sr. Dorothy – from India – visiting Mboro
The new mission at Ndondol was opened September 26, 1984. In 1996 the Sisters celebrated 25 years of presence in Mboro and Senegal. The Sisters living and working in Senegal have been from: Australia, France, Peru, India, New Zealand, Kenya, Vietnam and Philippines. Our first Senegalese Sister made her novitiate in Kenya and has been professed in Senegal in 2007 and is working in her own country.
During 2000 we started to welcome some younger Sisters who have made their first commitment in their own country, and for whom it is now time to experience an international mission in preparation for their act of final profession.
By the end of 2001 we had with us two sisters from Kenya, two from Vietnam and one from the Philippines. They are experiencing life in an RNDM international community, and work in a mission and culture totally different from their own. After two years with us they will return to their own countries to reflect again on their call to RNDM missionary life and to prepare for Final Profession as a Sister of Our Lady of the Missions.
Photo : Yvonne Baumann [French] works full time in the Mboro clinic, which handles more than 100 patients from the local area every day.
Photo: It is a good idea for the Sisters to get a blood test from time to time in the clinic - Fabiola in action, Patricia Boyd [New Zealander] in the chair, and Maureen Dwan [CLT] observer.
APOSTOLATES (WORKS) INVOLVED IN:
Health: Dispensary; Mother/child health care groups; Nutritional program; Vaccination program; Formation of health workers; Health education and animation in villages and schools.
RNDM DISPENSARY, MBORO
Our dispensary at Mboro, founded in 1971, is the focus and base for a health care programme serving people in the numerous villages scattered throughout the Rural Community of Mboro and often beyond this. With a team of 9 Senegalese - of whom one is the Chief Nurse - and one Sister, the dispensary offers curative services as well as an important laboratory service, a weekly ante-natal clinic, various preventive programmes [vaccinations, hygiene, nutrition] in outlying villages, and education/information programmes concentrating on Aids, sexually-transmitted diseases and malaria prevention.
Photo: Waiting area at the Mboro dispensary.
The people start arriving at the dispensary from early in the morning, having walked in the cool of the pre-dawn to wait patiently for their turn. There will be anything from 150 to 250 patients each morning, depending on the time of the year.
All types of care are provided – maternity, accident and emergency, infections, dressings.
The dispensary has a FWD vehicle to take the staff around to the villages for vaccinations and other health programmes, and to take serious cases on the two-hour drive to the nearest hospital.
The dispensary has its own laboratory and can do all the basic analysis work needed for care of infections and of the blood.
Photo: Sister Patricia [New Zealand] and Sister Anne {Kenya] with a new mother and her day-old baby.
Report from Senegal – MOTHER AND CHILD HEALTH PROGRAMME, NDONDOL -Sister Patricia Boyd
Here in Senegal we are blessed with the support of generous friends who have helped us over the years. One of these dear friends is Carein Roselaars-Phumers. Carein returned to her native Holland two years ago and with friends there has set up an NGO (non-government organization) which presently funds three different projects in Senegal. One of these projects - the responsibility of our Sisters at Ndondol – is concerned with nutrition and other health related activities in the villages around Ndondol.
Madame Philomene Dione works with seventeen groups of mothers with infants aged 0-30 months ( total – some 850 women). At the monthly session with each group the babies are weighed and Philomene presents and discusses with the women a specific health topic. Sometimes she demonstrates the cooking of a meal for the children. Children identified at the weighing session as being malnourished are brought to the Centre each week; here the mothers received further advice and a small quantity of enriched food, vitamins etc. The women make a small financial contribution for each session – their families often have little or no cash income.
Carein’s NGO is funding this work for a year – meeting the cost of Philomene’s salary, helping with vehicle costs (fuel and maintenance), and establishing a credit fund to initiate and support group activities e.g. buying stocks of local produce to be processed ready for cooking.
Philomene’s own words are a warm testimony to her own commitment and to the generosity of our friends who enable this work to continue: "What makes me happiest about my work with the women is when I see their response in action. Also I know that, since we started the mother/child programme, the survival and health of the babies has improved so much. Above all I enjoy the stimulus of the direct contact with so many women, in this milieu where I belong, with all the links of our family relationships. As well as being able to influence the way the mothers care for their children, I can also use the opportunities to improve relationships between the women themselves."
Photo : Philomene’s pre-natal classes in Ndondol
Education: Mainly informal. Literacy classes in the local languages; Formation and support of teachers in the informal village schools.
Small Library for Ndondol School Student
Most families in Ndondol - an isolated rural area - have no books to help with their children's education.
One of the fruits of the 18 years of the Catholic development project in Ndondol is that the parents have an increasing awareness of the importance of education for their children. The number of children going on to secondary education is steadily growing but the resources are very limited.
With the help of RNDM Solidarity Funds the Sisters set up a small library of reading and resource books for the secondary school teachers and pupils in Ndondol. The Sisters used one of their own rooms and the school Principal and teachers encourage their students to use the library for research and borrowing.
Photo : Sister Elsie Valenzuela d'Acosta (Peru) watches Samba Dieye sign out his book. Photo: Sister Patricia Boyd (New Zealand) who is responsible for the buying, helps Youssou Sène select something for his research.
Pastoral: Catechumenate; Catechism classes; Sacramental programs; Support of catechists; Women's groups; Vocational group; Home visitation; Support of small Christian communities.
Photo: Michel was helped to purchase his cart so that he could support his family. Sr. Yvonne works in the dispensary and the parish - Mboro
For more information on Senegal missions and apostolates see the following Solidarity Newsletters : Newsletter 1999#2, Newsletter 1999#4, Newsletter 2000#4, Newsletter 2002#2, Newsletter 2003#1, Newsletter 2004#3
ASSOCIATES AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
Senegal does not offer an Associate program at present. They do offer volunteer opportunities especially in the health care area. For further information please write to:
Notre Dame des Missions - Regional Co-ordinator
Mission Catholique
BP 57
MBORO
Senegal, West Africa
____________________________________________
VOCATIONS
We have a contact Program for girls and young women interested in the RNDM way of life and charism. Anyone interested in more information regarding vocations in Sengal contact:
Notre Dame des Missions - Regional Co-ordinator
Mission Catholique
BP 57
MBORO
Senegal, West Africa