Senegal & The Gambia

Our Work

***Note: Full COVID-19 Vaccination is Required for Participation***

In Senegal, IMR will focus our efforts on the Talibé children, who are school children in religious schools that live primarily on the street, earning their school fees on a daily basis. They require care including vaccinations (which IMR provides), wound care, general medical care, and dental care.  These children are not seen by doctors or dentists on a regular basis.

We will also treat many villagers on this trip. The patients you will see have conditions ranging from rashes to joint pain, lymphatic filariasis to leptospirosis, schistosomiasis to GERD. Burns are common from the open cooking fires and serious wounds are normal occurrences in clinic each day. Working in the villages is very special and our patients will celebrate your visit. Are you a dentist? We need you on this trip! This is a place of suffering, where chewing sticks have done their damage and created teeth that are barely an exterior shell, with roots that scream with every bite a patient takes.

We see some of our sickest patients in Senegal. On our 2014 trip to Senegal, we treated many patients with acute malaria in addition to those suffering from tinea, scabies, ear infections, urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, and sexually transmitted diseases.

In 2018 we cared for more than 700 Talibé children and more than 1500 total patients. Health education will continue to make a difference to the health of the villages and the Talibé children.

Since 2011, we have deployed nearly 200 volunteers and staff to Senegal who served 12,000 patients. In the Gambia, 60 staff and volunteers have treated 5,500 patients since our first visit in 2018.

While treating your patients, you will have the opportunity to partner with many local physicians and an outstanding team of translators that have worked side by side with IMR for many years.

The people of the Gambia are facing major obstacles in their pursuit of basic health care to save and or enhance their lives. Basic health care is not affordable for the vast majority of citizens in the Gambia. Although a few government-run clinics do exist, they are not adequately equipped to handle the needs of the people. The two major problems faced by Gambians are related to the shortage of health care professionals and access to medications due to availability and financial restrictions.

The main causes of mortality in infants (0-12 months) are neonatal sepsis, premature deliveries, malaria, respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases and malnutrition. For child mortality, the main causes are: malaria, pneumonia, malnutrition, and diarrheal diseases. Almost 60% of the population is under age 25. The literacy rate is 55% for men – and considerably lower for women. Poverty is a national issue. In 2008 (last data available) there were only 0.11 physicians/1000 people. Compare this to the United States with 2.5 physicians/1000 people and you can see a country that needs help to care for her people.

This Mission

This special trip is dear to IMR’s heart, as our very first trip was to Senegal in 2002. Join us as we return with great joy to treat the Talibé children, work in villages and holy cities, and travel throughout central Senegal, as well as through the Gambia.

Senegal is a country of contrasts. In a single view you will see women laughing and dressed in lovely printed traditional dress and boubous riding in pony carts, businessmen and women stepping out of their Lexuses and entering high rise offices, overloaded trucks that are impossibly wide for the street, and the tin shacks that house the poor.

Turn your head, and you will see goats tied on top of cars for a quick ride to their new homes; children laughing, running, and twirling wooden hoops; and dogs and ponies everywhere. Much of Senegal remains deeply patriarchal and traditional, but women now form a significant minority in the government, and education is on the rise.

Most of Senegal remains rural, with very limited education, almost no health care outside of the cities, and extreme poverty. One child in eleven dies before the age of five. More than 20% of children are malnourished, and malaria is a common cause of death. Burns are a daily fact of life in the village, where families cook food over open fires. This is where you will make a difference in this remarkable country.

The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa and is a country completely surrounded by another country (Senegal) with the exception of a small length of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. You will be staying on an island that was one of the most important slave trading routes during a tragic time in history. The Gambia is known as one of the most culturally rich countries on the African continent, with many tribal and ethnic groups living peacefully side by side.

The Gambia has enjoyed long periods of stability, unlike many of her African neighbors. Stability, however, has not translated into prosperity. Despite the presence of the Gambia River, which runs through the middle of the country and on which you will travel, only one-sixth of the land is arable. Poor soil quality has led to the predominance of only one crop – peanuts.

The country has a population of 1.8 million, a life expectancy of less than 60 years, and a probability of dying before the age of 16 greater than 25%. Malaria is the number one cause of death for children under 5, and lower respiratory tract infections killed more than 1700 adults in 2012, which is the most recent year this information is available (WHO). Nearly 60% of the population lives below the poverty line and 40% lives below the food poverty line. Poverty is widespread, pervasive and predominantly rural. Approximately three quarters of the rural population (where are clinics will be held) is classified as poor. The Gambia needs your help and the Ministry of Health has asked IMR to provide care.

Lodging/Transportation

The Senegal portion of your trip will be marked by the variety of your experiences. You will spend your nights in small hotels with beautiful courtyards and excellent food.   Your transportation will be by bus and you will stay in a hotel each night of your stay.

In the Gambia, you will stay in a beautiful resort for most nights, but you will also have an overnight on the UNESCO World Heritage designated Kunta Kinteh Island (James Island), made famous by the book and movie, Roots.  Please join us to discover the beauty of Gambia and the Gambian River valley. Our hosts, working hand in hand with the Ministry of Health, have partnered with us to create an itinerary that will allow you to see the sickest patients while sharing in the beauty of the Gambia.  There is nothing better than this!

Highlights

You will join your team members on a one-day safari  – get ready to have some fun!  Zebras, rhinos, wildebeest, giraffes, and more are all possible sightings along with monkeys and many kinds of antelope.  This will certainly be a highlight of the trip!

You will also have the opportunity to explore the Gambia, not just from the perspective of the health of her people, but also culturally as you work with many different tribes. You will travel along the Gambia River, one of the most beautiful rivers in the world, where oysters abound, giving rise to the national dish of the Gambia, oyster stew. Women harvest the oysters from the river and add many of the common Gambian flavors from peanuts, tomatoes, black eyed peas, and more. You’ll enjoy the wonderful sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the Gambia every day during your journey.

In Senegal, one of the highlights is working with the local physicians who work with our IMR team year after year after year.  Working with these fine young doctors is the heart of sustainability – for IMR and for Senegal.  We’ll also be vaccinating our street children as we have for the past 10 years.  Joining us in the field in Senegal makes a difference.

Extend Your Stay

You’re venturing around the globe. Have you considered extending your stay a few additional days to explore Senegal? Join IMR on an exclusive three-day extension! Rich with colonial heritage and many natural attractions, Senegal is known for its exciting safaris, nightlife, and historical museums.

• Explore the narrow streets of Île de Gorée lined with pastel-colored French colonial buildings.
• Discover the House of Slaves — a museum and memorial to the Atlantic slave trade.
• Experience the wildly unique Lac Rose, which is a pink saltwater lake.

See the Extensions tab on this page for details on these amazing experiences!