Today is a holiday in Senegal celebrating the prophet Mohamed’s birthday. Given the festivities, we have not been able to work in any hospitals over the past two days. Instead, three of the other GoDocGo volunteers and I set out to Goree Island.

This is an island off the coast of Dakar where slaves were sent before being shipped to other countries. It was a study of contrasts, sobering and yet in a beautiful setting. The rooms where the slaves were kept were small and dark. The slaves spent three to six months on this island and were separated by sex and age while they were there.

Now Goree Island is a place where tourists go to learn about the brutal past. It has become a source of income for those people working on the island which I suppose, is a good thing.

Tomorrow the GoDocGo team heads to St. Louis which is up the coast from Dakar. We will be there until Wednesday and more pictures and news to follow.