We began our day at the hospital regional de Tambacounda. This hospital serves as the regional hub for all the outlying villages and is very busy for this reason.

The first stop was a meeting with the Chief du Service and Financial Director of the hospital, Khalifa Fallou. He was so happy that GoDocGo has returned for their sixth visit to this hospital. It has helped to establish connections with the doctors and midwives and to have continuation of treatment.

The GoDocGo team with the Financial Director of the hospital and Dr. Deme

The next stop was a presentation about the LEEP machine that Maggie gave in french, no less, to the OBGYN doctors and midwives. There was a large turnout with much interest. The highlight of the presentation was being able to practice with the machine on an uncooked chicken. Everyone got a better understanding including me!

Maggie demonstrating how to use a LEEP machine

The patient for the demonstration was an uncooked chicken

Dr. Deme practicing and me being an assistant

What is interesting to observe is the camaraderie of the midwives and their eagerness to learn.

The midwives and doctors who attended the presentation

The purpose of our visit was to do follow up screenings where there had been questionable results. There were several midwives as well as Dr. Deme and Maggie and me in one of the exam room with the patients.

Maggie and Dr. Deme working with the midwives

The rest of the day was filled with screenings and treatments. Of 38 women screened, eight were positive and most could get treatment. Without this type of work, many women would not have access any treatment. For some, it will save their lives. Previously in Africa, women were not screened for cervical cancer and many died from this disease that is easy to prevent.

Dr. Deme, an OBGYN doctor, performs a LEEP procedure on a patient

The day ended with a visit to the Foyer de Jeunes FIlles in Tambacounda which houses 184 young women from age 11 to 20. These girls are sent there by their families so that they can continue their education away from home. The Foyer allows the girls to live in a safe place that is part dormitory, part community and part supplemental education. Girls come to live there from outlying villages in order to continue their education and not marry at such a young age. The Foyer is run by the NGO Le Korsa which is actively doing a lot of outstanding work in Senegal. GoDocGo works under an arm of Le Korsa.

Tom Meyer beginning his class at the Foyer

Professor Tom Meyer from SUNY New Paltz, has come on this trip to teach a writing class for any girls from the Foyer who wanted to participate. They chose to come to his class at 5 PM after a long day of school. When the girls first arrived, they were quiet and shy. Over the course of the two hour class, a transformation took place. By the end, many girls were enthusiastically choosing to share their writing in the author’s chair. The class was a success and the girls will work with Tom through Saturday.

We are staying in Tambacounda where we have had spotty internet and it has been hard to post anything. I now have a wireless hotspot that should help this process along because there is a lot more to come!!