A country in western Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. It became independent of France on April 4, 1960. It is one of the most politically stable countries in Africa. Nevertheless, it remains among the countries with the lowest level of social development. Almost half of the country’s area is farmland, but agriculture is becoming increasingly difficult due to frequent climate shocks. The highest temperature of 48.8 °C has been recorded in Matam.
10.03.2024
Marie-Odile has a charming smile. It’s delicate, subtle, and very feminine. She usually sits on a bench in the park in front of the Franciscan Sisters’ school in Dakar. Marie-Odile’s shyness and her smile show her gentleness. Among her friends, she feels at ease. She treats new people with a slight hint of mistrust.
With embarrassment and hesitation, she tells us her story. Her barely audible, subdued words tell a tale of helplessness. Little Marie-Odile had a problem with her leg. She doesn’t remember when it started. She was a child, she thought it was temporary. She had more important things on her mind. Her parents dealt with the problem. She thought herbal compresses and various ointments would help. They didn’t. A weeping wound regularly opened on her leg. The muscles atrophied. The pain radiates up to her thigh. Her foot hurts a lot. The authors of previous diagnoses vanished into thin air.
She just finished a course of antibiotics. It should be better, but it isn’t. The wound near her ankle has opened again, it hurts again, she can’t walk again. Marie-Odile dreams of someone who can tell her what’s wrong. The healers she met in her life have already tried all their traditional remedies on her. It becomes clear to us that the girl’s shyness is primarily a distrust of further diagnoses, disappointment, and helplessness.
Marie-Odile dreams of a future not overshadowed by the pain in her foot and disability. She dreams of a doctor who will tell her what’s really going on and know how to treat her. Sister Ewa really wants to help. She has already sent the girl to the best doctors in Senegal. We need to support her. We can’t let her down.
On International Women’s Day, instead of a bouquet of flowers, we want to give Marie-Odile something much more beautiful – faith that she will stand on her own two feet without pain and make the most of her life. By donating a symbolic Bouquet of Good, you will help us finance the girl’s examinations and treatment. We are sure she will repay us with the most beautiful, charming smile.
21.08.2025
“Mademoiselle, vous êtes capable de tout”—these words sound like a foreign melody in the ears of many girls from Senegal. No one had ever told them before that they were capable of everything. They are 17–23 years old. Some come from small villages near Joal, others from poor neighborhoods of Dakar. When they finished primary […]
12.03.2024
[…] Dakar is, of course, famous for its Car Rapide. They are colorful buses, lacking windows and comforts, looking as if they’ve just fallen from the sky. Their presence on the streets of Dakar is a tale of how they survived that fall. They are an important symbol, coughing black fumes into the soul of […]
08.01.2024
The New Year is a time that is conducive to welcoming the new and leaving behind what no longer serves us. In this spirit, we invite you to produce good together and make space for what really makes you happy. Literally! Through Clothes to Give you can donate clothes that no longer serve you. Every […]
