Give 5 Villages in Senegal Access to Healthcare

Neighbor Ape continues to provide financial assistance for local people living in the villages of Fangoli, Tenkoto, Petit Oubadji, Seekoto, and Djendji. Although it is the dry season in southeastern Senegal, malaria cases still occur, and apparently yellow fever also struck the area. In addition to assisting humans in this rural area where adequate healthcare is relatively expensive, ensuring the health of the local human population also helps contribute to the health of the Fongoli chimpanzee community. Since chimpanzees are so closely related to humans, they can contract illnesses from us but usually do not have the same immunity to diseases that we do, especially ones that are new to them.

The largest healthcare project that Neighbor Ape is currently involved in is the construction and continued support of a dispensary at the Neighbor Ape/OBARAR dormitory for Beudick schoolchildren in Kedougou. This dorm allows rural children, largely of Beudick ancestry but also including other children such as several from the Bassari village of Petit Oubadji, to live in Kedougou so that they can attend the schools in this regional town. While most rural villages have schools, they are poorly funded compared to larger schools in regional towns, and teachers are often absent because of the difficulties in traveling long distances from their homes to these villages.

The dormitory is scheduled to be completed in April, and the dispensary will provide basic medical supplies and care. We also plan to help finance some of the students' costs of such care, especially in cases where parents are unable to help out financially or where parents cannot be contacted immediately because of the distance between the dormitory and the students' home villages where communication is limited. We hope to help train someone to work in the dispensary and will keep you updated on the progress of this goal!