The Praesens Foundation has reached another milestone and once more proved that ‘no community is too remote to help’ during its latest field mission in Senegal. While our core mission is to fight against epidemics by identifying early cases through rapid and reliable diagnostic methods in areas that lay beyond the reach of most health systems, we also clearly see an unmistakable link between access to water, decent sanitation and public health outcomes.

Needless to say that the absence of a well has a serious impact on the health and social development. Anno 2019, we observed that people are still excluded from this globally recognized “human right”. It turned out the water this community desperately needs was right underneath them, but women and children had no other choice than to collect water from a distant stream for drinking and cooking needs, losing a few hours a day and precious energy. Therefore, the Praesens Foundation decided to sponsor the construction of a 15m deep well, hand-dug by a local extremely skilled young man named Michel, with just a shovel as no other drilling equipment was available in the region. As an example of a community-based solution, it was important to ensure that the local community was invested around the project, utilizing technology requiring less monetary upkeep and simple mechanics suitable for the population’s needs in order for the well to last.

Traveling through the dusty & red lands, it was an honour to return to the Kédougou region at the beginning of March, unique for many reasons but for us this area is close to our heart as this is where our pilot study started and where we experienced the typical Senegalese Téranga.

We reached a peak in many senses when completing our ascent with the teams and the Mobile Lab and reaching the rural village of Angoussaka and its remote population as we were warmly welcomed by the cheering children who came running up towards us, miles before we even reached the village.

On the rhythm of the beating drums and dancing, the official inauguration ceremony was held under the mango tree. The villagers, the authorities and the Praesens and Institut Pasteur de Dakar teams all gathered and medical and political dignitaries held speeches. It literally felt like we were sitting under an African Palaver Tree, a designated location where the community comes together to discuss in a peaceful and constructive manner, issues of common interest, dreams and aspirations. Despite our cultural differences, race and language, we experienced a strong feeling of interdependence, sharing equal human needs and gratitude. These villagers embodied the social cohesion, resilience and civility that characterize the Senegalese people.

We proceeded all together to the well, filled buckets with water, raised awareness on good practices, and celebrated all afternoon in a festive spirit. In addition, we brought some small fruit trees from Dakar that were symbolically planted in a circle around the well.

In a comprehensive approach of providing water together with fruit trees, this solution, while surprisingly straightforward, is critical for developmental progress and public health. This initiative is a small-scale example of local capacity development that contributes to the empowerment of populations and serve as a “powerful preventive medicine” to address infectious diseases.

This well for us represents a commitment and we hope that this initiative can inspire the national authorities and its partners to invest in this type of solution for the vulnerable and too-often forgotten communities. Reflecting on it, it made us realise that small but meaningful investments can have large impacts.