Care project in Senegal

I visited Senegal for 5 weeks last summer to volunteer with a Care project. I chose this project because I wanted hands-on exposure to the medical field that I would not get in my hone country. The Projects Abroad staff were helpful in providing advice on which destination and project to choose, and they also booked my flights to Dakar for me. When I arrived a staff member picked me up from the airport and I met my host family that night. The house was beautiful, and my host parents and sister were so kind and very patient with my awful French.

My placement was only a five-minute walk from my house, and usually my work involved taking care of the kids with injuries. This ranged from basic wound cleaning and bandaging, to consulting the nurse in charge of the center on ore complicated cases (once, I even watched a finger amputation!). I really enjoyed this work and it constantly amazed me how resilient the children were.

Projects Abroad staff were supportive throughout my time in Senegal. They met one-on-one with volunteers and to make sure everything was going okay with the host families and that volunteers were happy with their program choice. Volunteers were able to switch projects if they wanted to. Overall, I would recommend this program for anyone who wants a real change from their home country and has at least a basic speaking level of French.