Senegal - Pupils equipped to act against malaria
Other initiatives
Béatrice Isabelle Sane's path. She is the assistant director of the Abdou Diasse School in Dakar, where Total is teaching pupils about preventing Malaria.
Even though malaria currently causes 500 deaths a year in Senegal against 8,000 in 2005, efforts to completely eradicate the disease must go on. We have to learn good habits at an early age, such as always sleeping under a mosquito net, wearing clothing that covers the body, and avoiding areas with standing water. For this purpose, we use the "Living Together" class in our school schedule to address these messages with children. A faithful partner since 2011, Total is helping us with this effort. Together, we have already organized two major awareness sessions that involved more than 1,000 children.
Combining prevention with games
Beyond the distribution of mosquito nets to pupils, Total is providing us with teaching kits to educate children about the disease, in order to give them the means to prevent infection. Children really appreciate these materials because they include fun activities and a question and answer game that encourages interactivity. During the two sessions we organized, the Managing Director of Total Senegal was present as well as the famous Senegalese singer, Coumba Gawlo Seck. The children were thrilled and their parents tell me that they are still talking about the ways to protect themselves from malaria at home. It's the best proof that our actions are meaningful.