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Cité Sagef Zac Mbao Villa N°15 Dakar – SENEGALPO BOX 5409 Dakar-Fann SENEGAL - Email : awomi@awomi.org  

Phone : + 221 338366487 

 AWOMITaskForce:

VisittoFloodAffectedAreasintheSamNotaireMunicipality

September14,2010,Dakar,Senegal

FloodedRegionsinSamNotaireMunicipality

WiththeonsetoftherainyseasoninSenegalfromlateJulytoOctober,manyinhabitantsin

floodliableareasliketheSamNotaireMunicipalityoftheGuediawayeDepartmentofDakar

brace themselves for many flood related problems like higher incidence of diseases,disruptedservicesandinaccessibleamenities,lossofproperty,andsometimesdeaths.This

year,therainshavebeenparticularlyheavyasaresultofclimatechangeandconsequently,havebeenequallydisruptive.

AWOMI received notice from Sam Notaire’s mayor Mrs. Dieynaba Fall about the floodsituation inher municipality following a series of back‐to‐back storms inDakar in early

August.Mrs.FallandtheSamNotairemunicipalityhavebeenAWOMIpartnersunderthethirdphaseoftheWomen’sEmpowermentFund(WEFU)programsinceSeptember2009.

WithsimilarreportsofhighlevelsofdestructioninandaroundtheDakarmetropolisthis

year, AWOMI decided to schedule a field visit to the flood affected areas to assess the

damagedonebytherains,findouthowtheinhabitantsaredealingwiththeaftermath,and

todeterminewhat,ifany,kindofassistanceAWOMIcouldlendtotheaffectedpopulation.

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thepurposeofAWOMI’svisitandencouragedthepeoplepresenttosharetheirexperiences

andconcernswithAWOMI.

 AsectionofthelocalwomenmobilizedtosharetheirstorieswithAWOMI

Mrs.Fallbeinggreetedbywomenfromthefloodedareas

The community Imam, president of the sports and cultural association, and some other

communityleadersattestedtothegoodleadershipofMrs.Fall,particularlywithregardtoherimmediateactionfollowingtheflooding.Thewomenalsoexpressedtheirappreciation

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tothemayorandAWOMIforcomingforthtolistentotheirgrievances,notingthattheyhave

beenvictimstofloodsforthepastthreeyears.

WomenaffectedbyfloodingintheSamNotairemunicipalityexpressingtheirconcerns

DisruptedLife

SincetheworstoftherainsandthefloodsinearlySeptember,thecommunitymosqueand

itsadjoinedIslamicschoolhavebeeninaccessible,saidtheImam.Itshouldbenotedthatthe

flooding took place during Ramadan when Muslims – who make up the majority ofSenegalesesociety–fast.Theuseofmosquesduringthistimeisparticularlyimportant.

AdjaratouPendaNdiaye,PresidentoftheParentsAssociationspokeonbehalfofthewomenandelaborated someoftheproblemstheyare facing.Whilethecommunityhas generally

lived in the midst of stagnant water for the past three years, the situation this year is

particularly aggravatingbecause the community’swaterpump station brokedown somemonthsago.

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Mrs.Ndiayeelaboratingonsomeofthechallengesbroughtonbythefloods

Accordingtoher,manychildrenhavegottendiphtheriaasaresultof insanitaryconditions

andmalariaduetotheincreasedbreedingofmosquitoesinthestagnantwaters.Thereare

somefamilieswhohadtoabandontheirfloodedhouses,whilethetwoprimaryschoolsand

themosque are inaccessible. Due to the heavy rainsand flooding, all the classrooms are

destroyedandthemainschoolwallhasfallendown.Withnomoney,thewomenhadtorely

onsmallbowlsandkitchenbasinstoscoopoutthewaterfromtheirhomes.Whiletheschool

year resumes in a couple of weeks, it is unlikely that the children will be able to attendschoolfortherestoftheyear,shesaid.Shepointedoutthatthecommunityneedsfundinginorder toundertake some general work, and to buymosquito nets toprotect against the

spread of malaria, particularly where the children and pregnant women are concerned.Additionally,thereisnotenoughfoodinthecommunity.

TouroftheAffectedAreasandTestimonies

Afterthegeneralmeetingwithwomenandcommunityleaders,AWOMIwastakenonatour

oftheaffectedareasbyMrs.Fall.Duringthetourwesawthebrokenwaterpumpstation,the

floodedanddamagedclassroomblocksandmosque,somedestroyedhousesofSamNotaire

inhabitants,aswellaslargepoolsofstagnant,dirtywater.

Wealsospoketosomeoftheinhabitantsincludingayoung20‐yearoldboywhoseparents

died shortly after the flooding, a handicapped woman who has been living in the

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neighborhoodforalmost20years,andamotheroffivewhosebelongingsweredestroyedby

thefloods,andthewifeofasecurityguardofoneoftheprimaryschools.

Below are the testimonies of these individuals (translated from French to English) and

photostakenduringthetourofthearea.

MaguetteSakhoHandicappedWomanandResidentLivinginSamNotaireforAlmost20Years(Middle)

Ilivewithmyin-lawshere,andnow,whencooking,wehaveto

 place the coalpot ona basin. Iknow it’sahuge risk,butwe

don’thaveachoicebecausetheentirehouseisflooded.Ihada

small shop,but everything isdisrupted because of the water.

The roadsare inaccessible.We really need help.My children

(threegirlsandtwoboys)aresickbecauseofthemosquitoes.

Someofthechildrenareevenplayinginthedirtywater.Thisis

ariskforgettingmalaria.

SokhnaAminataBocoumEntireHouseDestroyedandLostAllHerBelongingsTotheFloods

Myentirehousewasflooded.Mymattress,clothes andeverythingwere destroyed. I

didn’t haveanybody tohelpmetakemy

belongings out. My bedroom was full I

don’thave anywhereelse to live. I sleep

withmy family and I cook on the septic

tank.Ihavesixchildren–2boysandfour

 girls.Theeldestwasbornin1978andthe

 youngestissixyears.

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RackyDia

WifeoftheSecurityGuardofOneofthePrimarySchools

Weliveinthisschool.Iamthewifeofthesecurityguard.Youcan

seeforyourself,wedon’tevenhaveanywheretostand.Duringthe

EidfestivalattheendofRamadan,wehadtoputourcoalpotonbricksinordertocook.It’sveryhardforpoorpeoplelikeus.

PapeMorToure20‐YearOldBoyWhoLostHisParentstoMalaria

MynameisPaperMorToure.Iamtheoldestinmyfamilyat20 years old. My father and my mother died from malaria two

weeks ago. Now, I’m responsible for my three sisters andmythreebrothers.Mybabysisteristhreemonthsoldandsheiswith

myaunt.Iamjustanapprenticeattheblacksmiths.

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GeneralPhotosofAffectedAreas

Thecommunity’sbrokenwaterpumpandstationmadethisyear’sfloodingtheworstinrecent

 years.

Childrenplayingindirtystagnantwaterfromthefloods.Thestagnantwatershaveledto

anincreaseincasesanddeathsfrommalaria.

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Dugoutholesanddrenchestodrainthearea

Destroyedschoolwall(farright)anddamagedschoolbuilding.

Thewaterlevelisevidentbythelinenearthewindows.

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CommunityMosquewhichwasflooded

Destroyedandabandonedhome

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Familyrecoveringfromthefloods