Pierre
Vanneste

DELOSSI - Bringing back.

(ongoing project)

In 2020, our friend Hamet  called us to share his initiative. He had decided to occupy an old house whose owners had been evicted for the construction of the regional express train (TER). He converted it into three rooms and a dormitory to house people with mental disorders who had previously lived on the streets.

It was an act of community solidarity and an attempt to make society responsible for addressing this issue locally rather than relying solely on national solutions. This center provided a solution and an opportunity for those who didn't want to or couldn't return to their families. For Hamet, the center offered an alternative to the traditional medication-based approach. "Here, we talk about socialization," he said.

In Senegal, there are very few initiatives to care for people with mental disorders outside of already overwhelmed hospital services and psychiatric consultations. Mental health represents less than 2% of the national health budget. On the ground, families face numerous challenges: poverty, beliefs, lack of knowledge or understanding, stigma, and taboos all contribute to the violence suffered by people with mental disorders, often leading to their abandonment.

Text Laurence Grun - Images Pierre Vanneste