For this month’s commemoration of Black History Month, we wanted to share a historical vignette happening during our lifetimes. It is the story of the African diaspora and a cross-national effort to provide accessible health care for pregnant women, elders and community members in a land which is endeared to the hearts of many African Americans.
In the rural lands of Senegal, West Africa, there is a place called Taiba Niassene. It is located in the province of Kaolack, which borders the Gambia. The Kaolack region has a total population of a little more than 1 million people, and almost half of them are women. A robust and growing community, Taiba Niassene lacks the infrastructure to sustain its growth and livelihood as the population increases. The nearest hospital is several kilometers away, and a lack of automobiles in the area means that emergency services are virtually non-existent.
Unfortunately, less than 50% of rural women in Kaolack have access to regular prenatal and postnatal care. Access to pre and postnatal care is a global best practice to prevent infant and maternal mortality. And that’s why the non-profit organization, Alfityanu Humanitaire North America, is working hard to make a difference.
I have not only visited this serene place, Koalack, Medina Baye, but a village founded by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse not far from Taiba Niassen is also where I spent my most formative and precious years. From the age of 16 to 20 years old, my parents moved me from East New York, Brooklyn, to Medina Baye.
I was one of many African Americans who sought scholarship in West Africa, and I am a witness to the power of cross-cultural love and support.
I was there with world-renowned humanitarian and scholar Shaykh Hassan Cisse, who was Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse’s first grandson and spiritual inheritor. It was during this time that I was also able to witness firsthand the beauty of Taiba Niassene and Medina Baye. Both places welcomed me and many other young African American teens and preteens as if we were one of their own.
Despite its lack of infrastructure and medical support, Taiba Niassene is a serene and tranquil place, made holy by virtue of the birth of one of its most famous sons, the preeminent West African scholar and humanitarian Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, lovingly referred to as Baye (which means father). Baye was frequently sought after as a consultant for his spiritual guidance, financial assistance and wisdom to world leaders for his uncanny insights. Former President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana was one of those world leaders to who Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse was a close advisor. His humble beginnings in Taiba Niassene helped to form the fertile ground for his mountainous achievements throughout his lifetime.
Shaykh Ibrahim’s grandson and Shaykh Hassan Cisse’s younger brother, Shaykh Mouhamadou Mahy Cisse, the founders of the non-profit, are working hard to provide adequate and accessible maternal and pediatric health care to the rural area of Kaolack.
The bid to create education and healthcare opportunities for communities is not only a practical thing to do for the here, and now. It holds significant residual blessings that will follow its doer into the mysterious afterlife. The best way to encourage community growth and cohesion is through the giving of charity. It is also a way to cement spiritual fortitude and show gratefulness to the Most High by helping humankind.
If you would like to be a part of this monumental effort in the continued struggle for humanity in Africa, along with contributors from across the globe in 2023, please click here.
Words by Kaba Abdul-Fattaah.
