KCHP Student Practicum Program 2010

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3. The KCHP's Student Practicum Program offers the opportunity to work on sustainable development and community health in southeastern Senegal. The program is based in Saraya, an isolated, resource-poor area that was recently established as a new health district by the Senegalese Ministry of Health in 2006. The health staff in Saraya is currently limited to 1 doctor, 1 midwife, 2 nurses, and 6 assistant nurses. The district health facilities consist of one health center and six outlying health posts. The population in this district is estimated at over 34,000 people with a density of approximately 7 persons per km2 and the majority of the inhabitants are peasant farmers who grow cotton, millet, corn, and peanuts. Besides farming, the inhabitants of Saraya also pan for gold in small transient villages (Diouras), and international mining companies have a growing presence in this district as well. The main language is Malinké, but Pulaar and Wolof are also spoken, and the primary language used at the health centre and the surrounding health posts is French.