Cisse Niass Project’s History, Mission and Vision
Whenever I speak about the Cisse Niass Project people are curious to know how we began.
In 2013 I was asked by a community leader in Senegal, Africa to help the villages of Kaolack and Kahone in Senegal build a school. As an educational leader and change maker I understood that a school cannot stand without supporting programs for food, health and medicines. Over the last three and a half years I developed the Cisse Niass Project, a non-profit humanitarian aid organization. CNP’s corporate office is in Atlanta, Georgia with a base of operations in Kaolack, Senegal, Africa. Cisse Niass Project is a non-profit 501© humanitarian organization therefore all donations are tax deductible.
The Mission of the Cisse Niass Project (CNP) in Kaolack and Kahone, Senegal is to provide communities in Senegal, Africa with food pantries to alleviate the pangs of hunger, to access safe drinking water, to provide Mosquito Net Programs, and to build clinics, pharmacies and Child Development Centers.
The founders of Cisse Niass Project have a simple vision and purpose: that the people of Kahone and Kaolack are enabled to send their children to school, to sleep without the barrier of hunger, and to have access to health and medicine. We believe in the Core Values of the Human Imperative - It states the obligation of the international community “to provide humanitarian assistance wherever it is needed.” (Slim, 2000)
Why Senegal?
In today’s world, there are many countries in desperate need of humanitarian help but what compelled us to Senegal is that it is a democratic and stable country which has opened its arms to our help. UNICEF reported in 2014 there were over 340,000 Senegalese Children with Malnutrition, 79,000 Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition, and 261,000 Children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (https://www.unicef.org/appeals/files/UNICEF_Senegal_Monthly_SitRep_JanMar_2014.pdf.) In 2014 UNICEF made an emergency appeal for $5,000,000, but was only able to receive 4% of funding. Unfortunately, what this means is that severe acute malnutrition (SAM) among children and vulnerable adults, such as nursing and pregnant women and the elderly has only worsened. Moreover, urgent nutritional needs including Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic Foods has only reached 2% of the target population. Technical assistance to Senegal’s Health Regions, for particularly for the period from August until the end of the year, are nonexistent and assistance for flood preparedness ahead of the August flood season also lacks funding (www.unicef.org/appeals). A critical depiction of Senegal’s children in crisis is that children under the age of five with Severe Acute Malnutrition with complications admitted to therapeutic care is as follows: the overall number was 7,890 malnourished children per region, the target to administer treatment was 5,033 children, but the results of children cared for was 196. This was due to lack of funding.
To help Cisse Niass Project or make a donation to help families and children in Senegal please visit cisseniassproject.org
