March 19, 2023 • 30 mins
03/19/23
The Healthy Matters Podcast
Season 2 - Episode 08 - Healthcare the World Over - Senegal Edition
Believe it or not, healthcare is healthcare - the world over. Our journeys to better health may be very different, but at its core, the need for healthcare is the same for all of us.
On the surface, Senegal, in Africa, couldn't be more different than Minnesota, however many of the conditions people face there with regard to their health are not too dissimilar - Hypertension (high blood pressure), dehydration, adequate nutrition from an ever-changing food supply, COVID - the list goes on. On Episode 8 of the podcast, we welcome Bolo Diallo-Young, a registered nurse at Hennepin Healthcare and the founder of Cellal Africa, an organization dedicated to building sustainable healthcare resources in Senegal, and beyond. Dr. Hilden recently visited Senegal with Bolo and Cellal, and on this episode, we'll give a glimpse into Senegalese life, discuss the successes of the organization, and the challenges they face going forward. It's an inspiring conversation with a very inspiring person you won't want to miss. Join us!
More about Cellal Africa here: www.cellal.org
Got a question for the doc? Or an idea for a show? Contact us!
Email - healthymatters@hcmed.org
Call - 612-873-TALK (8255)
Twitter - @drdavidhilden
Find out more at www.healthymatters.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Healthy Matters podcast with Dr.
David Hilden, primary carephysician and acute care
hospitalist at HennepinHealthcare in downtown
Minneapolis, where we cover thelatest in health, healthcare and
what matters to you.
And now here's our host, Dr.
David Hilden.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey everybody, it's Dr.
David Hilden, and welcome toepisode eight of the podcast.
Whether you be here inMinnesota, or whether you be
halfway around the world in acountry very unlike Minnesota,
you know, regardless of whereyou live, healthcare is common
to all of us in the humanfamily.
And recently, I've had thechance to be halfway around the
world in the country of Senegal,working with the people there on
(00:42):
their own healthcare journeys.
With me today, it's a goodfriend and colleague, BDO Diallo
Young.
She is a nurse practitioner hereat Hennepin Healthcare in
Minnesota, and a Senegalesewoman, she is the founder of
Chialo Africa, which is anorganization dedicated to
bridging connections between ushere in the United States and
the people of her native countryof Senegal.
Bolo, welcome to
Speaker 3 (01:03):
The show.
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So you're from Canal, K a n e l in the Northeastern
part of Senegal.
For our listeners, it's in thewestern part of Africa.
If you think of nine o'clock ona clock, Senegal is nine
o'clock, the western mostcountry of Africa.
How did you end up in the frozentundra of Minnesota?
Because, uh, listeners, I've nowbeen to Senegal twice.
The climate's a little bitdifferent.
(01:25):
Everything's a little bitdifferent.
How did you end up here growingup in Canal?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Um, I think everything happens for a reason.
And, um, I came in in anexchange program, cultural
exchange program as a youngstudent, and I got opportunity
to experience giving care as ahome health aid.
And that gave me the inspirationto go to school to be a provider
or nurse, or even a provider,which is what I am now nurse
(01:52):
practitioner.
And, uh, it was meant to be.
And I, this is where I met myhusband and I started my family
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And, and we were together on a, on a service here
at the hospital.
And I got ended up asking you,where are you from?
Bolo?
And you said, I'm from Senegal.
And one thing led to another,and we ended up taking a group
of doctors and nursepractitioners and others to your
country back in 2018.
You've done it again in 2022 anda third time now, and you are
(02:21):
now the founder and thepresident of an organization
called Chiala.
First of all, what does chialomean?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Yes.
Um, chal, C E L L A L is, uh,health in Plar of Lanni.
That's very important.
I picked the word, um, carefullyor intentionally because, uh,
healthcare is very much lackingin that area of Senegal.
And I owe the credit to you forfounding Cala because because of
(02:50):
you and the discussion we had,that's how everything started.
And you being the backbone ofCala and your family and many
other friends.
So I couldn't do it without you.
So it's a team effort.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
It really is.
I'm gonna tell people right now,and I'll repeat it later, go to
Chiala, c e l l a l.org.
That's the website of, of theorganization that we're gonna be
talking about here.
So Senegal is a multiculturalsociety.
You ha you mentioned the wordplar, your primary language.
I also learned a lot of words ofwool off, which is spoken
(03:24):
frequently there and in manyplaces.
And French is the national orthe colonial language.
And you also speak English.
Tell me a little bit about yourcountry itself.
What is healthcare like?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yes.
Uh, my country is, uh,considered a developing country,
uh, meaning compared to the USor any other developed country,
we still have a way to go.
So, um, that's in many differentareas and health is one of'em.
Uh, not everybody has access tohealthcare, especially the rural
and, um, northern parts ofSenegal.
(03:57):
Transportation is hard.
Uh, so we don't have ambulancestaking people to hospitals when
they need it.
Uh, people may die because oflack of transportation, also,
lack of, uh, financial means toaccess health and lack of
education on health.
So all of these factors arecontributing to, um, lack of
(04:18):
health and lack of healthhistory in Senegal.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So when we went back to Canal, your, your hometown,
and I I also have to say, um,talked about your country.
You have two countries, this isyour country,, my native
United States is your country,but the country that you grew up
in is Senegal.
Um, when we went to Canal, youare greeted there, almost like
royalty.
I noticed people, uh, I'm justgonna paint a picture for you
(04:43):
listeners.
Cannell is a small to mediumsized town in the northeastern
part of the country of Senegal.
It's near the Mauritania Borner,the country of Mauritania.
Just a few miles actually.
The people there that we met areperhaps the most welcoming, warm
people I've ever met.
And when we come there with bolo, they see a returning daughter
(05:06):
of Canal, and she is somethingto behold when we're over there.
Um, she is an obvious, obviouslywelcomed and loved leader who
came over to the United Statesand then went back to her home
country and brought a bunch ofus, hopefully to do a little bit
of good.
What do you hope to accomplishwith Chiala?
Speaker 3 (05:25):
What I hope to accomplish is to collaborate
with, uh, the local healthcareleaders and providers and to
create together something that'ssustainable.
The sustainability that I'mtalking about is that, um, we
are coming to, we build trustbetween, uh, Cala team and the
(05:47):
local leaders to the point wherenow, um, they are offering us,
uh, ways to help buildsustainability.
We are expecting to get twoactors of land where the women,
the local women can startgardening, where they will grow
very nutritious vegetables andfruits that will help support
(06:07):
their health, because that's notvery common.
They don't have access to those,uh, uh, vegetables, but the
land, the soil is very, verygood.
So having those ladies createtheir own activities and be able
to support themselves, be ableto buy their medications when
it's needed and eat healthy, Ithink that's the sustainability
that we are living there.
(06:28):
And we gonna move those ideas tosome other parts of Senegal,
which we already started to setup to build relations in the
south of Senegal, which is shoand also in some parts of Dakar.
So hopefully we'll move to othercountries, uh, like Liberia.
So that's the goal for Cala.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
You talked about the Women of Canal, and I want to
talk to you a little bit aboutroles in in the country.
Uh, I'm gonna paint a picturefor, for listeners.
So people in, in the, the Womenof Canal, the women of Dakar,
the women of the whole countryseemed to be so engaged, leading
, um, so many activities.
We met social workers who arehelping teenage youth.
(07:11):
We met, uh, uh, we went to anorphanage.
We met midwives.
We met all kinds of people whoare leading, and particularly
women.
Uh, I know and I met somewonderful Senegalese men as
well.
But could you talk about therole of women in development in
Senegal?
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Yes.
Women in Senegal, uh, unlikewhat we may think are very much,
uh, they play a big role in thesociety.
First of all, I'll start with,uh, older women.
Um, they're seen as wise as, uh,the gatekeepers and they listen
to men before they go do anyactivity or any engagement.
(07:52):
They, or project, big project,they go to their mom and ask for
advice, ask for blessing, andwomen are taking care of the
kids.
They're taking care of, uh, thehousehold.
And many women now, modern womenin Senegal, and even some of the
older women go to work and theyhold different positions.
(08:14):
Uh, we have, uh, like a primeminister, women, we have judges,
we have professors.
We, we, we have even women whowanna run for presidency.
So they are very much, uh,engaged in all, all areas of,
uh, of de of development of thecountry.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
So bolo, you talked about education as part of the
mission of Chiala and, uh, inour work in Senegal.
How do you go about that?
What is, how, what kind ofmethods of education are you
doing?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
There's different ways that the me the education,
uh, is being done.
Uh, one of them is that I dosometimes some short videos that
, um, are in p the language thatmost of them will speak, uh, in
that area to talk about diet,uh, what, what to avoid, like
(09:02):
fried foods or things to avoidto in order to manage their
blood pressure or to prevent,um, cholesterol.
Because high blood pressure isvery, very much common.
We
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Saw it everywhere,
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Didn't we?
So yeah, so teaching them about,uh, why they should be taking
their blood pressure medicationsand if they don't, what's gonna
happen, like stroke and heartattacks and things like that.
And, and they have seen it, theyhave seen that starting to rise,
uh, strokes and heart attacks,so they understand what that
means.
And now they know it's becauseyou are not taking your blood
(09:35):
pressure medication.
Your blood pressure is in twohundreds, over a hundred.
So you may just end up havingthe same thing.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I wanna segue a little bit into, into the diet.
Do you think folks in Senegalare sticking to their
traditional Senegalese diet, orare Western influences coming
into play?
Because when I was thinkingabout why blood pressure is, is
going high, I wonder if it'sbecause of less healthy dietary
(10:03):
patterns that are, that areemerging.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I think, uh, there is a combination, I think of
genetic predisposition andenvironment mm-hmm.
, which is a dietand everything else.
Uh, somebody can, uh, correct meif I'm wrong, but there are some
studies that said that blackpeople or African Americans are
more likely to develophypertension.
(10:26):
What I know is, uh, this area isvery, very hot and people are
mostly dehydrated, uh, all, allthe time.
And they consume a big amount ofsodium, which will increase the
blood pressure.
Then that's one of the big, bigfactors over there.
They consume high sodium with,uh, bion like additives.
(10:47):
When they cook, they like to fryfood.
And, um, like you said, theWestern influence, uh, before,
back in the day, mygrandparents, they used to eat
something local that's grownlike fonio.
It's a very, very, what's thatFonio is now back, it's here in
the us.
It's, it's a superfood.
It's, it's like an ancientgrain.
If you, how do
Speaker 2 (11:07):
You, how do
Speaker 3 (11:07):
You spell it?
F o n i o
Speaker 2 (11:10):
F o n I O.
Okay.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Yes.
If you go to Whole Foods or, um,anywhere in the Whole Foods or
organic places, they sell it.
Also, we have tons of otherthings that are now here in the
western area that people areusing as super foods such as
moringa, hibiscus and, uh, babatree, uh, uh, food that I always
(11:32):
bring to you guys.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
You have brought me more baba juice and hibiscus
juice polo.
You know, listeners, I wouldlove you to be able to
experience the Senegalese dietbecause it was amazing.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Yes.
And I, I try to,
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I've had a lot of fish over there.
There was a ton of fish.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Ton of fish and seafood.
And I try here to go back tothose roots because those are
very, very healthy foods that,uh, our great grandparents used
to eat and and use.
And they fish and they growtheir grains.
So that's how they ate.
It's like the blue zones mm-hmm.
.
But now with the Westerninfluence, people think, oh,
this soda is better than my eskijuice.
(12:10):
Or, um, uh, chips and McDonaldand fried chicken.
So that's what people fancy in.
It's a fancy food now, quoteunquote.
Exactly.
And that's what they ate.
So that changing is reallyaffecting their
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Health.
I saw a lot of traditionalunprocessed foods in, in
Senegal, but also, especially inDecar, the capital, you do see a
lot of kind of less healthyoptions pre-packaged and
processed
Speaker 3 (12:36):
And that that's what many now go to.
But fortunately, there is amovement, a whole grassroots
movement of young women justlike the millennials who, who
are now going back, uh, they,they're having farmers markets
where they sell thosetraditional grains and foods.
People are trying to, tounderstand.
And that's part of the educationthat Cala wants to do in Canalo.
(12:59):
Wherever we can, we have theopportunity to teach people that
food that you wanna leave behindis what you need.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah.
That's a great message.
That's a great message.
So we are talking to BOLO JelloYoung.
She is the president and founderof Cala Africa, a nonprofit
organization which is dedicatedto healthcare promotion in her
native country of Senegal and inindeed around Africa.
We're gonna take a quick breakand we're gonna talk about some
more specific healthcare issuesthat we encountered on our
(13:28):
recent trip there, and find outhow maybe you can help stay with
us.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
You are listening to the Healthy Matters podcast with
Dr.
David Hilden.
Got a question or comment forthe doc.
Email us at Healthy Matters hc me d.org, or give us a call at
six one two eight seven threetalk.
That's 6 1 2 8 7 3 8 2 5 5.
And now let's get back to morehealthy conversation.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
One of the things that I know when we were there,
we were in a big room with, Idon't know, 50, 75, 90 teenagers
led by a, a woman leader and,uh, um, a man and they were
putting on role playing skitswith us.
Could you talk about what thatgroup, that youth center was
doing in your, to, in your townof rural Senegal?
(14:19):
Tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Yes.
That group is actually one ofthe other, uh, things that Cali
is doing in Senegal, which is tosupport young women to, uh,
finish school so they can, um,be successful in life and be
independent.
So we are trying to promotewomen's self-sufficiency.
So many young women in Senegal,although, like I said earlier,
(14:44):
women have been playing a bigrole in the economy.
But also there are so manybarriers for women to get to
that point.
So many young women will be, uh,affected.
Their education will be affectedbecause of simple things such as
menstrual periods.
Mm-hmm.
, so many, why,yes.
Many young women who are like,uh, 12, uh, 13, uh, or 10 will
(15:08):
start seeing day periods, butbecause they don't have pads
mm-hmm.
hygiene pads, andthey're embarrassed to go to
school, they stay home everymonth, they stay home so many
days and they end up failing thetest.
And then they, they, they don'twanna go back anymore because
they very disappointed.
So they stay home and they, uh,drop out of school.
(15:32):
So what Cella is doing with, uh,all the help from people who
donated to help those women,those girls, uh, stay in school
c was able to make.
And all of our team of, uh, menand women and teenagers, we got
together to soar those pads todistribute them to the girls,
(15:53):
which they really, reallyappreciate.
Those are reusable pads thatthey can, uh, use for a long
period of time.
We donated in 20 18, 20 12, andnow, so the group of the young
women and men that you saw withthe sketches that they were
doing is to educate, to raisethe awareness of how military
(16:13):
periods can affect young women.
It's, uh, like sexual educationfor the young women and even for
the young men.
So to educate the dad, toeducate the mom.
So they play doing role plays.
Uh, this is the dad, this is themom, and how, how they can pay
attention, how they can supportthose young women so they can
continue to go to school.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
I really want, um, listeners to hear that point.
And, uh, it, there is data fromaround the whole world.
If you want to help a, a countrythat is in the process of
developing, probably there is nomore intervention that is as
effective as educating the girlsthat that is better than almost
(16:52):
anything you can do is educateyoung women.
And it had never occurred to mebefore, some of this work that
simp the simple act ofmenstruation gets in the way of
education if you can't handlethat simple bodily function.
You know, you know what struckme, bolo is that when we were
there, and many, many peopledon't maybe know this, um, uh,
Islam is the primary of religionof Senegal there, and you can
(17:15):
maybe comment on that, but in,in many of the listeners maybe
don't really, uh, that mightcome as a surprise to them, that
we were in a country of, of thatis, uh, predominantly the most
warm, wonderful Muslim folksteaching young girls about
sexual health and how to talk totheir parents and about
menstruation.
(17:36):
Does that surprise you?
Was, was that how you grew up?
Were these topics that youtalked about in Senegal?
Because that's what struck me isyou would get a whole bunch of
teenagers in Minnesota blushingtalking about those topics.
And here they were probablyblushing over there too, but we
had all these young kids, 12,13, 14 year olds talking about
sensitive subjects in your, inyour home country.
(17:57):
It was Did that surprise you or,
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Yes, it does surprise me because growing up, that's
not how it
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Was.
That wasn't how it was growingup for you.
No,
Speaker 3 (18:05):
No.
Um, you learned it maybe throughfriends or cousins, bigger
cousins or big sisters.
Uh, you know, I mean sometimes,I mean, parents will warn you
about being pregnant if you haveyour period, if you don't be
careful.
Right.
So, but, uh, all the otherlittle things, you learn it
through peers.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Could you tell a little bit about how women
deliver babies?
Just
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Briefly?
Yes.
Um, things are changing a littlebit now, but before, uh, most
women delivered at home in theremote areas, uh, in big cities
like Dakar, maybe in thehospital, but remote areas they,
they deliver at home, visa,doula, kind of like something
that corresponding to doula,just all the women who have
(18:49):
knowledge,
Speaker 2 (18:49):
The expert wise, women, common help.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Yes.
But yeah, if anything happens,like something happens, uh, you
know, unexpectedly they could,it could be a disaster.
Now they leaning more towardsgoing to the hospital or to the
dispensary, like, uh, the clinicwhere we practice when we,
Speaker 2 (19:08):
And we saw three babies born there.
Yes.
In one week.
It's basically the clinic.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Yes.
So they have a midwife now overthere and some, uh, helpers and,
uh, doulas I think that help,uh, during the birth.
And if you remember last year,chal had donated lot of beds and
birthing equipments, uh, such asoxygen, uh, monitor baby,
monitor, baby warmer, and uh,just, uh, pretty much everything
(19:36):
you need in a birthing center.
Um, and that was very muchappreciated because we have data
that the nurse practitioner gaveus, uh, how many babies were
given oxygen because of that andsurvived.
And how many moms were able to,to, to utilize, uh, the
equipments that we had there.
(19:57):
And they were able to checkhemoglobin because they didn't
have a way to do that to predictbleeding.
So they used the point of carehemoglobin.
Mm-hmm.
check that we gavean ultrasound also, uh, we also
donated ultrasound machine.
So all of that is, uh, helpingthe dispensary because that's
where the low income people goto the people who can't afford.
(20:19):
And c made sure that they knowthis is for free.
Nobody should be charged otherthan maybe to buy a battery or
something, but they should notbe charged.
That's why they're very muchencouraged to go to the
dispensary.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
I'm gonna segue into a new, a little, uh, another
little topic here.
I'd like you to tell us a littlebit about, uh, just briefly a
little bit about the culture ofSenegal.
I mentioned that it was, uh,primarily Muslim country.
I mentioned that you speak fourlanguages.
Tell me a little bit more aboutthe culture of Senegal.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
So the majority, 95% is Muslim and 5% Christians and
less than one other.
Mm-hmm.
.
So, but, uh, this is, uh, one ofthe only countries in the world
where you see Muslims andChristians live together in a
very, very mbic way.
Some of the ethnic groups likeSarahs or Jola, you can find a
(21:08):
family of two that will haveboth Christians and Muslims.
We share all the holidays.
Uh, if it's Eid, nobody goes towork or school, we all celebrate
together.
If it's Christmas, nobody goesto school or work.
We all celebrate together.
Sometimes you may see people onthe street, you don't know who's
who.
So that's, we are blessed thatway.
And our religious leaders arethe ones who get together to
(21:29):
solve any problem that'shappening in the country.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I wish everybody could see that.
I experienced that acceptance ofpeople and diversity there, um,
in incredible ways.
On we, we took a bus from Dakarto Canal.
It's a, I dunno, 6, 8, 10 hourride.
But on the way we went throughthe town of Tuba, T O U B A
where the largest mosque in thecountry is, and this is a
(21:54):
beautiful, beautiful sitelisteners.
It takes up 4, 5, 6, 8 cityblock blocks.
It has mints and beau.
It's just beautiful.
And we, we roll in on a Friday,which is prayer day.
And I swear there were 10,000people all praying at once.
And our group contained someAfrican folks from Liberia, from
Senegal, but it also contained abunch of white folks from
(22:16):
Minnesota.
And we get down, the men go tothe men's part and the women go
to the women's part.
And I was down on my knees onthe Friday praying in this
largest mosque in the countrynext to a Jewish man in a
Christian man
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And a Muslim man.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
And a Muslim, yeah.
There was a Jewish guy, therewas me and there was some Muslim
guys and we're surrounded by10,000 people.
And it felt so right at thetime.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
Yes, it was beautiful.
We have a picture of all of us,Muslim and Christian and Jewish
Africans and Europeans alltogether in one picture.
Uh, just, you know, doing thislove together and that's all
what matters.
The
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Love.
Yeah.
Yeah.
E exactly.
And then an elderly gentlemanfrom the, from the town,
probably you could spot us amile away.
We were maybe the only whitepeople of the 10,000.
Um, but he found us and he andhe gave us a two hour long tour
of the mosque.
And it takes about that long cuzit's six city blocks.
And it was so incredible and wewon't get into the details, but
(23:16):
you went and found the imam ofthe mosque and we stood together
in a circle at this, at thismost grand place in the whole
country and did some, uh, hadsome prayer little time together
and how meaningful that was tome.
And it just struck me as what itcan be like when people from
different faiths in differentcountries all come together.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Yes.
And that struck me to
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Okay, bolo as different as the country of
Senegal is in many ways.
In some ways it's very similarpeople there, people here Covid.
What is the situation in Senegalwith Covid?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Actually, you know, this is very interesting because
we haven't seen any Covid casein within the patients.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Right.
We didn't see any while we werethere.
Is that just cuz we're nottesting or people aren't, what
why is it
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Is, um, maybe we are not testing and and also we
haven't seen symptoms.
Right.
And I, I don't know.
Uh, Cannel is a very open airarea.
You know, it's not closed,
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Uh, like everything's outdoor.
Not everything's outdoor, buteven homes.
Yeah.
But I happen to know, it's notthat there's no covid in there
because while we were there weencountered a few people that
had Covid.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Yes.
Actually I've never had Covidsince it started 2019.
I had Covid in Senegal.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
, I know
.
The three people were from
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Our group.
Yeah.
Three people in our group.
Uh, I am one of'em.
We had Covid and uh, but thegood news is I think because of
the vaccine, like mm-hmm.
, I, I had all ofmy four vaccines before I left
and we all did.
I didn't even know I had Covid.
I just felt like I haveallergies.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Right.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
And I wasn't sick at all.
But, uh, since one of us waspositive for Covid, so we had to
test everybody before we went tothe clinic.
So I tested and I was positiveand unfortunately I couldn't go
to the clinic.
And I felt so bad because about150 people were waiting for us
and we had to cancel the clinicday.
But because I was, I was feelingso bad, I decided I'm, I was
(25:10):
gonna do telehealth.
So
Speaker 2 (25:12):
You did telehealth in rural Senegal?
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yes.
And it worked.
Yes.
The way I did it, I, I havesomebody, uh, my cousin who came
with us was at the clinic and hedid, uh, WhatsApp video call
mm-hmm.
.
And I'll see the patient andI'll ask questions and he'll
help them answer the questions.
And then, uh, if I know what itis, uh, you know, it's usually
(25:35):
it's high blood pressure or, orgood.
Or things like that.
Yeah.
Then I'll write down what needsto be prescribed.
So I send him the, the messageand then he'll go to the
pharmacy and get them.
So I was able to see 15 patientsand I was happy.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
That's incredible.
Even in that setting, you wereable to do telehealth.
I'll have, you know, I did go toclinic that day and saw like
gazillion patients that day, butmy, my, my PK and my wall off
aren't very good.
So I had to use an interpreterfor everything.
So that, that was an incrediblething.
Yeah.
It, but it is interestingthough.
It does seem to be in general amore open air society, at least
(26:09):
in Canal.
Yeah.
And since we were there in thedry season, mosquitoes weren't
really a big deal.
So malaria wasn't even really abig deal.
And so I wonder No, and I don'twonder, I think that's probably
a great deal of it, is that justthe, that outdoor sort of
lifestyle probably didn't leadto as much covid in the country.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Yep.
Even 2020 till now, there wastmany cases over there.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
So, and I don't think I encountered anybody who was
telling me in that clinic,hundreds and hundreds and
hundreds of people that they hadsymptoms that sounded like
covid.
So maybe, maybe, uh, the country, uh, maybe it wasn't quite as
big a thing.
No.
Which is a good thing.
Yes.
So listeners, BOLO leads anorganization that is trying to
make a difference in healtheducation, in childbirth, in the
(26:52):
development of girls and theireducation in treating
hypertension.
This is an organization I wantyou to know about.
And before we close, I wannajust tell you just a teeny bit
more about BOLO because shewon't say it, but I will.
She is a visionary who not onlyhas started this nonprofit, but
she's also brought her expertiseand her caring attitude towards
(27:13):
people in Minnesota where shecares for people in our
hospital.
She also has a small businesswhere she provides some of the
best skincare products thereever.
Were using natural products, um,and Shea butter from her Native
Africa.
And she is a visionary personthat you should get to know.
So bolo, um, I'm gonna ask youto close us, but what would you,
what one or two or three thingswould you like to leave people
(27:36):
with?
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Oh, yeah.
Uh, before that, uh, the bolosbody butter, the, the, the
skincare, 10% of the sales gotowards
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Al.
Okay.
So, so you don't even keep allof the that's, you don't
currently keep any of the moneyyou make off
Speaker 3 (27:47):
The sink.
Well, that's the reason why I, Istarted doing it because I
didn't wanna continue to justask people every time, you know,
to donate.
So I said, is there anythingthat I can do that can generate
money for the organization?
And it was this, so then the,the skincare took off and every
time I sell, the 10% goestowards it.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Bolos body butter.
Okay.
So how do people find this?
I mean, your product careproduct,
Speaker 3 (28:11):
How they find it product is right now on
Instagram and Facebook.
Bolos, body butter, just my nameand body butter.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Okay.
People look that up.
That's the first thing.
What else do you want people toknow about Chiala in your work?
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Chal is, uh, open and welcoming anybody.
You can be a nurse, you can be ajanitor, you can be a
housekeeper.
Everybody has a job within Cell.
We are looking for help.
If you wanna give$2, it'swelcomed.
If you wanna sponsor a pregnantwoman through our day, uh,
entire nine month of pregnancyor two years after postpartum so
(28:45):
that the child is, is followedfor two years, you're welcome.
Or if, if you wanna sponsorsomebody with, uh, blood
pressure to fill theirmedications, that's also easy.
It takes only maybe$50 or less.
And, uh, thank you so much.
We are grateful for anybody that, uh, puts their hands on cala
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Listeners.
Go to chialo.org org.
C e l l a l.org.
It means health in the Plarlanguage, and BOLO is its
founder and its President bolo.
Thank you for talking to usabout Senegal, about the work
you do.
You've always, I've said it amillion times, I'll say it
again.
You've been an inspiration and adear friend to me and I'm glad
(29:23):
that some other people are gonnaget to hear about the amazing
work you do.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Thank you so much for having me, Dr.
Hilden.
And as always, I am alwaysgrateful for you and for your
support, you and your family.
Thank you.
The
Speaker 2 (29:37):
World is a wonderful place when we all come together.
And so, so we've been talking toBolo Diallo Young, a nurse
practitioner here with me atHennepin Healthcare in downtown
Minneapolis, and the founder ofChiala Africa.
Find out more about it at C e LL aal.org.
Our next episode promises to bechockful of information as we
tackle the subject of AttentionDeficit hyperactivity disorder,
(29:59):
otherwise known as D h d with apsychiatry colleague of mine,
Dr.
John Weger.
It's gonna be a great episode.
You don't wanna miss it, so Ihope you'll join us and in the
meantime, be healthy and bewell.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Thanks for listening to the Healthy Matters podcast
with Dr.
David Hilden.
To find out more about theHealthy Matters podcast or
browse the archive, visithealthy matters.org.
The Healthy Matters Podcast ismade possible by Hennepin
Healthcare in Minneapolis,Minnesota, an engineer to
produce by John Lucas AtHighball Executive producers are
Jonathan Comito and ChristineHill.
(30:32):
Please remember, we can onlygive general medical advice
during this program, and everycase is unique.
We urge you to consult with yourphysician if you have a more
serious or pressing healthconcern.
Until next time, be healthy andbe well.
Welcome to the Healthy Matters podcast with Dr.
David Hilden, primary carephysician and acute care
hospitalist at HennepinHealthcare in downtown
Minneapolis, where we cover thelatest in health, healthcare and
what matters to you.
And now here's our host, Dr.
David Hilden.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey everybody, it's Dr.
David Hilden, and welcome toepisode eight of the podcast.
Whether you be here inMinnesota, or whether you be
halfway around the world in acountry very unlike Minnesota,
you know, regardless of whereyou live, healthcare is common
to all of us in the humanfamily.
And recently, I've had thechance to be halfway around the
world in the country of Senegal,working with the people there on
(00:42):
their own healthcare journeys.
With me today, it's a goodfriend and colleague, BDO Diallo
Young.
She is a nurse practitioner hereat Hennepin Healthcare in
Minnesota, and a Senegalesewoman, she is the founder of
Chialo Africa, which is anorganization dedicated to
bridging connections between ushere in the United States and
the people of her native countryof Senegal.
Bolo, welcome to
Speaker 3 (01:03):
The show.
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So you're from Canal, K a n e l in the Northeastern
part of Senegal.
For our listeners, it's in thewestern part of Africa.
If you think of nine o'clock ona clock, Senegal is nine
o'clock, the western mostcountry of Africa.
How did you end up in the frozentundra of Minnesota?
Because, uh, listeners, I've nowbeen to Senegal twice.
The climate's a little bitdifferent.
(01:25):
Everything's a little bitdifferent.
How did you end up here growingup in Canal?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Um, I think everything happens for a reason.
And, um, I came in in anexchange program, cultural
exchange program as a youngstudent, and I got opportunity
to experience giving care as ahome health aid.
And that gave me the inspirationto go to school to be a provider
or nurse, or even a provider,which is what I am now nurse
(01:52):
practitioner.
And, uh, it was meant to be.
And I, this is where I met myhusband and I started my family
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And, and we were together on a, on a service here
at the hospital.
And I got ended up asking you,where are you from?
Bolo?
And you said, I'm from Senegal.
And one thing led to another,and we ended up taking a group
of doctors and nursepractitioners and others to your
country back in 2018.
You've done it again in 2022 anda third time now, and you are
(02:21):
now the founder and thepresident of an organization
called Chiala.
First of all, what does chialomean?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Yes.
Um, chal, C E L L A L is, uh,health in Plar of Lanni.
That's very important.
I picked the word, um, carefullyor intentionally because, uh,
healthcare is very much lackingin that area of Senegal.
And I owe the credit to you forfounding Cala because because of
(02:50):
you and the discussion we had,that's how everything started.
And you being the backbone ofCala and your family and many
other friends.
So I couldn't do it without you.
So it's a team effort.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
It really is.
I'm gonna tell people right now,and I'll repeat it later, go to
Chiala, c e l l a l.org.
That's the website of, of theorganization that we're gonna be
talking about here.
So Senegal is a multiculturalsociety.
You ha you mentioned the wordplar, your primary language.
I also learned a lot of words ofwool off, which is spoken
(03:24):
frequently there and in manyplaces.
And French is the national orthe colonial language.
And you also speak English.
Tell me a little bit about yourcountry itself.
What is healthcare like?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yes.
Uh, my country is, uh,considered a developing country,
uh, meaning compared to the USor any other developed country,
we still have a way to go.
So, um, that's in many differentareas and health is one of'em.
Uh, not everybody has access tohealthcare, especially the rural
and, um, northern parts ofSenegal.
(03:57):
Transportation is hard.
Uh, so we don't have ambulancestaking people to hospitals when
they need it.
Uh, people may die because oflack of transportation, also,
lack of, uh, financial means toaccess health and lack of
education on health.
So all of these factors arecontributing to, um, lack of
(04:18):
health and lack of healthhistory in Senegal.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So when we went back to Canal, your, your hometown,
and I I also have to say, um,talked about your country.
You have two countries, this isyour country,
United States is your country,but the country that you grew up
in is Senegal.
Um, when we went to Canal, youare greeted there, almost like
royalty.
I noticed people, uh, I'm justgonna paint a picture for you
(04:43):
listeners.
Cannell is a small to mediumsized town in the northeastern
part of the country of Senegal.
It's near the Mauritania Borner,the country of Mauritania.
Just a few miles actually.
The people there that we met areperhaps the most welcoming, warm
people I've ever met.
And when we come there with bolo, they see a returning daughter
(05:06):
of Canal, and she is somethingto behold when we're over there.
Um, she is an obvious, obviouslywelcomed and loved leader who
came over to the United Statesand then went back to her home
country and brought a bunch ofus, hopefully to do a little bit
of good.
What do you hope to accomplishwith Chiala?
Speaker 3 (05:25):
What I hope to accomplish is to collaborate
with, uh, the local healthcareleaders and providers and to
create together something that'ssustainable.
The sustainability that I'mtalking about is that, um, we
are coming to, we build trustbetween, uh, Cala team and the
(05:47):
local leaders to the point wherenow, um, they are offering us,
uh, ways to help buildsustainability.
We are expecting to get twoactors of land where the women,
the local women can startgardening, where they will grow
very nutritious vegetables andfruits that will help support
(06:07):
their health, because that's notvery common.
They don't have access to those,uh, uh, vegetables, but the
land, the soil is very, verygood.
So having those ladies createtheir own activities and be able
to support themselves, be ableto buy their medications when
it's needed and eat healthy, Ithink that's the sustainability
that we are living there.
(06:28):
And we gonna move those ideas tosome other parts of Senegal,
which we already started to setup to build relations in the
south of Senegal, which is shoand also in some parts of Dakar.
So hopefully we'll move to othercountries, uh, like Liberia.
So that's the goal for Cala.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
You talked about the Women of Canal, and I want to
talk to you a little bit aboutroles in in the country.
Uh, I'm gonna paint a picturefor, for listeners.
So people in, in the, the Womenof Canal, the women of Dakar,
the women of the whole countryseemed to be so engaged, leading
, um, so many activities.
We met social workers who arehelping teenage youth.
(07:11):
We met, uh, uh, we went to anorphanage.
We met midwives.
We met all kinds of people whoare leading, and particularly
women.
Uh, I know and I met somewonderful Senegalese men as
well.
But could you talk about therole of women in development in
Senegal?
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Yes.
Women in Senegal, uh, unlikewhat we may think are very much,
uh, they play a big role in thesociety.
First of all, I'll start with,uh, older women.
Um, they're seen as wise as, uh,the gatekeepers and they listen
to men before they go do anyactivity or any engagement.
(07:52):
They, or project, big project,they go to their mom and ask for
advice, ask for blessing, andwomen are taking care of the
kids.
They're taking care of, uh, thehousehold.
And many women now, modern womenin Senegal, and even some of the
older women go to work and theyhold different positions.
(08:14):
Uh, we have, uh, like a primeminister, women, we have judges,
we have professors.
We, we, we have even women whowanna run for presidency.
So they are very much, uh,engaged in all, all areas of,
uh, of de of development of thecountry.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
So bolo, you talked about education as part of the
mission of Chiala and, uh, inour work in Senegal.
How do you go about that?
What is, how, what kind ofmethods of education are you
doing?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
There's different ways that the me the education,
uh, is being done.
Uh, one of them is that I dosometimes some short videos that
, um, are in p the language thatmost of them will speak, uh, in
that area to talk about diet,uh, what, what to avoid, like
(09:02):
fried foods or things to avoidto in order to manage their
blood pressure or to prevent,um, cholesterol.
Because high blood pressure isvery, very much common.
We
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Saw it everywhere,
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Didn't we?
So yeah, so teaching them about,uh, why they should be taking
their blood pressure medicationsand if they don't, what's gonna
happen, like stroke and heartattacks and things like that.
And, and they have seen it, theyhave seen that starting to rise,
uh, strokes and heart attacks,so they understand what that
means.
And now they know it's becauseyou are not taking your blood
(09:35):
pressure medication.
Your blood pressure is in twohundreds, over a hundred.
So you may just end up havingthe same thing.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I wanna segue a little bit into, into the diet.
Do you think folks in Senegalare sticking to their
traditional Senegalese diet, orare Western influences coming
into play?
Because when I was thinkingabout why blood pressure is, is
going high, I wonder if it'sbecause of less healthy dietary
(10:03):
patterns that are, that areemerging.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I think, uh, there is a combination, I think of
genetic predisposition andenvironment mm-hmm.
Uh, somebody can, uh, correct meif I'm wrong, but there are some
studies that said that blackpeople or African Americans are
more likely to develophypertension.
(10:26):
What I know is, uh, this area isvery, very hot and people are
mostly dehydrated, uh, all, allthe time.
And they consume a big amount ofsodium, which will increase the
blood pressure.
Then that's one of the big, bigfactors over there.
They consume high sodium with,uh, bion like additives.
(10:47):
When they cook, they like to fryfood.
And, um, like you said, theWestern influence, uh, before,
back in the day, mygrandparents, they used to eat
something local that's grownlike fonio.
It's a very, very, what's thatFonio is now back, it's here in
the us.
It's, it's a superfood.
It's, it's like an ancientgrain.
If you, how do
Speaker 2 (11:07):
You, how do
Speaker 3 (11:07):
You spell it?
F o n i o
Speaker 2 (11:10):
F o n I O.
Okay.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Yes.
If you go to Whole Foods or, um,anywhere in the Whole Foods or
organic places, they sell it.
Also, we have tons of otherthings that are now here in the
western area that people areusing as super foods such as
moringa, hibiscus and, uh, babatree, uh, uh, food that I always
(11:32):
bring to you guys.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
You have brought me more baba juice and hibiscus
juice polo.
You know, listeners, I wouldlove you to be able to
experience the Senegalese dietbecause it was amazing.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Yes.
And I, I try to,
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I've had a lot of fish over there.
There was a ton of fish.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Ton of fish and seafood.
And I try here to go back tothose roots because those are
very, very healthy foods that,uh, our great grandparents used
to eat and and use.
And they fish and they growtheir grains.
So that's how they ate.
It's like the blue zones mm-hmm.
But now with the Westerninfluence, people think, oh,
this soda is better than my eskijuice.
(12:10):
Or, um, uh, chips and McDonaldand fried chicken.
So that's what people fancy in.
It's a fancy food now, quoteunquote.
Exactly.
And that's what they ate.
So that changing is reallyaffecting their
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Health.
I saw a lot of traditionalunprocessed foods in, in
Senegal, but also, especially inDecar, the capital, you do see a
lot of kind of less healthyoptions pre-packaged and
processed
Speaker 3 (12:36):
And that that's what many now go to.
But fortunately, there is amovement, a whole grassroots
movement of young women justlike the millennials who, who
are now going back, uh, they,they're having farmers markets
where they sell thosetraditional grains and foods.
People are trying to, tounderstand.
And that's part of the educationthat Cala wants to do in Canalo.
(12:59):
Wherever we can, we have theopportunity to teach people that
food that you wanna leave behindis what you need.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah.
That's a great message.
That's a great message.
So we are talking to BOLO JelloYoung.
She is the president and founderof Cala Africa, a nonprofit
organization which is dedicatedto healthcare promotion in her
native country of Senegal and inindeed around Africa.
We're gonna take a quick breakand we're gonna talk about some
more specific healthcare issuesthat we encountered on our
(13:28):
recent trip there, and find outhow maybe you can help stay with
us.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
You are listening to the Healthy Matters podcast with
Dr.
David Hilden.
Got a question or comment forthe doc.
Email us at Healthy Matters hc me d.org, or give us a call at
six one two eight seven threetalk.
That's 6 1 2 8 7 3 8 2 5 5.
And now let's get back to morehealthy conversation.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
One of the things that I know when we were there,
we were in a big room with, Idon't know, 50, 75, 90 teenagers
led by a, a woman leader and,uh, um, a man and they were
putting on role playing skitswith us.
Could you talk about what thatgroup, that youth center was
doing in your, to, in your townof rural Senegal?
(14:19):
Tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Yes.
That group is actually one ofthe other, uh, things that Cali
is doing in Senegal, which is tosupport young women to, uh,
finish school so they can, um,be successful in life and be
independent.
So we are trying to promotewomen's self-sufficiency.
So many young women in Senegal,although, like I said earlier,
(14:44):
women have been playing a bigrole in the economy.
But also there are so manybarriers for women to get to
that point.
So many young women will be, uh,affected.
Their education will be affectedbecause of simple things such as
menstrual periods.
Mm-hmm.
Many young women who are like,uh, 12, uh, 13, uh, or 10 will
(15:08):
start seeing day periods, butbecause they don't have pads
mm-hmm.
school, they stay home everymonth, they stay home so many
days and they end up failing thetest.
And then they, they, they don'twanna go back anymore because
they very disappointed.
So they stay home and they, uh,drop out of school.
(15:32):
So what Cella is doing with, uh,all the help from people who
donated to help those women,those girls, uh, stay in school
c was able to make.
And all of our team of, uh, menand women and teenagers, we got
together to soar those pads todistribute them to the girls,
(15:53):
which they really, reallyappreciate.
Those are reusable pads thatthey can, uh, use for a long
period of time.
We donated in 20 18, 20 12, andnow, so the group of the young
women and men that you saw withthe sketches that they were
doing is to educate, to raisethe awareness of how military
(16:13):
periods can affect young women.
It's, uh, like sexual educationfor the young women and even for
the young men.
So to educate the dad, toeducate the mom.
So they play doing role plays.
Uh, this is the dad, this is themom, and how, how they can pay
attention, how they can supportthose young women so they can
continue to go to school.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
I really want, um, listeners to hear that point.
And, uh, it, there is data fromaround the whole world.
If you want to help a, a countrythat is in the process of
developing, probably there is nomore intervention that is as
effective as educating the girlsthat that is better than almost
(16:52):
anything you can do is educateyoung women.
And it had never occurred to mebefore, some of this work that
simp the simple act ofmenstruation gets in the way of
education if you can't handlethat simple bodily function.
You know, you know what struckme, bolo is that when we were
there, and many, many peopledon't maybe know this, um, uh,
Islam is the primary of religionof Senegal there, and you can
(17:15):
maybe comment on that, but in,in many of the listeners maybe
don't really, uh, that mightcome as a surprise to them, that
we were in a country of, of thatis, uh, predominantly the most
warm, wonderful Muslim folksteaching young girls about
sexual health and how to talk totheir parents and about
menstruation.
(17:36):
Does that surprise you?
Was, was that how you grew up?
Were these topics that youtalked about in Senegal?
Because that's what struck me isyou would get a whole bunch of
teenagers in Minnesota blushingtalking about those topics.
And here they were probablyblushing over there too, but we
had all these young kids, 12,13, 14 year olds talking about
sensitive subjects in your, inyour home country.
(17:57):
It was Did that surprise you or,
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Yes, it does surprise me because growing up, that's
not how it
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Was.
That wasn't how it was growingup for you
No,
Speaker 3 (18:05):
No.
Um, you learned it maybe throughfriends or cousins, bigger
cousins or big sisters.
Uh, you know, I mean sometimes,I mean, parents will warn you
about being pregnant if you haveyour period, if you don't be
careful.
Right.
So, but, uh, all the otherlittle things, you learn it
through peers.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Could you tell a little bit about how women
deliver babies?
Just
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Briefly?
Yes.
Um, things are changing a littlebit now, but before, uh, most
women delivered at home in theremote areas, uh, in big cities
like Dakar, maybe in thehospital, but remote areas they,
they deliver at home, visa,doula, kind of like something
that corresponding to doula,just all the women who have
(18:49):
knowledge,
Speaker 2 (18:49):
The expert wise, women, common help.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Yes.
But yeah, if anything happens,like something happens, uh, you
know, unexpectedly they could,it could be a disaster.
Now they leaning more towardsgoing to the hospital or to the
dispensary, like, uh, the clinicwhere we practice when we,
Speaker 2 (19:08):
And we saw three babies born there.
Yes.
In one week.
It's basically the clinic.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Yes.
So they have a midwife now overthere and some, uh, helpers and,
uh, doulas I think that help,uh, during the birth.
And if you remember last year,chal had donated lot of beds and
birthing equipments, uh, such asoxygen, uh, monitor baby,
monitor, baby warmer, and uh,just, uh, pretty much everything
(19:36):
you need in a birthing center.
Um, and that was very muchappreciated because we have data
that the nurse practitioner gaveus, uh, how many babies were
given oxygen because of that andsurvived.
And how many moms were able to,to, to utilize, uh, the
equipments that we had there.
(19:57):
And they were able to checkhemoglobin because they didn't
have a way to do that to predictbleeding.
So they used the point of carehemoglobin.
Mm-hmm.
donated ultrasound machine.
So all of that is, uh, helpingthe dispensary because that's
where the low income people goto the people who can't afford.
(20:19):
And c made sure that they knowthis is for free.
Nobody should be charged otherthan maybe to buy a battery or
something, but they should notbe charged.
That's why they're very muchencouraged to go to the
dispensary.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
I'm gonna segue into a new, a little, uh, another
little topic here.
I'd like you to tell us a littlebit about, uh, just briefly a
little bit about the culture ofSenegal.
I mentioned that it was, uh,primarily Muslim country.
I mentioned that you speak fourlanguages.
Tell me a little bit more aboutthe culture of Senegal.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
So the majority, 95% is Muslim and 5% Christians and
less than one other.
Mm-hmm.
So, but, uh, this is, uh, one ofthe only countries in the world
where you see Muslims andChristians live together in a
very, very mbic way.
Some of the ethnic groups likeSarahs or Jola, you can find a
(21:08):
family of two that will haveboth Christians and Muslims.
We share all the holidays.
Uh, if it's Eid, nobody goes towork or school, we all celebrate
together.
If it's Christmas, nobody goesto school or work.
We all celebrate together.
Sometimes you may see people onthe street, you don't know who's
who.
So that's, we are blessed thatway.
And our religious leaders arethe ones who get together to
(21:29):
solve any problem that'shappening in the country.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I wish everybody could see that.
I experienced that acceptance ofpeople and diversity there, um,
in incredible ways.
On we, we took a bus from Dakarto Canal.
It's a, I dunno, 6, 8, 10 hourride.
But on the way we went throughthe town of Tuba, T O U B A
where the largest mosque in thecountry is, and this is a
(21:54):
beautiful, beautiful sitelisteners.
It takes up 4, 5, 6, 8 cityblock blocks.
It has mints and beau.
It's just beautiful.
And we, we roll in on a Friday,which is prayer day.
And I swear there were 10,000people all praying at once.
And our group contained someAfrican folks from Liberia, from
Senegal, but it also contained abunch of white folks from
(22:16):
Minnesota.
And we get down, the men go tothe men's part and the women go
to the women's part.
And I was down on my knees onthe Friday praying in this
largest mosque in the countrynext to a Jewish man in a
Christian man
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And a Muslim man.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
And a Muslim, yeah.
There was a Jewish guy, therewas me and there was some Muslim
guys and we're surrounded by10,000 people.
And it felt so right at thetime.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
Yes, it was beautiful.
We have a picture of all of us,Muslim and Christian and Jewish
Africans and Europeans alltogether in one picture.
Uh, just, you know, doing thislove together and that's all
what matters.
The
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Love.
Yeah.
Yeah.
E exactly.
And then an elderly gentlemanfrom the, from the town,
probably you could spot us amile away.
We were maybe the only whitepeople of the 10,000
Um, but he found us and he andhe gave us a two hour long tour
of the mosque.
And it takes about that long cuzit's six city blocks.
And it was so incredible and wewon't get into the details, but
(23:16):
you went and found the imam ofthe mosque and we stood together
in a circle at this, at thismost grand place in the whole
country and did some, uh, hadsome prayer little time together
and how meaningful that was tome.
And it just struck me as what itcan be like when people from
different faiths in differentcountries all come together.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Yes.
And that struck me to
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Okay, bolo as different as the country of
Senegal is in many ways.
In some ways it's very similarpeople there, people here Covid.
What is the situation in Senegalwith Covid?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Actually, you know, this is very interesting because
we haven't seen any Covid casein within the patients.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Right.
We didn't see any while we werethere.
Is that just cuz we're nottesting or people aren't, what
why is it
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Is, um, maybe we are not testing and and also we
haven't seen symptoms.
Right.
And I, I don't know.
Uh, Cannel is a very open airarea.
You know, it's not closed,
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Uh, like everything's outdoor.
Not everything's outdoor, buteven homes.
Yeah.
But I happen to know, it's notthat there's no covid in there
because while we were there weencountered a few people that
had Covid.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Yes.
Actually I've never had Covidsince it started 2019.
I had Covid in Senegal.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
The three people were from
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Our group.
Yeah.
Three people in our group.
Uh, I am one of'em.
We had Covid and uh, but thegood news is I think because of
the vaccine, like mm-hmm.
and we all did.
I didn't even know I had Covid.
I just felt like I haveallergies.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Right.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
And I wasn't sick at all.
But, uh, since one of us waspositive for Covid, so we had to
test everybody before we went tothe clinic.
So I tested and I was positiveand unfortunately I couldn't go
to the clinic.
And I felt so bad because about150 people were waiting for us
and we had to cancel the clinicday.
But because I was, I was feelingso bad, I decided I'm, I was
(25:10):
gonna do telehealth.
So
Speaker 2 (25:12):
You did telehealth in rural Senegal?
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yes.
And it worked.
Yes.
The way I did it, I, I havesomebody, uh, my cousin who came
with us was at the clinic and hedid, uh, WhatsApp video call
mm-hmm.
And I'll see the patient andI'll ask questions and he'll
help them answer the questions.
And then, uh, if I know what itis, uh, you know, it's usually
(25:35):
it's high blood pressure or, orgood.
Or things like that.
Yeah.
Then I'll write down what needsto be prescribed.
So I send him the, the messageand then he'll go to the
pharmacy and get them.
So I was able to see 15 patientsand I was happy.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
That's incredible.
Even in that setting, you wereable to do telehealth.
I'll have, you know, I did go toclinic that day and saw like
gazillion patients that day, butmy, my, my PK and my wall off
aren't very good.
So I had to use an interpreterfor everything.
So that, that was an incrediblething.
Yeah.
It, but it is interestingthough.
It does seem to be in general amore open air society, at least
(26:09):
in Canal.
Yeah.
And since we were there in thedry season, mosquitoes weren't
really a big deal.
So malaria wasn't even really abig deal.
And so I wonder No, and I don'twonder, I think that's probably
a great deal of it, is that justthe, that outdoor sort of
lifestyle probably didn't leadto as much covid in the country.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Yep.
Even 2020 till now, there wastmany cases over there.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
So, and I don't think I encountered anybody who was
telling me in that clinic,hundreds and hundreds and
hundreds of people that they hadsymptoms that sounded like
covid.
So maybe, maybe, uh, the country, uh, maybe it wasn't quite as
big a thing.
No.
Which is a good thing.
Yes.
So listeners, BOLO leads anorganization that is trying to
make a difference in healtheducation, in childbirth, in the
(26:52):
development of girls and theireducation in treating
hypertension.
This is an organization I wantyou to know about.
And before we close, I wannajust tell you just a teeny bit
more about BOLO because shewon't say it, but I will.
She is a visionary who not onlyhas started this nonprofit, but
she's also brought her expertiseand her caring attitude towards
(27:13):
people in Minnesota where shecares for people in our
hospital.
She also has a small businesswhere she provides some of the
best skincare products thereever.
Were using natural products, um,and Shea butter from her Native
Africa.
And she is a visionary personthat you should get to know.
So bolo, um, I'm gonna ask youto close us, but what would you,
what one or two or three thingswould you like to leave people
(27:36):
with?
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Oh, yeah.
Uh, before that, uh, the bolosbody butter, the, the, the
skincare, 10% of the sales gotowards
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Al.
Okay.
So, so you don't even keep allof the that's, you don't
currently keep any of the moneyyou make off
Speaker 3 (27:47):
The sink.
Well, that's the reason why I, Istarted doing it because I
didn't wanna continue to justask people every time, you know,
to donate.
So I said, is there anythingthat I can do that can generate
money for the organization?
And it was this, so then the,the skincare took off and every
time I sell, the 10% goestowards it.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Bolos body butter.
Okay.
So how do people find this?
I mean, your product careproduct,
Speaker 3 (28:11):
How they find it product is right now on
Instagram and Facebook.
Bolos, body butter, just my nameand body butter.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Okay.
People look that up.
That's the first thing.
What else do you want people toknow about Chiala in your work?
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Chal is, uh, open and welcoming anybody.
You can be a nurse, you can be ajanitor, you can be a
housekeeper.
Everybody has a job within Cell.
We are looking for help.
If you wanna give$2, it'swelcomed.
If you wanna sponsor a pregnantwoman through our day, uh,
entire nine month of pregnancyor two years after postpartum so
(28:45):
that the child is, is followedfor two years, you're welcome.
Or if, if you wanna sponsorsomebody with, uh, blood
pressure to fill theirmedications, that's also easy.
It takes only maybe$50 or less.
And, uh, thank you so much.
We are grateful for anybody that, uh, puts their hands on cala
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Listeners.
Go to chialo.org org.
C e l l a l.org.
It means health in the Plarlanguage, and BOLO is its
founder and its President bolo.
Thank you for talking to usabout Senegal, about the work
you do.
You've always, I've said it amillion times, I'll say it
again.
You've been an inspiration and adear friend to me and I'm glad
(29:23):
that some other people are gonnaget to hear about the amazing
work you do.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Thank you so much for having me, Dr.
Hilden.
And as always, I am alwaysgrateful for you and for your
support, you and your family.
Thank you.
The
Speaker 2 (29:37):
World is a wonderful place when we all come together.
And so, so we've been talking toBolo Diallo Young, a nurse
practitioner here with me atHennepin Healthcare in downtown
Minneapolis, and the founder ofChiala Africa.
Find out more about it at C e LL aal.org.
Our next episode promises to bechockful of information as we
tackle the subject of AttentionDeficit hyperactivity disorder,
(29:59):
otherwise known as D h d with apsychiatry colleague of mine,
Dr.
John Weger.
It's gonna be a great episode.
You don't wanna miss it, so Ihope you'll join us and in the
meantime, be healthy and bewell.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Thanks for listening to the Healthy Matters podcast
with Dr.
David Hilden.
To find out more about theHealthy Matters podcast or
browse the archive, visithealthy matters.org.
The Healthy Matters Podcast ismade possible by Hennepin
Healthcare in Minneapolis,Minnesota, an engineer to
produce by John Lucas AtHighball Executive producers are
Jonathan Comito and ChristineHill.
(30:32):
Please remember, we can onlygive general medical advice
during this program, and everycase is unique.
We urge you to consult with yourphysician if you have a more
serious or pressing healthconcern.
Until next time, be healthy andbe well.
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