Stories written by Amanda Fortier

Double Sentence: AIDS in a Senegalese Prison

By Amanda Fortier
Amadou* takes in a long, deep breath, clears his throat and steps to the front of the room. He turns to look out at a familiar group of faces sitting on long wooden benches here at the Camp Penal maximum-security prison in Dakar. This is the last in a group of 150 inmates Amadou has been speaking with today. He’s tired, but remains focused.
Students learning how to use the canacla: 30 seconds of hand washing while singing and dancing. Credit: Benoit Vanhercke

SENEGAL: Making Hand Washing Easy

By Amanda Fortier
Think hand washing can't be fun? Think again. In Senegal, a unique water system offers people an easy, cheap and environmentally friendly way to wash their hands frequently, reducing the spread of hand-borne transmittable diseases.
Rescuing a manatee from behind an agricultural dam. Credit: Lucy Keith

Protecting One of Africa’s Most Enigmatic Creatures

By Amanda Fortier
The manatee, or sea cow, is a torpedo-shaped marine mammal that moves languidly through the tepid waters of the Caribbean, South America and along the coast, rivers and wetlands from Senegal down to Angola. In the late 18th century, one of the manatee's closest and much larger relative, the Stellar Cow, were hunted to extinction. Today, the future of the West African manatee may not be far behind.


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