*Kendeyaa means «health», «to be healthy» in Mandinka, the predominant national language in our area of operation.
Since 2008, 11 homeopaths and 3 assistants have graduated in the Kendeyaa project, 13 more are currently in training.
Currently, «Mobile Clinics» are conducted 3-4 times per week (approx. 150 patients per week), the outpatient clinic is open daily (approx. 80 patients per week).
In 2018, a total of 9,700 patients were treated.
Gambia, with a total area of approximately 11’000 square kilometres, is the smallest country on the African mainland.
By comparison, Switzerland is four times as big.
The birth rate in Gambia is 29.4 per 1,000 inhabitants (Switzerland 10.5/1,000).
The infant mortality rate is 60.2 per 1,000 births (Switzerland 3.6/1,000).
The maternal mortality rate is 706 per 1,000 births (Switzerland 5/1,000).
Physician density in Gambia 0.11 per 1,000 inhabitants. (Switzerland 4.25/1,000).
Why homeopathy in Africa?
The West African country the Gambia is the smallest state on the African continent and one of the poorest countries in the world. Health care in the Gambia is very poor. Hospitals and health centers lack both human and material resources. Alternatives are needed. The advantages of homeopathic treatment are on the one hand the positive reactions of the patients and the high acceptance of the locals, on the other hand the low costs, the absence of side effects and the uncomplicated storage of medicines. Homeopathy seems to be closer to the method of traditional healers than conventional medicine.
What are we doing in the Gambia?
Since 2008, a team of homeopaths has been working on building, developing and maintaining a homeopathic school. The offer is aimed at school leavers and professionals who are mainly taught homeopathy. Every year two to four trained homeopaths from Switzerland are on site for up to 20 weeks to teach and treat for the project. During our absence, homeopathy classes are accompanied by Gambian homoeopaths who are already trained. Momodou Colley, a young Gambian doctor, also trains the students in anatomy, physiology, pathology and traditional herbal medicine.
Another focus of our project is practical work. We run an outpatient clinic (daily consultation hours) and so-called mobile clinics, where we visit various villages and quarters on request and treat people on an outpatient basis.
The film about the project
Update 2024/2025 – Project Kendeyaa
General information
In April 2024 and February 2025, Gabrielle Barben travelled to The Gambia to accompany and support the ongoing projects.
Our projects in The Gambia, which we oversee together with the Gambia Friends, are progressing well and according to plan. Isha Fofana, our local project manager, and her teams are working with motivation, dedication, and a high degree of independence.
A delegation from the NHSF Foundation Board visited the projects together with Gabrielle Barben and returned highly impressed.
→ See: Visit of two NHSF Foundation Board members to The Gambia, February 2025.
A group of 12 people travelled to The Gambia in April 2025 with the Gambia Friends, long-time project partners of hmswiss. With such guided trips, hmswiss and the Gambia Friends aim to foster understanding and interest in the projects in The Gambia.
As our travel participants say: You have to see it to understand it.
→ See: Group trip to The Gambia, April 2025.
If you are interested in joining a group trip toThe Gambia, please contact contact@hmswiss.com.
Visit of two NHSF Board Members to The Gambia, February 2025
“We were deeply impressed by the warm-hearted people and the beautiful oasis, Mama Africa, which our local project leader Isha Fofana has built over the past 10 years. As a highly competent and respected woman, she was recently granted another piece of land by the mayor, who told her: ‘If anyone can make something good out of it, it’s you.’
At the well-run homeopathy clinic, the new malaria tests had just arrived. A visit to one of the mobile clinics gave us insight into the valuable work of the local homeopaths, which is gratefully received by the community.
During a Mussu Kunda workshop, young women were taught about their menstrual cycles, empowering them to take responsibility for their own family planning.
We were also moved by Isha’s devoted care for an elderly woman who could no longer walk after an accident. Isha arranged for her to be taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
A heartfelt thank you for this beautiful journey and your tremendous work on the ground.”
Group Trip to The Gambia, April 2025
“Gambia – one of the poorest countries in the world as a travel destination? Can this be justified morally and ethically? Thanks to the experienced guidance, we were able to absorb impressions, process them, discuss questions, and let our souls unwind in the wonderful vegetation. Visiting the fish market, we passed boats that are built and maintained there — boats used for fishing but also for fleeing to Europe. The fact that many young Gambians see and seek their future in Europe hits you directly. You can’t help but understand these young people. This trip gave us the opportunity to experience Gambia’s flora and fauna, as well as its cuisine, to connect with the people, and to get a direct glimpse into their perspective on our globalized world. These contemporary issues were explored within the safe setting of Mama Africa’s Art Center. It’s a chance to sharpen awareness and understanding for possible answers to many pressing questions.”
“We had the opportunity to visit the facilities of the homeopathic outpatient clinic. One of the trained homeopaths accompanied our travel group the entire time, as he is also being trained as a local assistant to Isha Fofana in addition to his homeopathy work. I personally benefited from his knowledge and follow-up care after a minor accident during the remaining time. We visited a class group of the Mussu Kunda Women’s Project. It was very lively, and we were amazed by the high level of teaching and the questions asked. Poverty in Gambia is such that I have not encountered anything like it in my many travels around the world.”
“At 19 years old, this trip was more than just gaining impressions or facing a different culture. It was the first time I was truly confronted with real poverty and life circumstances that are extremely different from what we are used to in Switzerland.”
Christoph, Barbara and Dominique
Kendeyaa – Natural Health Care & Education
A key focus of the mission was to deepen the use of microscopic malaria diagnostics, an important component of local medical assessments. In addition, two advanced trainings in homeopathy were conducted for local homeopathic practitioners.
A key objective of the mission was to deepen the practice of microscopic malaria detection, an important part of local diagnostics. In addition, two further training sessions in homeopathy were conducted for the local homeopaths. The three currently operating Mobile Clinics were well attended and play a central role in regional healthcare. However, the delayed—but particularly intense—onset of the rainy season in August proved challenging. Due to difficult weather conditions and impassable roads, the operations of the mobile clinics had to be temporarily suspended.
A key focus of the mission was to deepen the use of microscopic malaria diagnostics, an important component of local medical assessments. In addition, two advanced trainings in homeopathy were conducted for local homeopathic practitioners.
Mussu Kunda – Natural Family Planning
The work of the Mussu Kunda women, who promote natural family planning, was also heavily affected by the delayed and intense rainfall. Access to the villages was impossible during the rainy season, preventing them from conducting their workshops as planned.
However, thanks to creative solutions, they managed to stay in touch with the village communities by telephone and continue to offer advice and support in this way.
“Help” – Community Assistance
Whether it’s the aftermath of a storm or a drought, medical emergencies, personal misfortunes, or support for small business ideas — people can turn to Isha Fofana. Each request is carefully reviewed by Isha and her team. If considered worthy of support, targeted assistance is provided based on the principle of “help for self-help” and followed up whenever possible.
A look back
Update 2023
Projekt Kendeyaa
General information
Our project activities in The Gambia are being expanded In spring 2023, Peter Braun, then still president of hmswiss and since July 2023 president of our partner foundation Natural Health Swiss Foundation (NHSF), visited our project in The Gambia for the first time. Detailed discussions with our local project manager Isha Fofana and our Swiss partner organisation Gambia Friends (GF) led to increased cooperation. Two new projects initiated and led by Isha Fofana will now also be supported by hmswiss and our partner foundation NHSF.
Kendeyaa – Natural Health Care & Education
Our core project, Kendeyaa Natural Health Care & Education, has been running continuously and successfully since 2008. Since the end of the pandemic, our team has been focusing more on the holistic treatment of sick people. We operate at least three mobile clinics per week. The homeopathy clinic in Tanji is open four days a week and increasingly offers diagnostic tests. In addition to tests such as blood pressure, blood sugar and body temperature, we are in the process of establishing microscopic malaria detection. During Gabrielle Barben’s missions in Gambia, further training in homeopathy was provided on the subject of high blood pressure. This year, 2024, we will be expanding our homeopathic treatment of musculoskeletal and rheumatic complaints. The cultivation of the medicinal plants Calendula officinalis and Artemisia annua is showing initial success.
Mussu Kunda – Natural Family Planning
The Mussu Kunda project, which has been running since 2017 and has been supported by our partner organisation Gambia Friends, focuses specifically on the health of families. Project manager Isha Fofana is convinced that natural family planning is key to healthy families. Women with little or no schooling are taught about natural family planning based on the female cycle, sexuality, pregnancy, breastfeeding, hygiene and childcare. This has a lasting impact on the lives of women and their husbands, as it empowers women to plan the number of births they have.
“Help” – Community Assistance
The Help Project arose from Isha Fofana’s innate desire to help people in need. During the pandemic, this help was particularly urgent. In collaboration with Gambia Friends, hmswiss was able to provide rapid, uncomplicated emergency aid in the form of food for people in the region. As a result, Isha Fofana became the point of contact for those seeking help. Whether it’s the aftermath of a storm, medical emergencies, strokes of fate, or start-up assistance for business ideas, people can contact Isha. After thorough examination of the concerns raised, people are supported – whenever possible according to the principle of ‘helping people to help themselves’.
Kendeyaa-Gambia-Team
A big thank you to all our Kendeyaa team members who make a significant contribution to the success of our project. Without the continuous groundwork in Switzerland, our project would not be so successful. THANK YOU VERY MUCH – ABARAKA BAKE!
Update 2022
Gabrielle Barben, Project Manager Kendeyaa – The Gambia
Thanks to word-of-mouth from village to village
Isha Fofana, our project partner in The Gambia, currently receives support from her own family: Her daughter Ourai actively supports her in organizing her projects. Looking to the future of the project, we are also trying to motivate homeopaths to take a leading role.
Focus on treatment
Our focus is currently on the practical work – on homeopathic treatments. The demand for our Mobile Clinics is high. Due to the increase in catchment areas, the distances are becoming longer, which is an additional burden for us. Word-of-mouth goes from village to village, and so we meander through the area. The state of health of the elderly in the villages is precarious in some cases. When they are no longer mobile, their social situation becomes very difficult because there is no social insurance. It is all the more pleasing when homeopathic treatment succeeds in giving old people back some of their autonomy. A patient (picture), who proudly walked towards me, told me that during her first visit to our Mobile Clinic three weeks ago, she had to be carried and that she could now do her daily work again. A long prayer was her thanks.
A highlight for me was our outreach to Bondali Foni, three hours away. Mr. Kourouma, a former student of hmswiss professional training, works there as a homeopath. In cooperation with the very basic local health center, he organized a homeopathic consultation day for the second time. We were able to treat about 100 patients. The management of the health center and the village elders were extremely grateful and asked for a continuation of the cooperation. It is our goal to cooperate with the local health facilities and not to compete with them.
Continuing education
A well-attended two-day continuing education course was held for the certified homeopaths. This not only increases the knowledge but also promotes the exchange between the different «generations» of homeopaths.
Emergency aid
The lockdown measures were very drastic for the country and its people. Hunger, price increases, the loss of sources of income (tourism) and thus economic decline were the grim consequences. While tourism is picking up, massive inflation is now a huge problem. The prices of basic foodstuffs have risen dramatically. Therefore, together with Gambia Friends, we have decided to continue the emergency program in 2022.
Update 2021
Kendeyaa – Realignment in The Gambia
The political situation is unstable, and the social and health conditions are difficult. That is why we have been involved in the Kendeyaa project in The Gambia for more than ten years. With the fourth course now completed, we were able to train more than 20 homeopaths. The project was initiated by Madeleine Lehmann – with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Isha Fofana (Mama Africa), as the local person in charge, has made it possible that the project has developed so sustainably and well. Gabrielle Barben with the Kendeyaaa Team, the Gambia Friends and many loyal helpers and donors have made a great contribution to the success. We can be proud of what we have achieved together.
Now it is time for a new stage: As many trained homeopaths as possible should be able to practice in Gambia and help the people in need. Those affected should become participants. To this end, we held a workshop in June 2020 in Bern with the staff of the projects Kendeyaa and Khula and traveled to Gambia for planning in April 2021. Activities on different levels were decided. The Mobile Clinics are to be expanded and distributed throughout the region. The Gambian homeopaths will be responsible for this. The outpatient clinic is to be reactivated with a new team and expanded in the medium term. Initial talks have already been held with the health authorities with a view to integrating homeopathy into the health system. At the same time we want to further train the practicing homeopaths and intensify the local cooperation with the Gambia Friends.
In May, a survey was conducted among the students to find out who is really motivated to actively shape their future. These are very motivated, committed people with clear visions of the future. They are now expected to take more responsibility for themselves, which is why our local support also has a new role to play – no more Hotel Mama Africa. Project manager Gabrielle Barben is changing from trainer to facilitator.
We have set our sights high and are looking forward to this next stage. Thanks to your support, our homeopaths can continue to do a lot of good!
Grand finale of the fourth course
The past year was not easy for The Gambia and our Kendeyaa project. The lockdown measures were very drastic for the country and its people. Hunger, price increases, loss of income sources and the resulting economic collapse were the grim consequences. Thanks to nerves of steel and a high level of administrative effort, it was nevertheless possible to carry out the operations in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021. Our local partner, Isha Fofana (Mama Africa), has been called upon day and night for help since the lockdown began. I was there myself for one of the emergency pandemic relief operations we were able to conduct thanks to her help. The distribution of rice left a lasting impression.
In the fall of 2020, we worked at full speed in the school to achieve the learning goals that were still pending. Main goal: to conduct final exams and graduation before the beginning of Ramadan begins in mid-April 2021.
After four weeks of revision, followed by a two-week exam marathon, we were able to celebrate a glittering graduation after Easter thanks to optimal cooperation with the Gambian doctor and teacher Momodou Colley, our patroness Isha Fofana and the full commitment of the thirteen students. The interest of the media was great. Exhausted and proud, all thirteen graduands received their diplomas.
The outpatient clinic was able to reopen, and the resumption of mobile clinics followed after Ramadan.
Update July
General situation
In the first half of April, the Gambia declared a lockdown, which will continue «until further notice». This means that, among other things, the markets have been closed, thus eliminating the main source of income for the majority of the population. In Gambia, hardly any people are dying as a result of Covid-19, but a steadily increasing number are dying of hunger. So far we have sent money four times to buy about five tons of rice, oil, sugar and peanut butter each, which were then distributed by Isha Fofana from our partner organization in Gambia, Mama Africa, to the most needy in the region. hmswiss and the Gambia Friends (partner organization Switzerland) each took over half of the 16,000 Swiss francs needed for this purpose.
Project Activity
Our project activities ran in an orderly fashion until the declaration of the pandemic in 2020. That is to say: The teaching of the 13 homeopathy students was regular and well coordinated. The Mobile Clinic team supplied three to four locations each week and the “drop in” patients were cared for in our day clinic (outpatient clinic). Already in March the school was closed for the first time due to the first confirmed Covid-19 cases in the neighbouring country Senegal. After reopening at short notice, the nationwide lockdown took place at the beginning of April and has continued until today.
We support our students via Whatapp. Tasks are sent out on a weekly basis, which the students have to complete in a week’s time and which we correct and comment on at the weekend. The practical work had to be temporarily suspended. The graduate homeopaths work from home with family and friends.
November
The students of the current course have now reached the half-way point of their education. The young Gambian women and men have become a sworn team.
The practical work with patients began in March as part of the weekly Mobile Clinics. The first joint «expedition» took us inland. We drove for an hour and a half in scorching heat until we were able to look after the people waiting under huge mango trees. For a good six hours we worked non-stop. Despite the great heat and the persistent wind, which drove sand into our eyes, the commitment of the students was impressive – the spark jumped! This was shown by the fact that one student organized uniforms for the whole group on her own initiative.
The physician and herbalist Momodou Colley, our long-time teacher, is very committed and loved by everyone. The young Gambian homoeopath Isha Darboe, who accompanied the homoeopathy classes during our absence in the first year of school, has now been replaced by the experienced Indian homoeopath Vacha Pathak.
Mobile Clinics
The demand for our «mobile services» continues to exist. Whether in remote, rural or urban areas, our team treats patients on site on a weekly basis. The organization and archiving of thousands of medical records is becoming an ever-increasing challenge. The clarification of a simple and secure software is in progress. If someone would like to participate financially or technically in the solution of this task, please contact us.
Partner
Our partner in Gambia, Isha Fofana, director of the «Art Center Mama Africa» (www.mama-africa-gambia.org) was visiting Switzerland. This enabled us to have in-depth discussions – among others together with our Swiss partner organisation «Gambia Friends». The long-term success of our project is decisively influenced by this valuable cooperation. Bernd Ax (also «Mama Africa»), a partner in Gambia until the end of 2018, has returned to Germany. We thank him warmly for his valuable cooperation.
New team member – motivated students
Another four-week hmswiss mission to the Gambia took place in mid-October. It was an active and interesting time for Annette Sartori (new team member) and Gabrielle Barben (team leader). Annette was welcomed warmly as a new Kendeyaa team member by all participants.
Practical work: Ambulatorium & Mobile Clinics
We worked parctically with the patients during the Mobile Clinics in Bakau and Brikama. Many of our students as well as their relatives, acquaintances, neighbours, etc., also came for treatment. Convinced of their education, the students always brought new patients to our outpatient clinic in Tanji.
Mama-Africa-Art-Center newly opened
In August 2013 the Art-Center of our local partner organisation Mama Africa was destroyed by the then government (see under 2013). At the beginning of November 2018 the brand new Mama Africa-Art Center & Gallery was opened with a big celebration. Imams, ministers, artists, friends, relatives, neighbours, project collaborators and many other interested people came to see what Isha and Bernd have created.
Six students complete their training with flying colours in May. The requirements of the examinations correspond to those of a European course. The graduation ceremony is accompanied by the media, an imam, the village elder and a large audience and is an unforgettable experience. Four of the graduates will be integrated into the project. They will conduct mobile clinics four times a week in four different villages for a reasonable wage. With our support, the other two students will set up their own practice, one of which already has a good clientele. He is captain of the army and treats the soldiers there.
In the future, the Gambiafriends will provide us with a house in which we can rent a classroom, a library and a bedroom. The outpatient clinic is on the same site. The house is directly next to the new property of «Mama Africa», which is already well advanced in its new construction and is expected to open at the end of 2017.
Our daily treatment offer in the outpatient clinic is professionally and routinely managed by our two qualified homeopaths.
The mobile clinics are very popular. There are always requests from village committees who would like to use our mobile services for their residents. We are currently able to provide logistical and personnel support for two Mobile Clinics per week.
Isha Fofana and Bernd Ax are currently working intensively on the reconstruction of the “Mama Africa” cultural centre. They are always at our side with advice and action and are responsible for the operational management of the project in Gambia. The cooperation with the Gambiafriends is still central and cooperative.
Three women and four men between the ages of 20 and 60 are still with us – they form a good team and apply their constantly growing knowledge twice a week in the Mobile Clinics under the supervision of our graduate Gambian homeopaths.
Isha Fofana and Bernd Ax, our local partners, are setting up a new cultural centre in Tanji and installing the new homeopathic outpatient clinic there.
Despite a politically difficult time at the end of last year, our Gambia project is developing splendidly and a two-digit number of students have entered the new training cycle. Weekly contacts with Gabrielle Barben or Beatrice Tillmann for task distribution, feedback and practical questions guarantee the quality of the homeopathic education.
We are very lucky to have Momodou Colley as a new teacher in the subjects anatomy and physiology, pathology as well as “traditional herbal medicine” in our team. He is a very reliable, top-educated young Gambian doctor who studied medicine in Moscow for seven years and returned to his home country.
Since the beginning of the year, our newly graduated homeopaths have been working in the outpatient clinic daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in order to carry out anamnesis and follow-up consultations as well as to treat wounds professionally and receive an appropriate salary for this. They also conduct weekly mobile clinics in a steadily growing area along the Atlantic coast.
Turbulent times are causing the usual pace of training and treatment activities to waver in the short term: at the end of August, the entire area where the project was able to develop is expropriated by the government and razed to the ground with bulldozers. Supporting our local partners has top priority. In addition, a provisional facility must be rented in the neighbouring village of Batokunku in order to be able to continue teaching and the outpatient clinic. However, the graduation ceremony of the three young homeopaths, which was accompanied by media effort, shows that homeopathy is still gaining ground in Gambia. Two women and one man will complete their three-year training at the end of 2013 despite all the adversity.
In Gambia, homeopathy is gradually gaining ground. HMSuisse is responsible for training medical professionals and laypersons as well as for treatment, while our partner organisation “Gambian and Swiss Friends” is responsible for infrastructure.
Currently, outpatient consultations are limited to one day a week, Friday, on which around 100 patients have to be treated. The trend is rising, so that a full week’s offer and a better infrastructure are needed. Die HMSuisse ist für die Ausbildung von Ärzten und Laien sowie für die Behandlung zuständig, während unsere Partnerorganisation “Gambian and Swiss Friends” für die Infrastruktur zuständig ist.
Derzeit sind die ambulanten Konsultationen auf einen Tag pro Woche, Freitag, beschränkt, an dem rund 100 Patienten behandelt werden müssen. Der Trend steigt, so dass ein volles Wochenangebot und eine bessere Infrastruktur benötigt werden.
In August we founded the Homeopathic Art School together with our partner organisations “Gambian and Swiss Friends” and “Mama Africa”. It comprises a holistic full-time education with a focus on homeopathy and gives the project a new structure, with HMSuisse being responsible for homeopathy.
Seven students start the new course in November. In the same month, the first two native homeopaths trained in Gambia graduate.
The Gambia project continues to develop positively. This year four missions of Swiss homeopaths will take place. All students take a very good intermediate examination and in December a new group of interested people starts with a preparation course.
We start the cooperation with “Mama Africa, Women’s Museum & Art Center”, a Gambian project led by the local Isha Fofana and her German husband Bernd Ax. Their advice and assistance is very important for a successful, sustainable project. It is this intensive cooperation that enables us to expand into a year-round commitment.
Our new students live and work in the cultural centre. We teach there and have set up a small pharmacy and library.
The main goal is to train the local people. Meanwhile there is a group of four students who are intensively dedicated to the distance learning of homeopathy. They are accompanied by the new training director, Gabrielle Barben. There will also be a connection with a traditional healer who works with us in the field of phytotherapy.
There are contacts with the Ministry of Health. The partner organisation “Gambian and Swiss-Friends” has provided us with a safe car with which we can start the Mobile Clinic and drive regularly to remote villages to treat the people on site.
In Gambia, homeopathy is not yet known, there are neither trained homeopaths nor homeopathic projects. Madeleine Lehmann, who lives in Gambia for private reasons, finds that people cannot afford conventional medical treatment and that homeopathy could offer great help. It initiates the first steps. Interested people who want to learn homeopathy and apply it themselves begin the training.
A concept is developed which makes it possible to treat as many people as possible in the time available. With a mobile consultation the homoeopathy is to be brought to the people in the villages.