A two-week humanitarian prosthetics and orthotics mission in Senegal has highlighted the importance of international collaboration, local training and practical service delivery in expanding access to rehabilitation.
The mission, organised by Orthopotes d’Alembert, brought a group of French orthoprosthetics students and their teacher to Senegal in March 2026. The team worked alongside students, teachers and local orthoprosthetists at ISEM and CARFEAH, supporting the fabrication of lower-limb prostheses, orthoses and a spinal corset for adults and children.
For IMEA CPO readers, the project is a valuable example of how student-led humanitarian initiatives can move beyond simple device donation and contribute to skills exchange, peer learning and local service capacity.
Arrival in Dakar and First Steps in Senegal
The Orthopotes team arrived in Dakar during the night of March 1, 2026, before travelling on to settle into their accommodation and prepare for the work ahead.
On March 2, the group brought donated materials to ISEM, an institute for paramedical studies that has developed a section for orthoprosthetics training in recent years. There, the team met the Senegalese students, teachers and director, toured the facilities and began planning the clinical and technical work for the mission.
The group then visited CARFEAH, the Centre d’Appareillage et de Rééducation Fonctionnelle d’Enfants et d’Adolescents Handicapés in M’Bour. CARFEAH provides care and support for children and adolescents with disabilities, with orthoprosthetic services forming an important part of its rehabilitation activity.
Working Between ISEM and CARFEAH
During the first week, the team divided into groups. One group worked at CARFEAH, while the other worked at ISEM. Across five days, they assessed patients, planned treatment, fabricated devices and collaborated with local students and professionals.
In the second week, the group came together at ISEM and formed new working pairs with Senegalese students to support additional patients.
Over the course of the mission, the Orthopotes team reported that they helped design and manufacture:
- Transfemoral prostheses
- Transtibial prostheses
- Knee-ankle-foot orthoses
- Ankle-foot orthoses
- A spinal corset
In total, around a dozen adults and children received care through the project.
More Than a Humanitarian Mission
While the devices delivered were important, the mission also carried a wider professional value. The team worked directly with Senegalese students and teachers, discussing solutions, sharing fabrication techniques, comparing clinical reasoning and exchanging practical approaches to orthoprosthetic care.
These exchanges are often as important as the final devices themselves.
In many low- and middle-income countries, access to prosthetic and orthotic services is limited by shortages of trained personnel, materials, equipment and sustainable service funding. Short missions can only have long-term value when they respect and support local professionals, strengthen local knowledge and work through existing institutions.
The Orthopotes project appears to have placed collaboration at the centre of the mission. The team described not only technical work, but also conversations, laughter and mutual learning with Senegalese students, teachers and orthoprosthetists.
Why ISEM Matters for P&O Training in Senegal
Training is one of the most important foundations of prosthetics and orthotics development. Without local education pathways, countries remain dependent on external support, imported expertise and limited specialist centres.
ISEM’s orthoprosthetics training section is therefore significant for Senegal’s rehabilitation future. By welcoming the Orthopotes team, ISEM provided a space where French and Senegalese students could work together on real patient cases, share methods and build professional relationships.
For the wider West African region, this type of training partnership is highly relevant. The need for qualified prosthetists, orthotists and technicians remains substantial across many countries. Building local workforce capacity is essential if rehabilitation access is to expand beyond a small number of centres.
CARFEAH and Child-Focused Rehabilitation
CARFEAH also played a central role in the mission. The centre supports children and adolescents with disabilities, combining orthoprosthetic care with rehabilitation and wider support.
Child-focused rehabilitation requires particular sensitivity. Children need devices that are functional, comfortable and adaptable as they grow. Families also need education, follow-up and confidence that the device will support school, play and daily life.
By working at CARFEAH, the Orthopotes team contributed to a setting where prosthetics and orthotics are connected to broader paediatric rehabilitation and social inclusion.
A Moment of Delivery, Joy and Pride
The two-week mission concluded with the delivery of the completed devices to the patients. The Orthopotes team described the final stage with joy and pride, reflecting the emotional weight of seeing devices completed and handed over to the people who needed them.
For patients and families, a prosthesis or orthosis can represent much more than a technical device. It can mean returning to school, walking with greater confidence, reducing pain, gaining independence or participating more fully in family and community life.
For students, these moments can also shape professional identity. Humanitarian missions expose future orthoprosthetists to different working environments, resource constraints, cultural contexts and clinical realities. They also reinforce the importance of humility, adaptation and teamwork.
Gratitude to Donors, Teachers and Local Partners
The Orthopotes team expressed gratitude to donors, followers, families and the many partners who made the project possible. They also thanked their teacher Stéphane Hardin, Florence Dumez and colleagues, the Senegalese students, and the orthoprosthetists at CARFEAH.
The mission participants included Lison Lefèvre, Lucile Haÿ, Alexandre Tritz-Bergeron, Anastasia Hirtzig, Amélie Martinot-Lagarde, Bilal Ahmadi, Eliott Poirier, Alvyn Lebrun, Ewan Henneton and Monsieur Hardin.
Their message also recognised the warm welcome they received in Senegal and the relationships built with students, teachers and CARFEAH staff.
Lessons for the IMEA Rehabilitation Community
The Senegal mission offers several important lessons for the wider rehabilitation sector.
First, donations of materials are most useful when linked to training, local service delivery and follow-up capacity.
Second, student missions can be powerful when they are structured around mutual exchange rather than one-way assistance.
Third, local institutions such as ISEM and CARFEAH are essential. International partners should strengthen these organisations, not replace them.
Fourth, prosthetics and orthotics must be understood as part of a wider rehabilitation ecosystem that includes education, family support, clinical follow-up and community participation.
Finally, the mission demonstrates how professional solidarity can create practical impact. A small group of committed students and teachers, working with local partners, can support patients while also contributing to long-term relationships and skills development.
Building Sustainable P&O Capacity in West Africa
West Africa has a growing need for prosthetics, orthotics and assistive technology services. Road traffic injuries, diabetes, congenital conditions, infections, neurological disorders and trauma all contribute to the need for rehabilitation.
Projects like the Orthopotes mission should not be viewed only as isolated humanitarian events. They should be seen as part of a broader effort to build sustainable, locally led P&O capacity.
The most valuable future partnerships will be those that support:
- Local training programmes
- Clinical mentoring
- Access to materials and components
- Workshop development
- Paediatric rehabilitation
- Follow-up and repair systems
- Professional networks
- Research and data collection
- Regional collaboration across West Africa
For IMEA CPO readers, the message is clear: the future of rehabilitation access depends on collaboration between local professionals, educators, students, donors, NGOs and international partners.
The Orthopotes mission in Senegal is a reminder that practical service, shared learning and human connection remain at the heart of prosthetics and orthotics.
- Orthopotes Instagram
- Orthopotes d’Alembert: Voyage humanitaire au Sénégal 2026
- Institut Supérieur d’Études Paramédicales ISEM
- CARFEAH: Centre d’Appareillage et de Rééducation Fonctionnelle d’Enfants et d’Adolescents Handicapés
- La Vie en Marche: Nommez Ba and CARFEAH
- WHO: Prosthetics and Orthotics Services
- WHO: Rehabilitation