Today the journey of over 6200 kilometers has started, from Palermo to Dakar, with a single goal: to raise funds for the construction of a health facility in Senegal. This extraordinary undertaking will see Agostino Sella and Marco Canzonieri, respectively president and volunteer of the Don Bosco 2000 Association, who will travel this long route by ship and motorcycle, crossing four African countries.

A long journey, from Sicily to Senegal and back, for a solidarity mission aimed at building a new medical dispensary, a structure that will offer free health care and treatment to the local population. 
”In the region of Tambacounda, Senegal, our association has already managed to build a dispensary, but the existing structure is too small to adequately serve the 53 villages in the area. That’s why we need a bigger one,” explains Agostino Sella.

The current structure consists of a single room, where two local doctors operate daily, periodically supported by Italian specialists. The central location of the dispensary allows it to provide assistance to thousands of people, but many families have to walk up to 10-15 kilometers on foot or on a donkey to reach it. The new medical center will not only provide better care, but will also offer overnight accommodation for those who are unable to return to their villages on the same day.

The route includes crossing Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and finally Senegal. Once they reach their destination, Sella and Canzonieri will personally hand over a symbolic check and document the conditions of the region.

The trip requires meticulous preparation: “We have set up the bike with an anti-puncture kit, an electric emergency start system, spare tools and petrol cans, in anticipation of possible difficulties in finding fuel, especially in Mauritania”, says Marco Canzonieri. Accommodation along the way will also be a challenge, with nights spent in tents or at local camps.

In addition to fundraising, this initiative aims to raise awareness of the difficult conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. “In the region where we operate, the population lives on less than two dollars a day, in straw and clay huts. Children travel kilometers under the sun to go to school, often without the minimum conditions of safety and well-being,” says Sella. For this reason, the journey will be told through the association’s social channels, offering direct testimonies on extreme poverty and the causes that push many people to migrate to Europe.

The fundraising has already started, with the aim of reaching 80 thousand euros. “Anyone can contribute by donating even just five euros, the symbolic equivalent of one kilometer of our journey,” concludes Sella.

The Don Bosco 2000 association invites everyone to follow and support this mission, combining solidarity and concrete action to guarantee health care to those who need it most.

Press Office