France/L'association Vichy Medic'Air repairs eyes in Saint-Louis, Senegal

It all started with a shared passion for aviation and airmail. The result is a lasting partnership with the Saint-Louis hospital in Senegal. With Vichy Medic'Air, three Vichy residents have raised the bar for the values of solidarity.

Three airplane pilots. Three friends. And the same ambition to combine business with pleasure. If you're going to add to your carbon footprint here, you might as well take advantage of it to lighten the load over there.

Flashback. In 2019, Pierre Dervieux, Emmanuel Sudre and Benoît Combe plan to fly from Toulouse to Saint-Louis in Senegal, for a nostalgic rally in the wings of the aeropostale, its mythical Latecoere and its prestigious actors, Mermoz or Saint-Exupéry.

But we wanted to give this trip a nobler dimension," explains Pierre Dervieux. To do more than just buy an environmental conscience. To really get involved."

So the trio set about finding out what Saint-Louis needed in terms of public health. In particular, there is a crying need for ophthalmological care, especially for glaucoma. Just what Emmanuel Sudre, a biomedical engineer specializing in ophthalmology, needed.
So they contacted the hospital's ENT surgeon, Dr Haddy Tall. They then set up an association, Vichy Medic'Air, to support their common cause.

As Benoît Combe explains: "Firstly, that our action really corresponds to a public health need. Secondly, that we are directly involved with the final beneficiaries. The rally fell through due to the Covid crisis, but the three friends finally set off in 2022, finishing in second place.

"At the time, we spent forty-eight hours in the Saint-Louis hospital. We set up and calibrated the equipment ourselves. Eight patients underwent glaucoma surgery that day, and fifteen were screened. And Emmanuel trained local surgeons on the equipment."

We assembled and calibrated the equipment ourselves. Eight patients underwent glaucoma surgery, and fifteen were screened that day. And Emmanuel trained the local surgeons on the equipment."

Two lasers are now operational in Saint-Louis. The only hospital in the country equipped with such machines, apart from Dakar. "And since then, over 300 operations have been carried out," enthuses Benoît Combe.
A medical activity that the people of Vichy follow very closely. "We are in contact with the surgeon almost every week, and we continue to maintain the equipment."

Pierre Dervieux (volunteer with the Vichy Medic'Air association)

And then they go back, too. Pierre Dervieux and Emmanuel Sudre are there this week. This time by commercial aircraft (*). Once again, to deliver equipment and supervise the use of their donations. For glaucoma, but also for cataracts, phase 2 of their action. "We're approaching 150 children who've had surgery.

It's already quite a record for Vichy Medic'Air. "We've just re-committed ourselves to continuing our work, particularly on cataract operations. We'd like to extend our reach around the hospital for screening, with portable equipment. But for that, we need more capacity and more surgeons.

This week, Pierre Derieux and Emmanuel Sudre will also be taking the opportunity "to help rewire the surgical unit and the waiting room. The situation is so catastrophic". They will also be handing out eyeglasses, collected thanks to a local partnership.
Local private donations and a Swiss patron have enabled the three volunteers to launch this perfectly supervised solidarity project.

We've built up a relationship of trust with the surgeon and hospital administration, as well as with the Senegalese Ministries of Health and Economy, which exempts us from VAT and customs duties," says Pierre Dervieux with satisfaction. In France too, the association is recognized as being in the public interest, which means you can deduct 66% of your donation from your taxes."

All this to avoid "diluting the financial effort". And to ensure that every euro donated here remains a euro spent there. All that remains now is to perpetuate the mission. And this will inevitably involve donations. The sinews of war, always.

Source: www.lamontagne.fr/