About us

Petite Cobi Foundation attends to a healthy future for mother and child! Petite Cobi sustains medical care for children in Senegal. The initiative for the foundation originated in 2000 when the founder, anthropologist Cobi Mars, was volunteering in a nutrition centre in Senegal. After taking care of surgeries, medication and powdered milk for three children on her own, in 2006 Petite Cobi Foundation  commenced in cooperation with enthusiastic volunteers. Goal is to contribute to improved medical care for mothers and children in developing countries in a structural way. The foundation owns her name to one of the first supported children: a baby whose mother had died in childbirth, named “Petite Cobi”, after Cobi Mars by her grandmother. In a country where powdered milk is too expensive for the majority of the population, it is a struggle to survive as a newborn orphan. Petite Cobi Foundation’s activities focus on two levels: disbursement of medical care for ill, handicapped and/or malnourished children and building and initiating a dispensary in the neighbouring villages Terokh and Yendane. Disbursement medical care Petite Cobi Foundation disburses medical costs for ill and/or malnourished children. This involves acute care as well as the costs for prosthetics and rehabilitation. Surgery in Senegal costs around 85 to 100 euros, including research. This seems like a small amount, however for many Senegalese this means a number of monthly salaries. Many parents are therefore not able to bear these costs. More information on the children receiving help can be found on the page help can be found on the page who do we help. Dispensary The first major project of Petite Cobi Foundation is building a dispensary in the villages Terokh and Yendane. In this dispensary children can be weighed monthly. Through this, mothers gain a better insight in the growth and health of their children. Malnourished children can receive powdered in order to gain weight and convalesce. Furthermore, education and information sessions will take place. The dispensary will have a signaling function as well. In case of illness or malnutrition of children can be intervened quickly. Also, volunteers can support families in arranging hospital appointments for ill children. The dispensary is built in close cooperation with the local population and government. This can ensure the continuing of the centre in the future without the support of external funding. Read more about this project at the page dispensary. Board and finances Petite Cobi is is a small foundation operated by an enthusiastic board in the Netherlands and some local volunteers in Senegal. The money you donate will benefit the children in Senegal in full. The only overhead we have are small contributions to the volunteers on site. This involves a few hundred Euros a year.