The Burlington Delegation Visits Thiès-Est, August 2025

by Janet Biehl

The partnership between these two small cities may at first glance seem unlikely: Burlington, located in northern Vermont, home to long, cold snowy winters and brief humid summers; and Thiès-Est (pronounce it CHESS-EHST), located in semiarid central Senegal, home to a long dry season and a short rainy season. Separated by an ocean, Vermont is mountainous, while central Senegal is mostly flat. Vermont’s tree cover is northern hardwoods, especially maple and beech; central Senegal’s savannas feature baobab, mango, and papaya.  In Vermont you see plenty of deer; only a few days after our group arrived in Senegal, we spotted a monkey.

The differences in culture, economy, and society are also vast. Senegal, a former colony, remains under French domination for most of its economic activity, making it difficult for other parties to trade and invest. Vermont maintains strong ties of commerce and friendship with next-door Canada. In terms of population, the average age in Thiès-Est (pop. 165,000) is 19 years; in Vermont (pop. 648,000), it’s 44 years, making it one of the oldest US states. In Senegal, climate change brings drought; in Vermont, it brings flooding.

What, then, could a Sister City partnership mean for both?  The obvious link between them is Ali Dieng, a Burlington resident and activist who grew up in Thiès-Est and is a  friend and former classmate of the current Thiès-Est mayor, Ousmane Diagne. As a city councilor in Burlington, Dieng pushed for the Sister City tie, resulting in a formal resolution of the partnership in 2024.

How to provide tangible content to that resolution? To explore the ways, Dieng led a delegation of Burlingtonians to Thiès-Est to meet with local government officials. (Participants in the delegation are listed below.) After the two mayors, Diagne and Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, signed a friendship agreement on July 23, 2025, the Burlington delegation arrived in Senegal on August 10, welcomed at the airport by Mayor Diagne and other municipal officials. All joyfully welcomed a chance to build the relationship.

On August 12, the participants sat down to begin a four-day series of meetings. The mayor’s chief of staff Mor Gueye opened with an illuminating presentation on the areas where Thiès-Est experiences the most need. Burlingtonians learned that Thiès-Est’s social infrastructure is chronically underfunded by the government in Dakar; could they create concrete actions to fill in the gaps? In formal discussions, the participants explored concrete possibilities for tangible exchanges, brainstorming realistic ways Burlingtonians might help, particularly in health and education. As we weighed, evaluated, and sorted possible actions, we made site visits two elementary schools and a health clinic, noticing numerous shortages and needs.

Healthcare

Thiès-Est’s healthcare priority, Mayor Diagne told us, is to acquire fully equipped, public ambulances. The local healthcare district has only three, which are wildly insufficient. It also needs vehicles to transport cadavers. The commune has 10 health posts but lacks the capacity to transport patients to them. And it needs more youth centers where girls can obtain reproductive health services and counseling. 

The commune is planning to build a full-fledged hospital, but technical assistance is needed to train the staff. Basic equipment that is missing includes X-rays machines and ultrasounds; electric beds to ease patient lifting; delivery beds for women (obstetrics); and sterilizers. The district lacks sufficient medications for hypertension and diabetes as well as blood pressure cuffs. Wheelchairs and crutches would be helpful. Training is needed in the use of specific equipment, especially ambulances, stretchers, ultrasound. Finally, the commune needs to address mental health issues, with an emphasis on prevention.

Education

In Senegal, individual communes manage only preschools and elementary schools. In the case of Thiès-Est, that’s 7 preschools and 21 elementary schools. Due to underfinancing, they face numerous problems. Class sizes are too big, averaging 109 students per classroom. Classes are “double flow,” that is some students come in the morning, others in the afternoon. Toilets are sufficient—a certain school has only 6 toilets for all the students to share.

Equipment is inadequate. Younger students lack toys, while the older ones, lacking tablets in classrooms, are missing out on learning technology. When one school’s photocopying machine broke, two thousand students couldn’t get their assignments and went on strike.

It takes 16 years for students to earn the diploma, but the education they receive doesn’t prepare them for the workforce. They often emerge highly educated but with no career pathway. Students need planning for professional development.

Finally, attendance is an issue. Too often Muslim children don’t attend school because of the Quranic studies and cultural traditions. Many students from poor families come to school hungry, making it difficult for them to engage.

The system desperately needs more teachers. Meanwhile cultural expectations are too high—schools are expected to address social and family problems that follow children into the classroom.

Choices

By the last meeting day, Friday, we had developed a shortlist, and the Thiès-Est officials informed us of the items they most needed. In the healthcare, it was mortuary vehicles, ambulances, and training in the use of equipment (ultrasound and ambulances). In education, they identified as the greatest needs toys and technology, construction and repair of toilets, and construction and operation of a canteen.

Commonalities

Despite their differences in culture, geography, and history, Burlington and Thiès-Est turn out to have much in common. In an era when autocratic rule is on the rise globally, both cities have a strong commitment to democracy. In a region where coups and autocratic demarches are all too frequent, Senegal is unique in having experienced neither. Vermont, for its part, has a centuries-old tradition of citizen participation in self-government through town meetings.

The commune of Thiès-Est itself was initially created by the Senegalese government “as part of its policy of bringing decision-making powers closer to the population,” with respect for “local government as an institutional framework for citizen participation in the management of public affairs, freely administered by an elected assembly.” In 2023-24 Senegal experienced a youth-led rebellion [SEPARATE ARTICLE] that demanded democracy and brought to power a younger generation committed to meeting people’s needs.

Senegalese people are seeking to develop ties with the world beyond France, while disproportionate number of Vermonters, relative to the population, are outward facing, interested in global affairs.  However different their stories, the two cities share essential cultural values, which bodes well for their future collaboration.

Participants in the Burlington delegation:

Ali Dieng: director, Burlington Thies-Est Sister City Program

Wendy Rice: executive director, Vermont Connector, president, Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

Patrick (Gene) Enriquez: major, Vermont Army National Guard; director of international affairs, State Partnership Program

Jim Holway: board member, Burlington Thies-Est Sister City Program

Eric Agnero; executive director, Vermont Institute of Community and International Involvement; documentation team

Janet Biehl: board member, Alliance Française; documentation team

Linda Quinet; retired public relations specialist; documentation team