Development of Seventh-day Adventist Work
Seventh-day Adventist work in Senegal began in 1952, when Robert Erdmann and his family arrived from France and settled in Dakar, the capital. About the same time, a young man who had been released from military service began to sell SDA books, with fair success.
He was later joined by another colporteur, who sold publications in various parts of the country.
Erdmann’s evangelistic work in a rented theater in the African district of the capital proved difficult and slow, but names of interested people were obtained and Bible studies were given.
In 1953 the first Muslim was baptized; though he was persecuted by his family, he remained faithful and became a mission worker in the Casamance, the southern part of Senegal.
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In 1953 offices were rented in Dakar in which Sabbath services were held. Later a property was secured to serve as a chapel. In 1959 a primary school was opened, with 160 pupils.
The next year a new building was completed, which provided three classrooms and a meeting hall. Enrollment rose to 340 in secondary and primary classes of the École Adventiste (Dakar Mission School).
In 1960 Raymond Meyer arrived with his family to head the mission. That same year, a small mission school was opened in Niaguis, eight miles (13 kilometers)
from Ziguinchor, the capital of Casamance. Evangelistic meetings conducted there in 1961 proved successful.
On a well-situated property, Maurice Fayard constructed a new building for a mission school and erected a home for the missionary. In 1968 Adolf Kinder was named president. He transferred the mission headquarters to Niaguis for two years (1968—1970). During that time a dispensary and other buildings were erected on the property.
In 1972 a new property was purchased in Dakar, and an attractive church building was erected, along with workers’ dwellings. The same year the Dakar Mission School was reorganized into a training school for workers. With Ernst Pala as principal, it served this purpose for a while and also served as headquarters for the Senegal Mission.
Beginning in 1962, SDA programs were broadcast weekly over the radio, and educational and religious correspondence courses were offered.
Institutions
Health center at Niaguis
