Hope for begging talibe children, St-Louis Senegal

The next step towards a better life - Maison de la Gare has long been a welcoming haven for the talibé boys of Saint Louis who are far from home and family and forced to beg for many hours each day by the marabouts who control their lives. This mission has recently been enhanced.

Maison de la Gare's welcome centre has grown over the years to include classrooms, toilets and showers, a medical clinic, a library, apprenticeship training areas, and a beautiful and productive garden. But, from the beginning, Issa Kouyaté always hoped to one day be able to provide the talibés with even more ... a home of their own that, even if temporarily, would provide refuge during crises and times of transition. This residence could help the children off the streets to safety, or provide a secure base while they transition to independent lives.  An unused corner of the Maison de la Gare site has waited behind the classrooms, unused, waiting for the right moment.

That right moment recently arrived thanks to generous donations from GO Campaign, from GlobalGiving donors and from many other international contributors, together with the donation of architectural plans by Civitas Architecture of Ottawa, Canada.

Plans were finalized during the spring of 2014, a contractor was hired, and ground was broken. By October, the dream was a reality. The new building is a jewel for Saint Louis and for the talibé children of this city.  Talibés of all ages are excited to be offered one more proof that their efforts and their hopes for a better future are being supported by people who care.

The new building serves distinct needs: an emergency shelter for runaway talibés rescued from the streets; a transitional residence for older talibés able to leave their daaras but still working to complete their schooling or prepare for independent lives; and, a kitchen to cook nutritious meals for the hundreds of children served by Maison de la Gare.

The emergency shelter will serve talibé children who are in the most difficult and serious situations ... runaways. Talibés typically run away from their daaras due to severe physical abuse.   Failure to obtain the full daily begging quota can cause a child to decide to run in order to avoid the expected punishment.  At least weekly, Issa ventures out past midnight in search of runaway talibés.  When he finds children, asleep in groups in well lit corners or all alone tucked away under cars or trucks to avoid trouble, he gently wakes them and coaxes them home with him.  There are often as many as ten such children under Maison de la Gare’s care.  These are the desperate children who will live and be cared for in the new emergency shelter, until complaints against their marabouts are resolved with the police or the children are escorted home.

Maison de la Gare provides baguette-based snacks to hundreds of children each day. However, the scope of the food offered has been limited, due to lack of space or a means of cooking.   The new building includes a well equipped kitchen which will make it possible to provide nutritious meals to all of the talibés who find their way to Maison de la Gare, as well as the children living in the emergency shelter and the transitional residence.  And, now there is a means of effectively storing and preparing the bounty of Maison de la Gare’s productive garden.  As soon as the kitchen opened, the teachers thought of another use and were soon making fruit drinks to offer the young talibés to entice more into their classrooms.

The new building will also be a home to older talibé boys who are, happily, reaching the end of their time of domination by their marabout in the daara. Unfortunately, sometimes children feel forced to remain in a daara past the time they could otherwise leave, because they have no home to return to or because they simply have no idea how to live independently other than by continuing to beg or do hard labour. And others, who have been making good progress in school or apprenticeship programs, would be forced to cut that education short before they are ready.  These children will find a home in the new transitional residence, a secure base from which they can complete their journeys to independence.

It is these older talibés who are most excited about the new building. Several took immediate responsibility for its care, offering to organize furniture, make beds, and clean.  Most of these children do not remember ever having slept in a bed. There was much discussion about how, exactly, to use one.  Does one lie on top, or under the sheets?  Why are there two sheets?   And, there was some excited confusion about the purpose of bath towels.  Maison de la Gare’s staff will help them figure it out and feel at home, and will ensure that this next step for them is one more on a path to true independence and a successful life.

It was your support that made possible this amazing new resource for the talibé children.  And, it is your continued support that will let us realize its full potential.  Thank you!!

Links:

• This article on MDG's website, with photos of project evolution
• ... and the article in French, with many photos
• A report from December 2013 on our vision for this new building

Learning from Others - Issa Kouyaté's experience in New York through a Ford fellowship

I had the chance to participate in an exchange program and training offered by the 92nd Street Y ("92Y") and Columbia University in New York in June 2014, thanks to a fellowship from the Ford Motor Company Fund.  This opportunity brought together stakeholders working in social development from around the world, representing ten different countries including Senegal.  In all, 23 development workers were present around the table to discuss and present their work and their programs, but also to share their experience, knowledge and especially their commitment to projects that lead to sustainable development in their communities.

This program, created by Alison Gardy of 92Y, has been active around the world for fourteen years and targets vulnerable populations.  92Y is supported by the Ford Motor Company Fund, which supports national and international organizations and promotes the work of community leaders.  92Y is one of many projects that Ford supports worldwide to develop local initiatives.

What I have gained from my participation in this fellowship is invaluable; in such a short time, I learned what would normally take at least a year.  I first realized the value of showcasing Maison de la Gare, and talking about the talibés children and the diversity of Senegal.  I was inspired by other participants concerned about the development of their organizations and looking for strong support in their quest to enhance the success of their commitments to social welfare.  And that's exactly what we were all able to find, thanks to the supportive group, the teachers and the leaders.

Before the program began, e-mail contact was followed by a lengthy telephone conversation to discuss what we do in our own organization, what are our expectations, what emergencies must we respond to, and how we see the future.  A few months later, documents detailing the purpose of the fellowship and the scope of the program were sent to help us prepare.  This material was carefully adapted to respect the real-life situations and challenges of the participants.  We had to read and write, but also to understand and integrate the information.  This preliminary training gave me an idea of the nature of the work to come, and of the commitments that would unite the fellowship leaders and participants.  These documents would become the base for applying to our respective organisations the techniques that we learned.

Vision and Strategy - Once in New York, participants were treated to an in-depth tour of the city, showing us the many different facets of a developed country with its shortcomings and weaknesses as well as achievements and strengths.  New York is an important development model, especially in terms of the evolution and diversity of infrastructure.  Local people are proud to show off their buildings, statues, monuments, and even languages.  So we visited an emerging country that is working to secure its successes.  New York is also a city with a very special atmosphere that speaks for itself.  In addition to being a renowned center for sustainable development issues, it is a city filled with joy and fun that followed us throughout our training.

Columbia University was our place of learning, where we were taught by exceptional professors.  In addition to being motivated and experienced, these professors took the diversity within the group into careful consideration.  As participants we all felt included, although representing many different languages and religions.  This diversity was the starting point of the program, with all the countries represented being invited to share the social importance of their work, values that united us all in respect and recognition of each other.  Participants were also asked to identify the most pressing needs of their organizations, and then we worked together to find ways of responding to these needs in a spirit of sustainable development.  The teachers worked to share their knowledge and to ensure the best learning conditions, leaving nothing to chance, with intensive and positive learning sessions.  Knowledge was on offer, and we were all aware of the commitment required to acquire the knowledge and experience that we needed to support our own projects and to bring about the changes necessary for them to flourish.

However, without the guidance given and the commitment of the participants who applied themselves body and soul, nothing could have moved forward.  We were protected as children with their parents and felt that we were very valued, beyond a simple working relationship.  The leaders wanted each of us to feel at home, and that was the case.  After the program, I felt confident, sure of myself, ready to make decisions without hesitation.  They really made us work!!  And the experience will always remain engraved in my memory, in our memories.  I wanted to leave earlier than planned to avoid forgetting certain ideas, certain possibilities, but the program gave us the means to retain all that we had learned. 

This experience reinforced for me that you have to love what you do!!  To live happily, it is best to share life with people who are acting with the same values.  Although the work we are doing is difficult, it is only necessary to love the work in order to succeed.

In short, the program was a great success, thanks to the leaders' commitment to creating good learning conditions, the opportunity to attend invaluable classes, and the interest and involvement of all of the participants in wanting again and again to help one another with their projects.   Moreover, I believe that we had the best teachers in the world, sources of inspiration who pushed me to put into practice what I had learned.  I understood through this program that there is much underdevelopment in sustainable development, but it is possible for committed social activists who love what they do and are dedicated to it to achieve their development goals.

Thank you to Alison Gardy, to Mayola Charles and to all the teachers, guides, educators, donors and host families, not to mention the participants and all the others who made possible the success of this Fellowship 2014.

Links:

• This report on MDG's website, with many more photos
• The original French version of the report, on MDG's website
• Explore becoming a volunteer in Senegal with Maison de la Gare