Hope for begging talibe children, St-Louis Senegal

Sixteen amazing human beings bring the best of themselves to improve the lives of the talibé children

From the spring of 2018 until early 2019, sixteen volunteers from the United States and around Europe had an enormous impact on Maison de la Gare, on the lives of the talibé children and on their own lives. With commitments that ranged from a few weeks to six months, these individuals brought energy, creativity and caring to the begging street children that Maison de la Gare exists to support. They taught the children French, English and Spanish, led games, provided health care in the clinic and in the daaras where the children live, led excursions and sports activities, and introduced the children to the magic of drama and art. Most importantly, they treated the children with respect as their full equals and left them with a greater sense of their own worth and of the possibilities for a productive future.

Our hope in sharing the stories of these volunteers is that you, the reader, will know of others who could bring their magic to the talibé children, and for whom this experience could be magic.

The first volunteer of the season was Christoph, a fifty something German journalist. Christoph brought his special skills to bear in an insightful and troubling article published on our website, “A Prison for Children.” Shortly after Christoph left, Sam, a student from New York City, came for three weeks and worked with the children in arts, games, music and sports, engaging them with a gentle caring personality that quickly earned their affection. A Senegalese friend who worked with Sam at Maison de la Gare wrote to say that Sam gave away most of his shoes and clothes before he left. He described going on a night round with Sam looking for talibés sleeping in the streets. They found a boy sleeping alone. When they woke him up he was shivering uncontrollably, and Sam gave the boy his shirt and brought him dinner.

Joy from England arrived next, in mid-May, and quickly engaged with the children. Her story is on our website. Some excepts give a feeling for her experience. “I find it nearly impossible to put in to words everything that was my experience in Saint Louis with Maison de la Gare. When I close my eyes and take myself back, I picture the love of my host family, the mother who cared for me when I fell ill in the first week. All the different faces of the many children, their excitement and eagerness to play, for attention and to learn.” Joy shares a deep understanding of the critical role of volunteers: “I would urge anyone with a passion for helping others and a desire to become a Maison de la Gare volunteer to do so. Stay as long as possible; two months was what I was able to afford. I wish I could have stayed longer. The more time you can spend building up relationships and working out how you can make a difference, the better. Most importantly the contribution to the center as a volunteer is vital to its invaluable work in fighting for the rights of children and maintaining a safe space for them.”

Three remarkable young women from Florida State University arrived shortly after Joy, Simone and pre-med students Savannah and Taylor. Savannah wrote this reflection six-months after her return to the U.S.: “There are no adequate words to quite describe this summer. It was a completely unique experience that I won’t ever again be able to duplicate. My time at Maison de la Gare taught me a great deal about how to overcome challenging language and cultural barriers. I think the most impactful part of my time was the relationships that I formed with my host family, with the talibés, with the Maison de la Gare workers and with my fellow students, Taylor and Simone.”

Savannah has recently been awarded the Humanitarian of the Year Award by her university, honoring her work with the talibé children. Taylor expressed her feelings in a testimonial for future volunteers: “Working with Maison de la Gare was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life so far. Saint Louis is a beautiful and historical town filled with amazing, welcoming and joyful people.  The staff members at Maison de la Gare are people I now consider family and very near to my heart. They were always there to comfort and entertain me with their daily jovial auras and made coming to the center every day even more enjoyable! Treating the talibé boys in the clinic was a very rewarding and extremely insightful experience as they constantly showed their appreciation for my help. They would always smile and call for me, even as I would walk around downtown or on my way home. It felt nice to have little friends everywhere I went.”

Three Spanish students, Paula, Naomi and Alex, brought their special spark to Maison de la Gare for two weeks in the late summer. Even with such a short stay they became deeply involved with the children, engaging them in arts, music and games. They were joined by two English adventuresses, Billie and Emily, who took a break from travels around Senegal to become immersed in the lives of the talibé children.

Graciela of California arrived in September for six months, a formative experience before starting university. Graciela’s ability to listen and strive to understand served her very well in fitting into a culture and work environment foreign to her experience, and she thrived. She worked primarily in our education programs, teaching English to the older talibés and French literacy to the younger children. Graciela was joined in November by Norwegian nurse Mari and one month later by Mari’s sister Lise. Mari and Lise’s story is the subject of another article on our website, about their family’s Christmas in Saint-Louis. Mari concludes this simply with a commitment: “Thank you Maison de la Gare for helping us help these talibé children. We will never stop doing that.”

The new year began with two volunteers from France. Jean marie was with us for two months and was deeply committed to finding ways to use his experience with information technology to benefit the talibé children. And Nathalie, an intern from the University of Bordeaux-Montaigne is with us for six months, working with the talibés students to understand how best to motivate their learning.

It is a rich tapestry, and Maison de la Gare and the talibé children have been blessed by every one of these dedicated individuals.

Links:

• This report on our website, with many more volunteer photos
• Ce rapport sur notre site web en francais ... plein de photos
• Intrigued about become an MDG volunteer? Please click here.

Le Book Humanitaire’s mission to Maison de la Gare in Saint-Louis, Senegal

"When we left, which was unbelievably sad, I was deeply moved by the appreciation of the young talibés, by their smiles. They had prepared a song for us," recalls Daphné Deschambault, a secondary-five student at Polyvalente Saint-Jérôme in Quebec.

Twenty students from the Polyvalente and two teachers, Alain Dionne and Isabelle Levert, joined Rachel Lapierre, the founder of Le Book Humanitaire, to take a flight to the far reaches of the earth, to Saint-Louis in Senegal. It’s a poor and overcrowded city where there are talibés confined in daaras (the name given to Koranic schools). A talibé is a young boy from a poor family who has been entrusted to a Koranic teacher (a marabout) and who is expected to perfect his religious knowledge. "Do not look for girls," says Geneviève Bédard, another participant, "it is total inequality between the sexes in Senegal."

The fate of the talibés could not be more tragic. "It’s enough to fall into the hands of a bad marabout," says Émile Éthier, still proud of his experience building a concrete floor in a daara. Indeed, these naive children, virtual slaves, too often have to beg and take care of domestic tasks to enable their religious master and his family to live well. Unhealthy conditions, filth, poverty, disease, malnutrition. So many difficulties, but these boys live without it ever suppressing their proverbial smile, their thirst for discovery and their faith in existence.

The mission of the non-profit organization Le Book Humanitaire is to bring about positive change in such situations.

Culture Shock

To help, to want to share one's knowledge, one's humanity, is one thing. To do this in a situation where the reality is so different from our cultural points of reference is something else. "Children here fight for food ; we throw it out," says Genevieve. Daphne adds: "When I realized that not all the children were going to receive the food we had prepared for them, I was really upset."

Children who reach out their hands, wanting food but caught in the deprivation imposed by the Muslim Ramadan. This reality opened the Polyvalente students’ eyes. They felt pampered and privileged. "Young talibés are happy and grateful for life. We have everything, yet we are materialistic and dissatisfied. It changed me. I can’t wait to leave on another trip" says Justine Ouellet, her eyes sparkling.

In a country where a man’s wealth is measured by the number of goats he owns, the cultural differences are obvious. When the number of television antennas on a Senegalese house indicates the number of women a polygamous man has married, the culture shock is total.

The Polyvalente students, including Émile among others, have changed their personal habits. "In this context, seeing such poverty, I realized that I prefer to give rather than receive, especially to those who are poorer. Since my trip I am more sensitive to the misery of others, to the homeless as well. I even finish my meals!” he exclaims thoughtfully.

Many Tasks

Several work projects organized by Le Book Humanitaire gave students a chance to develop new skills. Some students were introduced to the world of basic health care in Maison de la Gare’s infirmary. "I learned to bandage, wash and disinfect wounds and to take blood pressure," says Geneviève Bédard, while one of her companions adds that some young children seek care only for the sake of being comforted.

Other students helped by painting a beautiful mural at the entrance to the center, and by beautifying the garden with colorfully painted discarded tires. "I loved the contact with the children while we were working on these projects," says Justine.

Isabelle Levert, teacher and trip organizer, summarizes their experience on their last day: "After a little shopping, part of our last day at Maison de la Gare, we finished the mural, distributed school supplies and educational games, and prepared and served the meal (the only one of the day for most of the children). And, we distributed maple syrup candy to everyone, along with caps and bracelets made by the students. We were warmly thanked, individually, by the children and by Maison de la Gare’s staff members. We are now part of their big family. The goodbyes were very difficult for some. But, to cheer up the troops, we danced and sang with them.”

Isabelle continues: "I don’t know if I should be happy or sad. I am happy because young students from Canada have left their studies, their families, their work, their comfort zones to help the talibé children of Maison de la Gare, and to better understand the causes of forced begging of the talibé children of Senegal. But even more, we had the immense pleasure of working with them. We truly hope that the bonds that have been forged will last forever and that we can continue to be a vibrant network of young intellectuals ready to work for a better life for the talibé children."

But beyond all these unforgettable memories, a doubt remains. The needy glances, the powerlessness in the face of a society whose organization escapes us. Through all this, Émile's wisdom offers hope. "The talibés find happiness in all the little things," he says, comparing our attitude to theirs.

p.s. Please note that all the persons named in this report, with the exception of teacher Isabelle Levert and Le Book Humanitaire founder Rachel Lapierre, are the Quebec student authors of the report.

Links:

• This report on Maison de la Gare's website, with many photos
• Explore following the Saint-Jerome students, as an MDG volunteer
• Ce rapport en francais au site web de MDG, avec plus de photos