Hope for begging talibe children, St-Louis Senegal

Maison de la Gare's primary tool to offer hope of a better life for the talibé children of Saint Louis is education.  Regular instruction in French language skills and math in Maison de la Gare’s classrooms can sometimes lead to children being registered in the regular public system.  Attending classes in a public school not only promises an independent future for the boys, but can lead to improved living conditions.  Sometimes the boys' marabouts, who control so many aspects of their lives, agree to waive or reduce the begging requirement on school days.  Also, interaction with classmates can lead to a feeling of experiencing a somewhat normal childhood, at least during school hours.  Of course, unlike the talibés, non-talibé classmates are well nourished and clothed, supported by a family, and have a home and a bed to return to each night, not to mention light by which to study and complete homework.

Arouna Kandé is a special case among the 30 or so talibé children whom Maison de la Gare has registered in the public school system.  Arouna was taken from his home in Kolda in the south of Senegal to live in a Saint Louis daara in 2006.  He is orphaned, and had to leave behind three younger sisters who are always in his thoughts.  Arouna dreams of being a teacher, and of someday being able to support his sisters.  History is his favourite subject.

Just 16 years old, Arouna is a leader and an example among the talibés.  He is dedicated to his studies and will often give up the opportunity to participate in soccer games or extracurricular school activities in favour of studying and homework.  He does whatever it takes to complete his work and remain in the top half of his class of 43 students, occasionally working in his daara by the light of the moon until after midnight.  Despite his somewhat alleviated begging requirement, he still needs to dedicate time to providing a small quota of money for his marabout.  In order to do this, Arouna sells fish in the local market, fish that he finds by the Senegal River after they have been discarded by fishermen.  Yet, he always has time for and watches out for younger talibés, and he is also available as a responsible helping hand around Maison de la Gare’s centre.

Maison de la Gare provides Arouna with a family-like support system.  Staff member Aladji Gaye is a mentor and provides brotherly support, while Mapaté Bousso helps with math homework when help is required.  Arouna is also encouraged to persevere by email pen-pals in Canada, Maison de la Gare volunteers who recognize his special qualities and potential, and his French teacher at École Amadou Fara Mbodj who considers Arouna to be an excellent student with the potential to achieve his goals.  Arouna is more than a Maison de la Gare success story in the making; he and others like him are Senegal's future.

In November, 2012 a student from Ashbury College in Ottawa, Canada was instrumental in initiating a communication program between Canadian students and talibé street children at Maison de la Gare.  14 year old Rowan Hughes established email accounts for about a dozen talibés who had achieved a basic level of French literacy, and she connected these "email talibés" with students at her school in Canada.  These students responded in kind with emails to their new talibé pen-pals.  The students in both Canada and Senegal are studying French as a second language and are similarly challenged reading and writing French.  Yet they persevere, undaunted.  The new email connections were cemented by one-on-one Facebook video chats.

 More recently, Rowan organized the delivery of packages of notebooks and pens from each of the Canadian students for their Senegalese email pen-pal.  The notebooks include a personal, hand written letter of greeting and encouragement, as well as the email contact information for each pair of correspondents.  These notebooks are one of the few possessions the email talibés have, and they will be used to practice and prepare email messages with the help of their Maison de la Gare teacher for on-going communications with their Canadian friends.

As the email talibés log in to their gmail accounts after a long day working and begging on the streets of Saint Louis, their attention begins to shift.  They re-focus on another, broader world beyond their difficult daily lives, a world of possibilities for a different way of life where education and not forced begging is the norm, and where friends on the other side of the ocean are genuinely interested in who they are and who they want to be.

If the talibé children can articulate their goals and dreams to a friend, one who would not think to question the possibility of such ambitions, perhaps the futures the talibés hope for may seem more possible to them.  The email link to Canada has certainly captured the interest of the talibés children and has enhanced the education programs of Maison de la Gare.  More importantly, the online relationships have expanded the worlds of both groups of students, Canadian and talibé alike, enriching the lives of all involved.