By Issa Kouyate | President of Maison de la Gare
Issa shares five days of connection with the communities of this Sahelian region
Nearly 200 kilometers from Saint Louis, in the department of Linguère, the villages of Mbaye Aw lie at the heart of a Sahelian region where living conditions are particularly difficult. Families here subsist on raising cattle, sheep, and goats.
The rhythm of life is dictated by the seasons. After a few months of rain, when pastures dry up and water sources become scarce, many men and young boys leave with their herds in search of more favorable areas. The young children, women, and elderly people remain behind, often facing severe economic and social hardship.
In this context of precarity, children are especially vulnerable. Some boys are sent far from their families to join daaras that are supposed to provide them with a religious education. Too often, these journeys turn into situations of exploitation. Once in the big cities, many children find themselves forced to beg daily to meet their own needs and to satisfy the demands imposed by their Koranic teachers.
For many years, Maison de la Gare has observed that many the talibé children encountered in the streets of Saint Louis come from these isolated rural areas. Behind each child lies a story marked by poverty, drought, lack of infrastructure, and limited opportunities for families.
It is in this region that we reconnected with Cheikh Diallo, a former talibé who experienced this path himself. Today, he works tirelessly to raise awareness in the communities and to support the reintegration of children with their families. Thanks to his commitment and deep knowledge of the area, Maison de la Gare has been able to build trusting relationships with many villages and better understand the root causes that lead families to send their children far from home.
With the support of its partners, Maison de la Gare has helped establish classrooms in several isolated localities. These community schools allow children — both girls and boys — to access education close to home, whereas the nearest formal schools are sometimes many kilometers away on foot.
During our recent mission to the region, we were able to measure the impact of these initiatives. Travel is long and difficult. Tracks are sometimes nearly impassable, and the isolation of the villages remains a major challenge. For much of the year, drought undermines families’ livelihoods. Access to drinking water is limited, and electricity is often nonexistent.
Every morning, many young girls walk several kilometers to fetch the water their families need before heading to class. Despite these constraints, they continue their schooling with determination, aware that education offers a real chance to build a different future.
The challenges remain significant. In some communities, early marriage continues to interrupt the schooling of young girls. Economic pressure sometimes pushes families to choose immediate solutions at the expense of education. Yet we are also witnessing encouraging change: more and more parents are choosing to keep their sons and daughters in school and give them the opportunity to continue their studies.
During this mission, we visited about ten villages and met hundreds of villagers. Everywhere, communities expressed their desire to create a more protective environment for their children. Discussions highlighted the need to develop incomegenerating activities to strengthen families’ autonomy and reduce the factors that drive children to leave.
In several localities, residents have already begun preparing land for community gardening. These initiatives reflect their motivation to build sustainable solutions based on solidarity, economic stability, and food security.
The experience in the villages of Mbaye Aw shows that it is possible to act at the source of the forces that push so many boys toward the streets and begging — and, for girls, toward early marriage. By strengthening access to education, supporting families, and developing community livelihoods, we help offer children the possibility of growing up in a safer, more stable environment that respects their rights.
At Maison de la Gare, we are convinced that every child should be able to live with their family, go to school, and build their future with dignity. Together with local communities and our partners, we will continue to keep this hope alive.
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