AIDING THE TALIBé WITH MAISON DE LA GARE

Maison de la Gare is a non-government organisation created 15 years ago in the coastal town of Saint-Louis, Senegal. The team are dedicated to caring for one of the most vulnerable communities of children I’ve ever witnessed - The Talibé. We’ve spent the past year working closely to spread information, raise awareness and acquire funding for a variety of projects they are looking to complete in the coming months. This space is dedicated to sharing further information about the situation for these brave young boys. If you’re interested in learning more about Maison de la Gare, volunteering, or making a donation, you can head straight to their website. If you are interested in learning more about the project we are collaborating on together. Click here.

WHAT IS A TALIBé?

A talibé is a young boy, usually from Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Mali or Mauritania, who studies the Quran in traditional Quranic schools known as daara’s. 

For centuries, daaras have been West Africa’s answer to the continual spreading of the Quranic teachings, as well as the training ground for the next generation of Muslim leaders and Quranic teachers, known as Marabouts. 

In most cases talibés leave their homeplace, their families, at a very young age and travel to the coast to stay in the daara’s alongside the Marabout. Taking this path to become a Marabout is considiered a right of passage and a priveledge. As the path to enlightment is often intrinsically linked with suffering, families understand the life these boys will lead will not be easy. It will be a simple life, of simple means, with a strong focus on education and studying the Quran.

But the current system, like many in this world is in desperate need of an update. Many of the daara’s are unsanitary, overcrowded and in disrepair. The punishment system used promotes violence. On top of this, the lack of recources, infrastructure, and government support means the Marabout are able to install a systeme of begging within their Daara. These boys are sent here to learn the Quran, but spend most of their time on the streets trying to fulfil a daily ‘quota’ of rice, bread and money, constantly in competition with one another, constantly in fear of the punishment should they fall short.

These boys are no longer children. They are brainwashed into an abusive regime, forced to mature rapidly and left to fend for themselves. They lack important social skills needed to live among society, and as they grow older within the system, they become ‘Grand Talibe’. The Grand Talibe are held responsible for the quotas and behaviour of the younger generation of Talibe... now the Marabout are removed from the punishment system, but the cycle of abuse continues...

Maison de la Gare is a non-goverment organisation based in Saint-Louis, working to interrupt the cycle of abuse and exploitation of these young boys.

The center is open 24hrs a day, 7 days a week and even has a small dormitory to provide overnight/ temporary stays for a maximum of 10 boys at a time. They provide the boys with anything they may need: Food, Clothes, Rest, Medical and Pyschological Care. It is a safe haven in a city where often the best place for these boys to escape to is the streets...

The change is gradual. Over time, those boys that choose to visit the center are given access to further education, art, therapy, sport and play. The boys are encouraged to focus on just being children, on personal development goals, self-care and team building.

For the Grand Talibe, MDG offers entrepeneurship and leadership programmes, microfinance aid and in some cases, paid jobs at the center. After interacting with the staff, the teachers, and the myriad of volunteers, the hope is that the older boys not only have a better idea of how to care for and treat the younger generation, but they will also have a better chance of reintegrating with society and living successful lives as adults.

After the floods: Restoration project.

After their homes were damaged beyond repair during the flooding earlier this year, the NGO has seen an influx of issues related to the Talibé. They are more frequently sleeping on the roadside, walking barefoot through unsanitary streets, skin infections and cases of malaria are on the rise. 

We are collaborating on an ambitious and ongoing clean up and restoration project in the Darou district, where a lot of the Talibe are living. We are working together with the community to restore the landscape, which is badly affected by the yearly flooding and lack of proper waste disposal.

The project is well underway and you can read about it in detail here. If you are interested in supporting the cause, please get in touch, or donate here.

PROGRESS PICTURES.

New Dormitory: Construction of a larger dormitory at Maison de la Gare

The more boys there are out on the street, the more the need for the center to perform ‘night rounds’ to collect children from the streets and carefully place them either at home with their families or back with their daara’s. 

Currently the centers dormitory has the capacity to house between 5 and 10 boys, but there is a growing need for more space. They are looking to extend the dormitory to house up to 50 boys. The land has been purchased and plans drawn up but the centre currently lacks the finances to begin the building work. If you are interested in donating towards this project, please get in touch, or donate here.