My experience as a volunteer at Maison de la Gare

Mélodie Nos discovers the talibé children with Le Book Humanitaire

This was my first visit to Senegal, a humanitarian mission to help the talibé children of Saint-Louis. I travelled with Le Book Humanitaire from Quebec, Canada, whose director Rachel Lapierre has worked here before. We followed our instructions to find Maison de la Gare, “opposite the stadium, in the alleyway next to the bank”. We arrived at the entrance to an enclosed courtyard with several buildings. A few children were already playing or waiting in this enclosed area, which was open to all.

It was the first time I had met the talibés, the young street boys who live in the daaras. These are Koranic schools run by a marabout. At the best of times, they are expected to receive a basic religious education. Unfortunately for many of them, they end up begging in the streets and left to fend for themselves. They are often victims of abuse or ill-treatment, and receive no health care. If you pay attention as you walk through Saint Louis, you can spot them, these young boys wandering the streets holding small white begging bowls in their hands.

Maison de la Gare offers these children a temporary refuge, a mental break from their difficult daily lives. During my stay, I was able to discover several services offered to the children, run and supervised by motivated and committed staff.

Among other things, you'll find the infirmary (offering first aid), and opposite this you'll find a sewing workshop, part of the apprenticeship and reintegration program. I was lucky to meet Kalidou Baldé, leader of the workshop, where I was able to donate fabrics and place an order for a dress, trousers and bags. The work is of a high quality and deserves to be known more widely. Kalidou is very good and professional in his work. As well as sewing, he teaches English in one of the classrooms.

One evening, we had the chance to prepare sandwiches for the children with Lalla Sène, a sports leader. Lalla vigorously promotes physical activities with the children.

I spent most of my time working with Alagie Jallow, a former talibé whose dedication is endless and inspiring. With him, we visited the rest of the facilities, including the emergency shelter, which provides temporary accommodation for children who find themselves sleeping in the streets. Nightly patrols are carried out to find these children.

I was amused to see that the association also has a TV room, where films are shown to children seeking temporary refuge during the day.

With some other members of my group, I was lucky to go with Alagie on his regular health-care rounds in the daaras, and to contribute to the medical care he provided. This experience, which was at times very emotional, made me aware of the problem of scabies, which spreads extremely quickly in these places leading to serious and critical cases. These visits gave me the opportunity to meet the children where they live, and to see the dramatic and unhealthy conditions in which some of them live and sleep.

Alagie also carries out first aid training and prevention sessions directly in the daaras, raising awareness and empowering the older children. We really enjoyed working with him, and his help was invaluable as a field guide and adviser.

Back at Maison de la Gare’s center, Le Book Humanitaire helped clean up two plots of land to create a vegetable garden. We prepared several squares of soil and planted the first seedlings. Giving children responsibility for a daily task in the garden is part of their education, and the result is very rewarding.

We decided to repaint the courtyard walls of the center to create a warm and welcoming environment. Thanks to having several artists in our group, we were able to add drawings and frescoes. It was a good opportunity to get some of the children involved in the painting and to share a moment with them. We wanted to give the children a colorful environment to contrast with their often-sad daily lives.

For my part, I really enjoyed improvising a drawing workshop with a few lessons in French and numeracy. I would advise future volunteers to try out this activity, as the children are very receptive and keen to learn. They all deserve to have access to education and to learn new things.

There were lots of smiles and laughter from these street boys. Their plight touched me deeply. No child should have to live in extreme poverty or be a victim of abuse. Their strength in facing their difficult lives is a lesson for us all. We can learn a lot from them.

I hope to work with the Maison de la Gare again in the future, alongside the members of this wonderful local association.




 

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