News from Maison de la Gare
Treasured and Troubled Memories of Maison de la Gare
Tweeter
English volunteer Joy Bowers reflects on 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. The incredible older talibés living at the center, all
our conversations, the crazy party I threw for them; we danced all night drunk on
adrenaline. My daily walk to the center from my host family’s home, the beautiful sea,
the Langue de Barbarie, all the colorful pirogues (fishing boats)
and of course, in
between all this, the life, the color and the love and warmth of all the Senegalese
people I met, and the poverty and unimaginable suffering of little children.
I found Maison de la Gare a couple of years ago whilst browsing the internet looking
for a French-speaking organization to volunteer with. I had just returned from teaching
English abroad in Nablus, the West Bank. I had such an incredible experience and wanted
to again be able to work for a small NGO, and Maison de la Gare is small. I doubt I
would have heard of it or the situation in Saint Louis if I hadn’t really wanted to speak
some French! Nobody I know knew anything about it before I explained where I was going
for a few months. It was two and a half years later when I was able to become a Maison de
la Gare volunteer. During that time, in the back of my mind I thought about the horrible
situation that the young talibés are subjected to. But it wasn’t quite real.
As much as one can read about the talibés and the work of Maison de la Gare, I don’t
think anything can prepare someone for the first few days in Saint Louis. The realization
that one must live alongside this bizarre and unimaginably cruel situation and accept that
the theft of these children’s childhoods is a part of everyday life.
Perhaps most
humbling, that most people in Saint Louis are powerless to do anything but live alongside
it. It is so very far from stepping outside my flat in England, where children would
never be confronted with something as distressing as this, let alone be forced to
experience it.
As citizens of the world shouldn’t we be coming together to end once and for all this
tragic situation, recognizing that a matter of chance has given us the lives we have and
that we are only a few hours away on a plane from something so unimaginable?
Walking past all these little children on the street as an adult, of course I feel a
responsibility to do something. I would buy little biscuits, sweets and fruit, and give
them something. But it is impossible to give to everyone. Another great tragedy of the
situation is that there are so many children fighting and competing over so little; there
is never enough.
In my first hours as a volunteer, I was approached by two slightly older boys, Kalidou
and Souleymane. They asked me if I was English would I teach them English? They had a
great starting level.
I was happy to and from then on, every evening Monday to Friday, I
taught a beginners’ and an advanced English class. More students arrived. I spent the
hours in the office later in the evenings planning lessons. I still feel guilty about
some students who arrived mid-lesson with no English or French. With too many students
and not enough time I had to tell them to wait, I’ll teach you the alphabet and basic
phrases when I can. But sometimes these students were discouraged by their lack of
understanding and they didn’t come back. I hate
that I was unable to schedule a beginner class for these boys and teach basics. I had
no way of contacting them again. They vanished, and I hope they will have a chance to
learn English another time.
I was continually impressed by the intelligence and passion for learning of many of the
pupils, especially since none of them had been to school. Being able to help them learn
new words and answer their grammar questions and watch them progress was wonderful. I
was also aware, through the relationships I built up with these older boys, how alike
they were to kids of their age in the UK. We are all so similar and I hope that many,
many more volunteers will follow me and continue teaching them and helping them improve.
Their English abilities 
have opened the door of education that is the internet, and
that is the way forward for them.
I had brought with me a set of theatre masks, designed to encourage play and creativity
as well as emotional expression. We had some fun and interesting lessons with talibés
of all ages. However, watching some of the smaller kids interact with the masks, it
was clear how developmentally behind they were compared to kids I had taught before. I
enjoyed greatly blasting Senegalese music from my speaker and setting up tables with
the little kids drawing, making crafts and playing games together.
I personally have volunteered with different grassroots organizations and experienced
many different testing situations therein, but my experience in Saint Louis was
definitely the most difficult to cope with and the cruelest thing
I have seen in my
life - the sicknesses of the children living in terrible conditions, the lack of
resources and the inability to give each and every child the love, comfort and support
they deserve, not to mention clean clothes, shoes, enough food...
I would urge anyone with a passion for helping others and a desire to become a Maison
de la Gare volunteer to do so keeping in mind the weight of the situation and the ways
in which you will affect many children’s lives. You will become a glimpse of stability
and care and then literally disappear. 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.
I hope everyone at Maison de le Gare, the staff like Abdou who were so welcoming and
supportive, the local volunteers like Lala whose generosity and commitment to the
talibés is remarkable, and all the older kids who showed me around Saint Louis and
became great friends, know how much I appreciate you and am grateful for having
you in my life."
