The Douvris Cup Classic - The Young Guns in Canada Deliver Karate to Talibés in Africa

It has been just under four years since the karate program at Maison de la Gare began. Founded and nurtured by my son, Robbie Hughes, Maison de Gare karate has been enjoyed by hundreds of forced begging talibés. Karate classes on Thursday and Friday mornings at the Maison de la Gare centre, led by Boiro, of Sor Karate are frequented by about 20 kids daily. And, There are now 32 talibés registered in the evening dojo classes as members of Sor Karate.

Each year Robbie calls the families of his own dojo, Douvris Martial Arts in Ottawa, to action; raising sponsorships for the Maison de la Gare dojo karate kids; their annual fees must be renewed each January. Two young Douvris Karateka siblings were inspired by Robbie to contribute toward helping talibés enjoy the sport they also love. Robbie always donates part of the money he earns. Kayli and Keagan have saved their allowance for the past two years, enabling two boys to join the dojo. This year, six year old Kayli decided to step up her commitment to Maison de la Gare. For her birthday last month, Kayli asked her friends to give to Maison de la Gare instead of gifts for herself. She raised $105. One sponsorship for a year is $100, covering the annual registration fee and WKF license, monthly fees, and regular belt testings. 

For this trip to Senegal I had planned a karate tournament for the talibés to compete, showcase their skills, and taste glory for the first time in their lives. Robbie and I invited Kayli and Keagan to sponsor it with the money raised from Kayli's birthday. Upon thoughtful consideration, the siblings decided, instead, to do something bigger, and use the opportunity of the tournament and Kayli's fundraiser to challenge their teamates to give as they do; to share their good fortune in being  able to practice karate, train and compete at what they love to do. So, the week before my trip to Senegal, Robbie and Kayli and Keagan stood in front of their teammates and called out the Young Guns Douvris Challenge.  The Young Guns are the junior members of the Douvris Karate competition team. Robbie spoke about the talibés, the lives they live, and how karate is so meaningful to them. Kaylie talked about how she used the occasion of her birthday to generate contributions for Maison de la Gare and of how important it is to help other people. And, Keagan spoke about how he was able to set aside his allowance on a regular basis in order to be able to make a significant impact on another child who needed his help. Inspiration was definitely in the air at Douvris that night. In fact, inspired by Kayli's example, another young Team Douvris member, Anna asked for birthday donations to Maison de la Gare as well. I was already in Africa when I received the wonderful news that she had raised $251 for the cause. One

 dollar of this had been offered by Huxley,  a team member who answered Keagan's call and decided to donate his allowance on that day. It is quite amazing how much inspiration a single dollar can pack! As I told the talibés Keagan and Huxley's stories and how Kayli and Anna preferred to give their gifts to the talibés instead of themselves, the boys were astonished. As I showed the picture of Robbie and Keagan and Kayli and a picture of Anna at her birthday party holding up a donation instead of presents, to one boy, indicating they helped to make the tournament and karate possible, he examined it, then pointed to himself in surprise, understanding dawning. Then nodding his head, he smiled. Dierudieuf. Thank you.

At the end of our first day on this trip to Senegal, I went to visit the dojo to see my karate boys. They knew about the upcoming tournament and had been training each day for extra hours, practicing their competition katas, kihons and Kumite. A few of them had competed before, sponsored by Maison de la Gare to a regional competition, and on one earlier tournament that Robbie and I ran at Maison de la Gare. But, 90%  of the competitors had never experienced a tournamnet before and did not know what to expect. Many had seen photos of The Grand Champion Cups on line, from when I posted pictures of Kayli, Keagan and Robbie's Young Guns Challenge presentation: La Coupe Douvris Karate and La Coupe Douvris Young Guns Karate. The desire to win was palpable in the air at the Sor-Karate dojo. One boy, Yaya, who had recently earned his orange belt had hurt his ankle but there was no way he was going to miss the oportunity to compete. Seeing that he would not be persuaded to follow the wise course and rest his ankle, I gave him antinflamatories and painkillers, so he could at least mnimize the damage and get through the competition. I know how this works, Robbie has competed with a not fully healed broken wrist, not willing to let an important qualifying tournament pass him by. To these kids, karate is life. They will not be denied their opportunity for glory for some short term pain.

Wednesday I joined the karateka at Sor-Karate dojo to train. It felt good to stretch and work my muscles after such a long time sitting in cars and airplanes. It is always a bit of a challenge training in the dojo here, in a good way. My Japanese is improving, so I am using the correct strikes and blocks more often now. Most of our katas in Canada are the same, with slight variations to pay close attention for. But, interestingly, most have almost exactly the same timing as my senseis instruct at home. 

The next day 15 new karateka from the morning program at Maison de la Gare were being registered at the dojo, bringing the number of active members back up to 32.  They were waiting for my arrival for authorization to join the dojo and receive some needed Gi's. They know I always bring more, compliments of our Douvris family. With confidence that Robbie, Kayli, Keagan and the Douvris Young Guns would be able to inspire 32 karate sponsorship renewals by Christmas, I signed them up! Over the year some of the karateka drop out of the program, usually to go back to their home countries or regions as they finally age out of the talibe forced begging system. Sometimes they are sent to other regions as forced labour to work their marabout's fields or build him a new house. Even those that will no lonnger practice karate will not leave behind what was learned in the course of becoming a yellow, orange or green belt. They will always carry with them the confidence, self respect, discipline, and dignity that karate gave them. And, they will remain part of the martial arts community. There is a comradeship among karateka here. On our final car ride back to Dakar I heard our driver answer "os" instead of "yes" while speaking on his cell phone. Only a martial artist would do that. It turns out he is a brown belt, having practiced karate on and off for 18 years, but no longer active.  Karate is still part of him, however, and we connected instantly, bonded by something each of us deeply understand. The Maison de la Gare karateka who have moved on will always have this also.

Thursday morning was Karate at the centre in the morning, led by Boiro. Boiro arrives usually by 7:00am, long before anyone else, to sweep the sand clear of stones, shells, and any sharp objects that could hurt his karateka's feet. And, he prepares the Gi's, organizing them for the class to come. At 9:00am the class begins. The most serious students arrive early, anxious to profit from every moment of instruction possible. they would already have been begging for several hours by now, and the break for karate is very welcome. Another group arrives later, around 10:00am, don their uniforms, and joins the class. It is about 35 degrees C by now, the sun beaming down on the class. The heat never stops anyone here, however.

Thursday night, to the dojo again. There is an early evening class at the dojo Thursdays for the younger karateka from the morning classes. They get a taste of dojo training, and it inspires them to persevere, and imagine that some day they will be able to join as full members also. The juniors would be participating in the tournamnet the next day. They would be competing in two divisions, kata and kihon. The overall Grand champion would earn la Coupe de Douvris Young Guns Karate. Sensei demonstrated what to expect on entering the ring. Where to wait. How to bow. How to know when to begin, and how to back out again. Each boy had the opportunity for a test run or two, including running through his kata in full dress rehersal. Excitement was in the air. As evening fell, A horse drawn taxi arived to collect the mats and deliver them to Maison de la Gare. Souleymane climbed up to escort the load to its destination. Later, the older boys arrived, and practiced later into the night, their last chance to perfect a kata or drill before the big day.

Friday morning dawned; tournament day. The Douvris Cup Classic was about to begin. I arrived at the centre carrying the prizes. The mats were layed out. Tables were ready, waiting for the prizes to be displayed. The junior karateka, the Maison de la Gare Young Guns, were gathering and donning their Gi's. The WKF sanctionned referees were brushing off their suit jackets and straightenning ties.  As I layed out the Douvris gold, silver, bronze and participation medals, the karateka gathered to see. And shirts for the Gold medalists. Then, La Coupe Douvris  Karate and la Coupe Douvris Young Guns Karate were revealed. Many boys came over to indicate the Cup would soon be theirs. There was more than a little good natured trash-talking.

Then, as the referees called the tournament to life, it was on. I could feel the nervous anticipation in the air. Confidence, mixed with terror, mixed with joy on the face of each competitor, in turn. After each pair, the red or blue flags were raised. Followed by devastation, or exultation.  Kihon was first, the requirements called out in Japanese.  Next was kata. Each pair presented themselves at the ring, bowed to each other, to the judges, then advanced in turn. After each performed his kata, the blue or red flags indicated the winner. Some of the competitors nerves got the best of them, forgetting the kata partway through, adding extra moves by accident that threw them off their groove. But, none gave up. The demonstration of courage and perseverance at this tournament was extrraordinary. Even when one boy in a pair was clearly exceptional, and his oponent had made mistakes and forgotten his kata, both seemed to believe they had a chance of winning. Hope is alive and well in the hearts of these boys. There was extra formality for the final matches. So much was on the line. The boys who had made it this far knew that ultimate success was within their grasp. As the blue flags were raised in Seydou Ba's direction and he won the gold for kata, my heart soared along with his. I also felt the temporary disappointment of Oumar Sow and his transition to joy with his realization that he is the silver medalist.

Finally, it was time to award the Douvris Young Guns Cup. As Seydou's name was called, the expression on his face said everything. The crowd ahhhed in appreciation, then cheered as Seydou stepped forward to receive the Cup. 

After a mid-day break for lunch (back to begging for the talibes) and mosque, the second stage of the Douvris Cup Classic was ready to go. I laid out the senior prizes: white muscle shirts for each competitor, and black for the gold medalists, as well as gold, silver, bronze, and participation Douvris medals, and of course, the Grand Champion Douvris Cup. For the seniors, there was also a special prize for the gold medalists and grand champion of some money. Not much to us, perhaps. But to a senior talibé, the prize could represent a week's holiday from begging or lugging goods in the market. And, the Grand Champion would be twice rewarded. The senior competitors seemed just as nervous, yet determined as the juniors had been. Kata first. Some of the karateka who had devoted every spare minute of the past few weeks to training were spectacular. Their dedication paying off. The talibés watching from the sidelines looked on in awe. There was a buzz in the air about karate - likely many more will present themselves next Thursday morning to Boiro, asking for a Gi so they can join the classes too. When Amadou Diallo won the gold medal kata match, his joy was irrepressible. This day, he was no one's slave. He was a winner - a Champion! And, everyone treated him accordingly. 

Kumite was as stressful for me to watch as it is whenever my son, Robbie competes. These boys trained well, and they are strong. No punches were being pulled. No helmets here. But, whenever one boy faced another who was bigger, the referres made them put on chest protection, thank goodness. We have to get these boys mouth guards. The ones Robbie and I brought a year and a half ago are long gone.  Souleymane N'Diaye, a long time friend of Robbie's, and Mamadou Ba fought for gold. Mamadou Ba appeared to be on top of this one. Souleymane's particular fighting style and unique kias's had the crowd laughing at first. But, his hook kick to the head is his secret weapon, and as he started to hit the target, the crowd's laughter turned first to applause, then to adoring cries of  "Souleymane! Souleymane!". In the end, Mamadou Ba took the gold, and Souleymane the silver. Both earned a level of respect here that will not soon be forgotten. When the matches appeared to be over, it seemed there were two bronze medalists for each of Kata and Kumite. I felt bad insisting on a final match for kata, and kumite, to compete for the bronze. And, it was getting dark. But, there was only one bronze medal for each division. For Amadou Diallo, much was on the line for his fight - He could win the Douvris Cup if he could win his Kumite match and win the Bronze, already having won the Gold in Kata. Otherwise, the Cup would likely go to Mamadou Ba, the Kumite gold medalist who had not placed in kata. Amadou fought as though his life depended on it. The kunite match went to overtime. Everyone was on their feet, each strike and block was accompanied by cheering. I was too caught up in the action to remember to take photos. With Amadou's final, winning point, the crowd went wild, and so did Amadou!

There is no doubt in my mind that this was the best day of Amadou's life. As he held the Douvris Cup high, Amadou's joy was not to be contained. He could hardly believe that he was the Grand Champion of the Douvris Cup Classic. All those hours of dedicated training had done it, against more experienced and bigger karateka, proving to all that anything, truly, is possible.

After the medals and prizes were all awarded there was one final, very special task for Sensei Ignety Ba. Boiro had been a brown belt ever since I have known him, nearly four years. Achieving black belt here is a challenge, as it is anywhere. But, the fees and competitions that are black belt requirements can add up. And, for a talibé, where is that money to come from? Now that Boiro is part of the  Maison de la Gare program, His fees are covered. Last month he completed his requirements for black belt. But, the last stage of waiting for the black belt to arrive from the authorities can take months.  So, this night Boiro proudly accepted his black belt, sent from Douvris Martial Arts in Canada, a faster result than the Senegalese route. Boiro, now a sensei teaching karate at Maison de la Gare, let me know how proud and happy he is, crediting Douvris with  the succesful turn his life has taken. I try to explain that it is he, himself, who earned this success. One thing is undeniable, that this was the best day of his life so far. There was a lot of this feeling going around on this glorious day.

Amadou could not bear to part with his trophy just yet, which will be used again at future Douvris Cup Classics in Senegal. His name will be inscribed on the side - the first of many.  So this night he took it back to his daara, proof of his glorious accomplishment, to himself and to others. Seydou's Young Guns Cup is still at Maison de la Gare, being passed around for everyone to admire and respect, before Seydou's name is engraved on it for all time. This experience is surely engraved, as well, in the hearts of the Champions and all of the competitors, not to be forgotten, ever.

A Talibé Giving Back to the Talibés- Elhage's Passion

Elhage does not lead an easy life. I have written about him before, as an example of how the intervention of Maison de la Gare can offer hope and opportunities to talibés who are willing to take advantage of those opportunities. And, for those who do not, at least Maison de la Gare offers them daily respite from very challenging situations. Elhage is an intelligent person. He pays attention, and he has a positive, optimistic nature, despite his years of abuse in the daara. When opportunity knocks, Elhage will answer. Even more, he does not forget where he came from, or those who were not as fortunate as he to grab hold of hope that leads to change.

Elhage joined the karate program a few years ago when it became avaiable. He has participated in the classroom programs from the start. And he was always here, watching, learning, ready to help others when needed. He helped in the gardens at Bango when he was needed. When the tailoring apprenticeship program became available, Elhage joined it too, seeing the trade of tailoring as the key to a successful life that it definitely has the potential to be. 

Elhage has said  "Not having a trade at my age is like walking blind". Most talibés face this challenge. Talibés can remain under the thumbs of their marabouts until perhaps the age of 20 or later, never having had access to any formal education or apprenticeship. And their only companions are other neglected  children. Their only teachers force them to beg and abuse them. What does a child learn growing up in this environment? At what point do they learn to support themselves and contribute as citizens should?  

These days Elhage is a busy person. He spends two days a week, usually Sunday and Monday, in the market, hoping for the chance to work at odd jobs moving materials as a porter to earn enough money to feed himself for the week. Then he works the remaining days of the week in the tailoring apprenticeship program with Kalidou. But, he also takes responsibility at Maison de la Gare. Elhage sleeps at Maison de la Gare at night. So, when the runaway talibés discovered on the streets during the twice weekly Rondes de Nuit are delivered to Maison de la Gare's Dortoir d'Urgence at 1:00 or 2:00am,  Elhage is there to greet them and help set up their beds, get them some food, and tuck them in. He keeps Maison de la Gare tidy. He is also trusted with the keys, and is available to help with whatever is needed anytime. But, this is not all Elhage does. He has taken it upon himself to provide health care in the daaras.

Several mornings a week Elhage packs a bag of supplies from the medical clinic and heads out to the daaras to deliver health care on site to talibés who do not or cannot make their way to Maison de la Gare. If there are international volunteers, he invites them along to help. I asked Elhage why he does this- going out early in the morning to walk dusty, dirty back alleys in search of remote and neglected daaras; to toil scubbing, disinfecting, and bandaging little boys' wounds, applying ointments, and determining who might need antibiotics or hospitalization, exposing himself to disease until the early or mid afternoon, taking away from the time he has to apply himslf to his apprenticeship. He said it is because he was a forced begging talibé for many years, beaten by his marabout, and neglected. He said he knows what these boys suffer. He does not want them to be forgotten. He knows they need help and he can give it. Elhage pointed out that Maison de la Gare supported him while he was emersed in the daara life and is providing him with the opportunity to make his way in life. Elhage says the boys from these remote daaras have trouble regularly making their way to the Maison de la Gare clinic. He says it is therefore something he just must do.

This week I accompanied Elhage on his daara medical rounds. Because we left late, we took a taxi to the area near the first daara. Elhage says he usually walks. It must take him over an hour to reach the area on foot. We approached the daara and Elhage politely greeted the marabout. It was a very hot day 

and my arms were bare. The marabout indicated I sould be fully covered as should my hair. This is not a usual expectation at all in Senegal. But, this Marabout had his own ideas and seemed insistant. When he asked where my coverings were, it was all I could do to refrain from demanding where his humanity was? But, alas, such a retort would not help anybody. So Elhage and I just sat down and stared at him until he eventually motionned us inside. Upon entering the daara Elhage was immediately surrounded and greeted by many little boys. They clearly knew him well, and welcomed his presence. We sat down and the boys presented themselves to us one by one. We donned medical gloves, examined the presented wounds, and then got to work cleaning, disinfecting and 

bandaging. A group of boys huddled around Elhage while I worked on a very badly infected toe. Elhage's crowd had all been circumcised not long ago, but their wounds were not healing. I glanced over as boy after boy uncovered a swollen, wounded, infected penis for Elgage to treat. Elhage took what seemed to be hours carefullly cleaning and bandaging the wounds. I later asked Elhage if it is usual to have such extreme problems after circumcision, and he said not at all. This is very unusual - but common at this particular daara. The toe I was treating had swollen to about twice its size. And, after I cleaned away the dried blood and caked-in filth, it was revealed that the skin was entirely missing from almost all of his toe. It was pink and raw, and every touch was agonizing. I shared some Advil with the boy, and he gritted his teeth stoically, tears squeezing out of his eyes, as I did my best for him. In bare feet, I do not know how long his bandage will last, unfortunately. Elhage says he will consult with Awa the nurse and return soon, hopefully with antibiotics. Elhage is not sure if Maison de la Gare still has antibiotics. The medicines budget is limited. Since we had trouble transporting the inexpensive medications donated by Health Partners International, due to a Senegalese border shakedown we have stopped bringing them. Paying full price and buying locally for medications is challenging, as Maison de la Gare's resources only stretch so far. There was a medical delegation from Europe here a short time ago, and they left medicines for the pharmacy. So, maybe our patients will get lucky. But, antibiotics are not an easy thing to administer. It is not as if the boy can make his way to Maison de la Gare to present himself and get his medication each day. And, if they are left with the marbout, will the boy receive it? Elhage will do his best.

At the second daara we visited, we treated just a few boys. But, one was quite a serious case. Elhage said that he must come at least every three days to re-clean and disinfect this boy's wounded leg. Elhage explained that the open wound seemed to have begun farther up the leg and migrated over time, never fully healing. The leg felt hot as I did my best to clean it without water. And, it was swollen over a large area. Elhage added this boy's case to the list to consult with Awa. A few talibés came for medical care, "soins" who really only had slight scratches. But, as they seemed to revel in the care and attention being showered on them as we cleaned and bandaged them, we welcomed the opportunity to do so.

Eventually we made our way back to Maison de la Gare, all our bandages and "cotton" used up, and my Advil bottle empty. Most of the other staff and children had long since left for the mid afternoon pause in the day. Elhage, on the other hand, made his way to the tailoring room and got right back to work.

Sewing for Life

Last spring, during our previous visit, the tailoring apprenticeship program at Maison de la Gare was just kicking into action. Kalidou, a talibe not so long ago, had been hired to lead the program, under the supervision of Tailor Baka.  Older talibe in transition were signing up, in hopes of finding a path to an independent life in the future. Lacking skills, education, or family support, independence is often just an elusive  idea. So many of these boys are likely to remain tied to their marabouts, as the daara is the only place they have to lay their heads at night.

When Dad and I arrived at the centre Monday Morning, Kalidou and his team were in action, measuring, cutting and sewing. But, the number of participants had significantly diminished. There is room for 10 apprentices at a time. The apprenticeships are designed to last at least a year, maybe as long as two years. Kalidou had just three apprentices, Souleymane and Elhage began in May, and Ibrahima, who just recently joined the program. I asked him where the others had gone. Omar had actually found regular work as a shopkeeper. And, with his karate skills (he had made his way to green belt in the Maison de la Gare karate program, and he is a skilled fighter) he would be a valued employee, able to guard the store as well as take care of customers. Others had left because they did not have the time. If they still lived in the daara, they would have had to produce a regular begging quota of money to the marabout. So, at their older ages, that means working in the market, doing small odd jobs as porters or lifting heavy materials. It can mean a lot of hanging around the market waiting for work that may or may not come. And, if they are free of their marabout, they still need to do this to earn their rent. And, they all need to eat. Money must be found for that too. 

I asked why they could not sell enough of their output to be able to buy lunch for the boys, pay them a little bit, enough that they don't have to spend their days finding fleeting work to survive. Afterall, once the apprenticeship is complete, they will have the skill to last a lifetime, to sustain themselves and even be able to build families of their own in the future, raising boys who will never see the inside of a forced begging daara. Senegal needs more of these. "There are not enough customers willing to buy". Furthermore, only Kalidou really has sufficient skill yet to generate products efficiently enough as required for a successful business. The others are still learning. They make beautiful things, but it takes them more time and supervision.

Some of my karate friends in Ottawa and I had previously discussed the possibility of the talibes making shopping bags which we could sell for fundraising. I discussed the plan with Kalidou who got to work making samples for me. We eventually settled on a large, colourful shopping bag, together with several smaller grocery bags for fruits and veggies, maybe bread, so plastic bags can be dispensed with. Kalidou suggested some bright, African patterns and then his team got to work.

I posted pictures of the samples on Facebook, asking if my frinds thought such things would sell. I was astonished to receive over a dozen responses almost immediately. The orders were flowing in! I could not wait to tell Kalidou, Elhage and Souleyman of the interest abroad in what they were doing. If we could sell the bags at home and send the money back to sustain the tailoring program, maybe other volunteers could do this too, creating a continuous source of business, even when the orders in Senegal are hard to come by. We showed Norweigan volunteer, Mari the bags. She was very interested and was sure her friends back home would also be. With such an increased revenue source, they could afford to not only keep buying the fabric and supplies needed, maybe a small stipend might also be afforded for the apprentices, just enough to keep them from having to find other work to survive. 

Meanwhile, in order to fill their first international order (for me) of about 20 big grocery bags and many dozens of smaller grocery bags, the tailoring team worked until 1:00am this morning, and they were already hard at work when I arrived at the centre today. Seeing the possibilities for this extra source of revenue, the boys likely won't stop sewing until our departure Sunday. There is a buzz about the possibilities for the tailoring apprenticeship program, and inquiries from talibes are already perking up.

The Day After - What is Next for Them?

When we arrived at the centre the morning after the Ronde de Nuit, I made my way to the Dortoir to see the little runaways we found the night before.  I had not slept much, haunted by thoughts of what must drive little children to choose the dangers and lonliness of life on the run to life in the daara. Messaging Mari, the Norweigan volunteer who was also on the Ronde de Nuit, it seemed she did not sleep either. We were likely kept awake by similar dreams.

Ousemane was in the office with the social worker an an intern from the Mayor's Office, being questionned about his identity and situation. He had indicated the night before that he was 13, and had left his daara about a month earlier. His daara is not far, on the Langue de Barbarie, the tongue of land extending from Mautitania on the other side of the Island of Saint Louis.  His age, daara and Marabout were confimed. When asked why he ran, he said he was beaten often, and he could not handle the conditions anymore. And, the night he ran he did so for fear of what he would face for not having met his 500cfa (about a dollar) begging quota that day. Better to disappear than face the consequences. Ouseman showed the scars from his beating, on his back. From the state of healing, the social worker estimated he had left the daara perhaps two weeks ago, which upon reflection, Ousemane confirmed. When asked more about his marabout, Ousemane said he was most at risk of beatings when his marabout was in a bad mood. Then he followed up, in a morose tone, "he is always in a bad mood". Ousemane is 13 years old, but he looked about 8.

Next, the little Djiby was brought in. He had run away the day before. The night before it was determined he was 7. However, he claims to have been in the daara since 2014. Another time, he says, 5 years in the daara.  How could that be? He does not look more than age 5. His age was eventually noted as 9, beginning in the daara in 2014. Impossible. If he is 7, which is more likely, he would have been sent away from home, to the life of forced begging   and loneliness at the age of 3. Djiby spoke of his father who sells sheep, and his mother, who cooks. First, he says he sees his parents weekly (maybe he wishes he did). Then, he said he has not seen them since 2014. Eventually, it was determined Djiby has seen his parents perhaps twice in the past four years since being sent to the daara. He said his marabout does not beat him, but he missed his home and his parents.

Khaly had already been questionned, I learned. Age 12, he said he was from Dakar, and that his daara was also in Dakar. So, what had he been doing at the bus station in Saint Louis, where he claimed to have been for months? Khaly had left his daara to try to get home. But, he ended up in Louga, likely stowing away on the wrong bus. After a short time in that city he got another ride, taking him even farther from home, to the Gare Routiere in Saint Louis, about a four hour drive from Dakar, in a car driving direct. By bus it is a much longer ride. It could have been worse. By chance, he could have ended up in a foreign country, one with an active slave trade, like Mauritania. Imagine running away, and getting a ride which you hope will take you home, only to find yourself in an unfamiliar place with no idea how to get back. So, you just try to survive. You are just 12 years old. At one point his story changed, a daara in Pekine (a region of Saint Louis) was referred to.  Maybe he had met another runaway from there? But, Khaly had mentionned the name of a daara and a home address. Mamadou Gaye got on the phone immediately with his wide network of daaras and children's welfare groups in Dakar. He confirmed the daara is real, as is the address. Khaly's story was confirmed in a matter of minutes. Tonight, Mamadou Gaye will personally escort Khaly home to Dakar. Unfortunately, he may not remain home for long. Khaly's father is deceased, his mother is a cleaner. It is common for very poor families who cannot support their own to send their boys to daaras.

Graciella, the volunteer from California, and I then spent some time with the three boys, reading to them, and reminding them how to play.

Later the same day, when I was walking back to Maison de la Gare after the afternoon break, half way across the Pont Faidherbe I was astonished ro encounter Ousemane walking in the other direction. He was wearing his new clothes but the bandage had disapeared from his bare foot, and he was limping, moving fast. I called to him and he turned, smiled a little, but carried on. I followed him into Saint Louis until he was met by a "grand talibe", a much older boy, most likely from his daara. Clearly, they knew each other, and Ousemane was expected. They continued on together. I called Maison de la Gare, a bit panicked, while I tried not to lose sight of the pair in the twists and turns of the island streets. I knew they would be heading for the North bridge to la Langue de Barbarie, as I knew Ousemane's daara was there. I finally got through to Maison de la Gare and was disturbed to learn that it had been decided to send the boy back to his daara, and that it had been aranged for Ouseman to be met along the way by the grand talibe from his daara. I dropped my trail and the pair vanished around a corner.  But, knowing the beatings Ouseman is used to, and his fear of reprecussions for running away, I was distressed that he had been sent back, unaccompanied by an adult to intervene on his behalf, protection. I could not let it drop, and I later discovered that perhaps a mistake has been made. The morning social worker had determined the boy wanted to go home, and that his abuses suffered in the daara were grounds to prevent his return. And, it is policy if a child must be returned to his daara to accompany him, to make it known that Maison de la Gare will be watching. But, the afternoon social worker made the decision to send him back - apparently he had not seen the notes in the file detailing the abuse, and did not know of the concerns for the boy's safety or his desire to return home. Perhaps he communicated with the marabout and was reassured. Maison de la Gare is following up today, to try to ensure Ousemane's safety. I certainly will be following up. If that little boy does not have us, then he has no one.

Time to Get to Work - Can All of this Really be Happening?

So many importamt things happened Monday, my mind is having trouble sorting them out after the fact. It is always like this the morning after a Ronde de Nuit.

As Dad and I stepped through the familiar gates of Maison de la Gare it felt like coming home. Familiar faces appeared to welcome us. Kalidou. Elhaje. Soon followed by Issa, Awa, Adama, Abdou, so many more.  Small changes surrounded us too, like always. The bank of five toilets and showers for the talibés was gone. A pile of sand and shovels in its place. They had backed up completely, the rags worn by the kids sometimes get stuffed into the drains, so the boys can come out, clean and naked, pointing out that since they have no clothes, they need new ones. The faucets, used by many dozens of boys each day, were loose, and some of the doors, slammed beyond their capacity to endure, had been falling off. life happens. Some boys now have a bath in the laundry and drinking water area.wers

Unfortunately, the cost of the repairs will be $1800 that Maison de la Gare does not have.  Since the showers have been missing the number of talibes with more serious skin disorders has been increasing in the infirmary. There are many generous donors out there who will want to help the talibes. We'll find it. So, knowing this, we authorized the work to continue and the repairs to be made. 

Kalidou, Elhage and Soulaymane were diligently at work in the Atellier, filling clothing orders and working on new products as part of their tailoring apprenticeship. The number of boys enrolled in this apprenticeship program has diminished, unfortunately. Kalidou says many more want to participate, as they see the possibilities for independance thanks to a reliable trade in the future. But, they still need to live now, and many of them still need to submit begging quotas to the marabouts who still control their lives. So, it seems Maison de la Gare must find a way to help the apprenticeship program become a commercial enterprise, or another source of funding must be found, generating enough revenue to allow the boys time to learn before their productivity gets to a self sustaining point - which could take years. 

I met with Kalidou, who assists Baka (his mentor) with the tailoring program, to discuss the possibility of the boys making grocery and shopping bags that we could take back to Canada and sell to raise funds for the program. I am hoping that we could pay for the bags from Maison de la Gare and them make a profit selling them to raise money to support another Senegalese family who needs our help and whom some of us in Canada have been trying to help since last year. I sketched out three patterns of three different sizes, and Kalidou is going to work on it over the next few days. I look forward to seeing his results.

I also met with Sensei Ignety Ba, who runs the dojo where about 20 talibes are registered as members, and he supervises the karate program at Maison de la Gare, thanks to donors, mainly from my own karate family back in Ottawa at Douvris Martial Arts.  We disscussed the details for the karate tournament I have planned for Maison de la Gare. It will be Friday, all day! The mats have been ordered, five referees have been called, I brought the prizes from Ottawa and they are now here, ready to award to the winners. The morning will be devoted to a tournament with two divisions for the younger kids, featuring Keons and Kata. Then, after a break for lunch and the mosque, the tournament will resume in the afternoon featuring Kumite and Kata for the older boys. Then, a special black belt ceremony to award Boiro, the lead Sempai at Maison de la Gare, his long awaited, and well earned black belt. Sensei at last.

I met with my Godson, Mohammed, the son of a Maison de la Gare teacher. It was a lovely reunion. Dad and I later had dinner at the restaurent where the father of my other Godson, Djiby, works. Of course, we were welcomed as family, as always. 

Then, after midnight, when Dad was asleep, exhausted from spending the day pouring over the accounts with our Maison de la Gare partners, I went out to meet the Ronde de Nuit Team. I met Abou, who took me to pick up two volunteers, Mari from Norway, and Graciella from California, We made our way to the Gare Routiere by taxi where we met the rest of the Ronde de Nuit Team, including Idy and Mamadou Gaye. Then, dividing into two groups, armed with flashlights (and my black belt) we ventured into the back alleys and dark places in search of runaway talibe boys. 

After about 15 minutes of searching under cars, in buses, behind boxes and in dark corners, our flashlights shone on a lumpy small bundle in a back seat of a broken down bus with no glass in its windows. Idy woke the little boy, speaking to him in Wolof. He lifted the boy out through the bus window and we walked to a bench where we sat and talked with the boy. His name is Khaly, 12 years old, and he has been on the run for 2 months.  Then, the other team joined us, accompanied by two more little boys, Ousmane, age 13, and Djiby, age 7, we think. Idy spoke with them all for a while, jotting notes down in the dark, getting a piece of each of their stories.  Mamadou Gaye later told me that it is important to ask questions immediatley, and to pay close attention to how they answer. If they come out with their name, daara, home village right away, it is often the truth. If they take time to consider, it can often be a story, whereby the truth needs to be ferrited out later. 

Now it was about 1:00am, a  taxi was hailed  and I bundled the three tired little boys into the back seat of the car and then climbed in after them. Idy jumped in the front. The rest of the team follwed in another car. The boys had not heard of Maison de la Gare. and had no idea who we were, despite our explanation that we were there to help. Khaly fell asleep beside me, exhausted, Djiby sat slumped morosely, as if accepting his terrible fate, and Ousemane sat rigid by the door, seeming ready to bolt.We soon arrived back at Maison de la Gare and brought the boys to the Dortoir d'Urgence. Each was registered with the guard, they were brought some food, and then shown

 to the beds. They all seemed to relax a bit, anxiety receding. Ousemane scrambled up the ladder to a top bunk and hunkered under his blanket. When I climbed up to tuck him in, he rewarded me with the faintest smile. Khaly and Djiby took bottom bunks and were soon asleep, despite the anxiety and fear they surely must have felt about the strange surroundings and the uncertainty that faced them in the morning. After a final pat on each boy's sleeping back, we left them. I returned to the hotel to be greeted by the night guard. He wished me a good sleep. But, this night sleep would alude me.

A Reminder - How Karate Got Started at Maison de la Gare

We are here again. Africa.  We will see the boys of Maison de la Gare soon.  

Our driver took us on a questionable short cut to the highway on the way to Saint Louis. After passing a burnt-out truck stuck in the sand, Dad and I wondered if we had slid back in time, to before we secured the reliability of SenegalLib Tours' drivers; to when we never knew if the driver had out of the way personal stops and pick ups to make along the way, or if he would take a short cut through the dessert to avoid "shake down" checkpoints, or if the brakes might fail.  But, we were soon back on the familiar road again. 

Friendly, familiar faces greeted us at Maison de la Gare. Our friend, Cheikh, the cobbler up the street, could not wait to tell us how many talibés has been newly repatriated to his village since our last visit - 56 - due to the schools he was instrumental in building. Vendors on the street called out hopefully, "Hey, les Canadiens!" and politely accepted our assertion that I would not be shopping on this trip. They welcomed us warmly anyway.  Allioune, the guard at the front doors, greeted us excitedly, updating us on his family's health.  N'Deye, the host of the restaurent at our hotel, brought us citronella tea to help us relax after our journey. We were welcomed like family at Maison Rose.

The karate tournament we have planned will be a highlight of this trip, Insha'Allah. Ignety Ba, upon confirming my arrival (word gets around) put the wheels in motion to arrange for judges and mats. And there will be more, so much more.   I came across an early picture from Robbie's first trip, when he chose Ignety Ba to hire for the karate program here, and another more recent picture of the two of them. so much has happened in three years! But first, I thought it would be a good idea to remind readers how the karate program at Maison de la Gare came to be. So here, reproduced, is the article my son, Robbie wrote last year, recently published on www.mdgsl.com and www.globalgiving.org.:

By Robbie Hughes, international volunteer, martial artist, high school student

This year's WKC World Karate Championship was all about karate, but it was also about so much more than karate. It was about choosing to be positive in the face of tough challenges and how helping each other makes everyone feel better. I was in Orlando, Florida competing with Team Canada at the WKC Worlds. I am a second degree black belt, and this was my fourth time competing at the Worlds for my country. I was also there to try and raise some money and spread awareness about the situation of the forced begging talibe street kids in Saint Louis, Senegal and how karate is changing their lives for the better. 

A few years ago when I was 13 years old, I visited Africa for the first time to volunteer at Maison de la Gare with my family. I wanted to help, to have something to offer the kids I would be meeting in Senegal. At home in Canada I train and help teach karate. So I thought, what better than to share what I love and what I am good at? I had to convince my Family and Maison de la Gare that starting to teach karate to the talibe kids would be a good idea. They had enough imagination to decide to give it a chance.  So I got busy and gathered over 75 donated karate uniforms from families and dojos in my home town, packed them up, and took them to Senegal. Once at Maison de la Gare, I just started doing karate and the kids were naturally interested. by the end of the first week, all the uniforms we brought were being worn in my daily overflowing classes by kids who wanted to learn karate. Imagine as a forced begging, barefoot street kid how good it must feel being able to wear a clean white Gi, and to be the centre of attention while you learn to take control in your life! Karate was such a success at Maison de la Gare that we decided to hire a local sensei to carry on giving classes upon my return to Canada. 

I have now been to Senegal three times to work with the boys of Maison de la Gare, register kids who show particular talent and dedication into an advanced program at the local dojo, train with them at the dojo, and coach my students to grade for higher belts. I am so proud of how far they have come, and the dedication and passion many of them show for the sport we both love. I am looking forward to my next trip to Senegal to see my karate kids and to work with them again.

Now, at the World Championships I decided to spread the word beyond my home city, to let people know how karate is so important for the kids at Maison de la Gare. I showed a video of the kids training in Africa, outside, under the sun in 40 degree temperatures, never complaining. In the pictures I showed, the karate kids were happy, and determined, and looked like they were giving karate everything they had. All of us who were competing at the Worlds also give karate everything we have. But, we are never alone in pursuing our dreams. our parents and our senseis support us constantly. Parents drive us to hundreds of training practices and dozens of tournaments each year. They cheer us up and convince us to carry on when we are in pain and feel like we have had enough. They do our stinky laundry and pay our coaching fees. They cheer for us at our grading ceremonies, congratulate us when we win, and console us when we do not. And our coaches help us push hard, dig deep to find our best selves, share in our glory and support us in our pain and losses. 

The talibe karate kids have none of this support. They show up to karate classes after 8 to 10 hours of forced begging, having had very little to eat. No parents or coaches encourage them to persevere. They scrub their own gi's by hand and hang them to dry at Maison de la Gare. They feel the same pain and disappointments my teamates and I do, but have only themselves to look to for motivation and determination. When they achieve higher belts and win at tournaments,  parents are never cheering from the sidelines. And yet, they are as passionate about karate and as dedicated as I am. We can learn so much from these amazing kids. I certainly have. The Maison de la Gare karate kids have taught me that no matter how tough lives challenges become, it is always possible to take back some control and choose to be happy. And, there is always room for doing what you love.

Sometimes we can help make a difference for other people who face challenges outside their control, and sometimes we can fight for a little more control in our own lives. And, when things happen outside our control, how we choose to react is always within our control - we can choose to be happy. We can do what we love.