Elhage

Elhage grew up in The Gambia, in the village of Diagha, with one brother, six sisters, his parents and his grandfather. When he was ten years old, Elhage's parents sent him to Saint Louis with the head of a daara, a forced begging marabout. There is no school near his village, and a Quranic education with this marabout was the only opportunity Elhage's parents had to educate him.  Elhage says that if 

there had been a school near his village he would have remained at home to go to school. 

His family are farmers, cultivating the land during the rainy season. Elhage says it is a hard life, and his family does not have any money. A few months after the rains, it becomes very difficult to live. And, once the food saved from the harvest runs out, they go hungry. Elhage says he wants to be able to help his family because they have nothing and they do not eat well.

Elhage spent over ten years in the daara in Saint Louis, submitting a forced begging quota to his marabout each day. He says his life was very difficult. The talibes at his daara were worried of severe consequences if they failed to submit their begging quotas. Elhage always was sure to submit his. Although, he says that as he aged it became more and more difficult to make his quota. He convinced his parents not to send his younger brother to the daara, because it was such a difficult life, much more difficult than at home.

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Spending time at Maison de la Gare made Elhage's life as a forced begging talibe more bearable. He says the activities brought some fun into his life and the lives of his friends. And, he was able to eat better. Elhage has an optimistic spirit and nearly always has a smile on his face despite his challenging life. Seeing the chance for an education, Elhage began taking classes at the Centre. Pular is Elhage's native language. He now speaks four languages. He learned English and French at Maison de la Gare.  And, Wolof on the streets of Saint Louis. Two and a half years ago Elhage joined the karate program and later was sponsored to join the Sor-Karate dojo. He has earned his yellow belt and is close to being ready to test for orange. Elhage  says "Maison de la Gare has brought something good into my life. I feel like I have opportunity".

In 2017 Elhage returned home to the Gambia, having memorized the Quran and been freed from his obligations to his daara. He only spent a few weeks there then returned to Saint Louis. He says there was nothing for him in The Gambia, no opportunity.  Now 23 years old, Elhage more or less lives at Maison de la Gare because there is no work at home, and he felt his education was not complete. He wants to train to have an opportunity for a better life. He has joined the new tailoring training program recently launched at Maison de la Gare, along with some of his friends, other older talibes and recently freed talibes. Elhage knows it will be important to read and write and to do math if he will work in a tailoring business. He is very optimistic about this opportunity to learn a trade. He wants to become fluent in English, since that is the language of work and education in The Gambia, and French, since that is the key in Senegal. So, he continues in classes with the Maison de la Gare teacher, Aida Dieng. And, English classes with Kalidou and international volunteers. Elhage helps out around Maison de la Gare whenever he can. When runaway talibes rescued off the streets are brought to the Dortoir d'Urgence in the night by the Maison de la Gare team, Elhage helps to get them settled in. The younger kids trust him and look up to him.

According to Elhage "education and job training are the key to the future for talibes and for me." He is grateful to Maison de la Gare that he has the opportunity for both.

Into the Bush in Search of Education

An amazing trip to the region of M'Baye Awa yesterday. For many years we have known a local cobbler who over the years has become a friend and an inspiration. Cheikh, in turn, claims that we have inspired him. As he learned of and watched our work with Maison de la Gare over the years, he began to save his money toward building a school and supporting teachers in his home village. After many discussions with my Dad (over shoe repairs) about how education can provide hope and change everything for a child such as a forced begging talibe, Cheikh had become a believer. His idea is simple. If education is accessible locally, families will not be tempted to send their boys to cities to become talibes. Indeed, this is precisely one of the levers of change my daughter, Rowan identified in her recent project for the Oxford Global Challenge of mapping the talibe system. And he says when I asked him about the education of girls he was inspired to ensure their education opportunities also. Impressed with Cheikh's dedication to providing opportunity, my Dad and I regularly contributed to his dream, and eventually the first school was built. Then, when the ongoing challenge of funding teachers proved beyond Cheikh's means, we introduced him to Issa to bring this unique project under Maison de la Gare's wing.

We left Saint Louis at 9am. But, it soon became clear that we should have left much earlier. One hour down the well paved highway to Louga,  Then, a left turn inland to the town of Dahra Djolloff, supposedly a 34 km drive on a very badly potholed road. Although we drove carefully so as not to join the other flat tired vehicles along our route, the hours surely amounted to far more distance than was estimated. Along the way were herds of dromedaries and as many donkeys and goats as holes in the road. We were told the roads usually get repaired just before elections. So, it will be a while.

Not long after Darha Diolloff the "paved" road ended. And, not too long after that we cut off the main road onto a dirt track leading through the desert in a North easterly direction (I think). This part of the country is referred to as the bush. The first school we arrived at  was in the village of Dingelli. It had 28 students, including 4 girls. In this particular village, apparently girls marry as young as 12 or 13. So, most do not bother with school. Maison de la Gare has recently become involved  with a long term project here to try to convince parents to send their girls to school, and to help to obtain birth certificates so these kids can get National identity cards and thus someday have the option of continuing past primary school, which is not an option without papers.

About an hour past Dingelli we came to a water well. This well served an area of many square kilometres. Most villages do not have water sources on site and the women walk or drive donkey carts to collect water for their villages. We stopped at one well where two women were collecting water in traditional containers and inner tubes of tires. The ladies at the well we stopped at had babies strapped to their backs, and had travelled six kilometres to arrive at the well.

Collecting water can be nearly a full time job for the women of villages in the bush. Women also collect the firewood and prepared the food, but collecting water can take the most time and effort. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to see for myself how all consuming and difficult the collection of water can be for the people in this area. Particularly given that when I return to Canada at the end of this week I will be leading a local "Walk for Water" to raise awareness of the importance of water management issues and scarcity in places like those I visited while in Africa, and to 

raise money for a We Charities water project.

It must have been about half an hour later that we approached the area of M'Baye Awa. We visited three more local schools, built by the locals to provide opportunity for their children, as no public schools existed within many hours drive. And, the fastest mode of transportation around here is donkey cart. Most people walk. Kids were also in class at the second school we visited, at the village of Thiatgale. The buildings were constructed of cut wooden poles and grass walls. Apparently they suffer significant damage during the rainy season and are then repaired or rebuilt. Or not, depending on the means of the villagers at the time. At this school a welcoming committee of all the village mothers awaited us. We were a tremendous curiosity to this very isolated community. Of the 31 students in this school 12 are girls. And only one child in the school has papers, a girl. Many of the students in this school walk for hours to get here. They know education is important, possibly their only hope for something better. The key for any of these kids to continue past primary school will be obtaining birth certificates and papers. Most do not have them because not only is a fee involved in obtaining them, but a very long journey to register the birth. It will be an on-going challenge to convince parents of the future benefits of registering their children at birth, given the cost and effort involved.

Life in these remote villages is hard. Most women give birth at home, or on donkey carts during the long journey to hospitals. The maternal death rate is high. After the rainy season food is more abundant but at this time of the year, at the start of summer food is more scarce, and the signs of malnourishment were apparent. The distance to travel to obtain water contributes to life's many challenges here. When there is no education available, what else is there but to marry young, start a family and continue the cycle. Some boys are sent to daaras in the cities to be talibes, although this practice is diminishing considerably here since the schools were built locally. Our guide, Our friend Cheikh Diallo explained that education will help these kids to expect and to actively seek better for themselves. Education will enable change to happen here.

Another half hour journey and a few wrong turns later we arrived at the village of Medina Alpha. At this school there are 5 boys and 23 girls. This is the first of the four schools that has been planned to be constructed to be a solid walled 

school that will withstand the elements, and the leaders and parents of this village have embraced the hope offered by education. It is run as a modern school, all classes are taught in French. All the children here have papers, as this was the first school that the teachers, Cheikh Diallo, and Maison de la Gare focused on. They are currently working on trying to repatriate the boys of this village back from the cities where they have been sent to be begging talibes, a realistic hope now that true education is available locally. 

The last school we visited, at Belel Douba, sadly, no longer exists. A grass walled school like two of the others, it was soon destroyed when the teacher stopped attending the school. It did not take long for the abandoned building to be reclaimed by the elements. This school required a fee of about $3 per month per child, and when a critical mass of parents could no longer pay, the teacher stopped coming.  Meanwhile the children of this village wait for a new teacher while the parents have begun to cut poles to replace the school building. 43 children have had their education suspended, 19 girls and 24 boys. The villagers here hold out hope that Maison de la Gare can make something happen for their children.  

We finished the tour with a visit to our friend, Cheikhs own village, Oura Souene. As usual, there is no water source here and the women walk 2 kilometres each way daily to collect water. Bt the time we had finished a feast in honour of our visit and had met all of Cheikh's family, we knew we would not make it back to Saint Louis before dark. But, we did reach the "paved" road before the sun set.  As we climbed out of the vehicle after 10 pm we all reflected on our own good fortune to have such ready access to water and the other necessities of life, and above all, to education, and thus to opportunity.

One Family's Struggle

Since I have been travelling to Senegal I have had the pleasure to know Samir Hamoudy. He was a receptionist at our hotel and had become a good friend. He watched out for me when I went on early morning runs around the island. He encouraged our work at Maison de la Gare. Sympathetic to the plight of talibes his family took the responsibility for feeding a talibe child each morning. Life was not easy for the Hamoudy family, but it was good. Samir believed in the importance of education above all else and paid to have his children educated in the private system, which is really the only realistic choice here if serious about education, due to the frequency of strikes and work stoppages in the public system. Samir regularly walked his children to school and checked up on their progress.

Thanks to Samir's family's focus on the importance of education, and a loving supportive home, his children thrived. Two of them have been consistently top of their class, and another is second. The children regularly receive rewards of merit for the excellence of their academic results, and are the pride of the director of their school.

A few years ago we visited Samir's family at their home, as invited honoured guests. The home was tiny, with one bedroom and a living room, for a family of eight people. But despite a lack of material possessions, they were happy, took great care to dress well, and seemed dedicated to each other. Their strong academic focus  suggests promising futures for the Hamoudy children.

Until one year ago, when the Hamoudy family was struck by tragedy. And, everything changed. Less than one month after we had visited Samir and his family in their home, Samir passed away after a short illness of lung disease. The children have been devastated to lose their loving father. The youngest, three year old Mohammed continues to ask when his papa will come home from the hospital. But this family must deal with so much more than grief and loss. Their life as a family and the future of the children is at terrible risk.

Samir's wife, Oumou cares for her six children at home. She did not work outside the home. The oldest, Fatou is 17, in high school. And, there are 5 more who range in age from 2 to 13: Mohammed, Kader, Lamia, Lala, and Fadel. In December we visited Senegal and learned of the family's loss. When we met with the family we and a generous family in Canada moved by the tragedy offered help to Oumou in the way of a financial contribution. She used that money to begin a small business, buying and re-selling shoes and other goods. Without means the family cannot possibly survive. School fees would not be paid, food could not be purchased, the rent for the tiny house even seems impossible. Now Oumou can usually pay most of the rent with the money she earns from her business. And sometimes some of the school fees. However, the cost of food for seven people, even with them tightening their belts is about double her monthly earnings. And, annual school registration fees will be due in October, an insurmountable amount for six children.

The family had a bit of money left from help received by Samir's employer and friends when he first passed. And, relatives of Samir's have thus far assisted with school fees and some food. But, this cannot last. Thankfully, due to the charm and academic potential of the children the director of their school offered to discount the annual registration and monthly fees for the children until the end of their primary education. But, even with this help, school fees of several hundred dollars annually amount to about a third of what Oumou can hope to earn in a year.  And, food for her family is beyond her means. Her acquaintances and relatives are encouraging her to get a job. But, it is unlikely she could earn more than what she does with her small business. And, it would mean disbanding her family, billeting the children out with various relatives, and withdrawing them from their school. Maybe the older kids would have to work instead of study. The kids would survive, but the the family would be finished, as might be the dreams for a better future for these bright and promising children. This path is what would be expected here. Such personal tragedies are not uncommon. People are sympathetic and likely to remark on how sad it is that such a family, and children with such potential must have it doused by fate. But, what else is there to do, after all. Such turns of fate are accepted by most.

But, Oumou is a fighter. She said to me that her children will only be separated from her and from each other over her dead body. She said she will fight for them as long as her body has breath. So far Oumou seems to have sheltered her children from the fear of what the future might hold for them. They miss their Dad, but they have no idea that their lives as they know them could soon be pulled out from under them.

There must be a way to help this family, to help sustain them until the children advance through school and are in a position to secure their own futures. Maybe crowdfunding? Maybe something else? I do not know. But, I am moved by Oumou's passion and the children's promise  to agree that this is going to be something worth fighting for.

Talibe Day, a time to celebrate, even in sadness

World Talibe Day is celebrated all over Senegal, and it was certainly well celebrated by the talibes of Maison de la Gare. 

Talibe Day is a holiday for the forced begging street kids of Senegal. Not for profit organizations, including Maison de la Gare, put on special programs for the kids to enjoy, including games to play and food to eat, maybe even new clothes.  A few demonstrations were organized by some associations to raise awareness about the plight of the talibes. But, for the hundreds of talibes at the Centre on this day, it was a chance to relax and enjoy a party.

The day began as most other days. Not long after the doors of Maison de la Gare opened kids started to trickle in. The trickle soon increased to a regular stream. At about ten o'clock karate kids started to arrive and put on their gi's in preparation for the Friday morning class. As the kids and I gathered on the sand with Sensei, board games were beginning under the grape vine arbour in the garden, while other boys climbed the vines as a jungle gym. Some kids made their way over to the infirmary for treatment of their ailments and some TLC from nurses Abibou and Awa.

I had not realized it until this day, but terribly, the little malnourished talibe living in the shelter, Seydou, had disappeared the night before while I was out at the dojo. A frantic search of  several hours around the neighbourhood revealed nothing. A report was made to the police, but there is not much hope of finding him that way. Why would he have run? Seydou was developing a close trust relationship with an international volunteer and seemed happy to be at Maison de la Gare. Could he have been taken? Did something spook him? How can we know, and how can we find him? He could not possibly survive for long on his own given the weakened state he was in. Such a disaster at home would be all consuming, bringing life to a stop. Here, it seems to be another sad but not uncommon African tragedy. Hopefully Seydou will be found and return to this safe place.

Meanwhile, children continued to arrive. Many watched the karate training in action. One adorable little boy on the sidelines practiced his own version of oisuki, a future karateka perhaps. Other talibes began an enthusiastic 

game of soccer. As the soccer ball disappeared over an eight foot wall, soon, too did a tiny little talibe boy hoping to retrieve it, which he did. 

In the afternoon even greater numbers of kids arrived at the centre. Both classrooms were full of students concentrating on their studies while outside the party was ramping up. Maison de la Gare educator, Abdou Soumare  organized music broadcast through loudspeakers while he and older talibe-in-transition leaders took turns with the microphone acting as Em Cee to the joyful crowd. Amazingly, the students in the classrooms continued to devote themselves to their studies throughout the commotion and excitement happening just outside the window. 

Lala Sene, a regular volunteer at the centre, and a member of the National womens soccer team led a soccer tournament while a dance party started up in the sand nearby. Whenever a team scored, everyone erupted into wild cheers and applause. Then the game and the dancing would resume. As the classes and games progressed, Oumou the Maison de la Gare cook prepared the sandwich filling/  to feed the crowd. Older talibes assisted in chopping peppers and other ingredients to add to her pot.

Abdou took over the microphone, leading the kids like the pied piper around the Maison de la Gare compound while the Maison de la Gare staff and older talibes helped out frantically preparing sandwiches for hundreds of hungry celebrants.

Eventually the soccer winners were declared, the grand trophy was awarded and circulated around the centre in a victory lap, the winners were properly adored and celebrated by the crowd, then the dinner line formed. It seemed impossible that there could be room for everyone, or that the meal could be handed out in any kind of calm or order. But, the seasoned Maison de la Gare staff had done this before, and all were fed. As the last sandwiches were served, Abdou ramped up the music once more and dancing resumed despite the late hour and the dark. Even my Dad went a little crazy, dancing like a teenager. This was a time to let some of that pent up emotion out. Understandably, no one wanted this magical party to end and volunteers, staff, and talibes alike set aside their worries for a momment and joined together to just celebrate life for a little longer.

Here for Good

There is so much to do this week. And as always when I am here, it seems there is so little time. I have arranged a meeting on the weekend with the family of my deceased friend Samir. I have confirmed that their situation is, in fact, dire. Two of the six kids remain top of their classes, and two more are nearly as successful. But, the money from the one time retirement agency government payout will soon be gone, relatives and friends are vanishing into the mist, and  school fees are due in September, not to mention rent each and every month, and six kids to feed. Sunday we visit the new chicken project that is a great opportunity for talibes to learn a trade and develop farming businesses for themselves. Sunday night Rowan and I will go out after midnight with our friend, Idy on a Ronde de Nuit to rescue runaway talibes at risk on the streets. Monday we will visit the village of M'Baye Aw to see the progress of the school that is now educating girls and keeping the boys from being sent away to be talibes. Tuesday Rowan and Arouna present their Mapping the Talibe report to the Maison de la Gare board of directors. I am not sure when I will be able to fit in visiting my two Godchildren, Mohammed and Djiby. And, I have to write those articles. Maybe on the plane home...

There is a little boy in the emergency shelter, named Sedou. We were sure he was about four years old. But, amazingly, he is eleven! He was found looking for food in a garbage dump. Sedou is tiny and frail due to malnourishment. He weighed just nine kilos when he was found about a week ago. He will remain at Maison de la Gare until he is much stronger and gains some weight. Hopefully he will have a chance now.

For me, the last few days have been devoted to reinforcing the karate program at Maison de la Gare. Last night I visited the dojo while the younger kids trained. An earlier than usual class was added a few months ago for the morning karate kids to have an opportunity to work on the matts and experience the more serious environment of the dojo. I think this Thursday night class also helps them to really feel they are an important part of the karate program, with realistic hopes of advancing to higher belts. Indeed, several of them already have earned yellow. As we waited to enter the dojo, I gave the donated Carleton University t-shirts honouring giving and volunteerism to the boys. There were just enough to go around, and they were very happily received. Seven more boys arrived late for class, possibly having been held up by their marabouts or finishing up their begging quotas. Unfortunately, having the exact number of t-shirts was too good to be true after all. At the beginning of class, a group of the little ones grabbed traditional brooms and swept clean the matts in preparation for class. It seemed to be an honour they sought out. Then, another difficuly, four of the boys did not have their gis, and would not be able to train. I sadly thought of the dozen extra uniforms I brought with me, back at the hotel. I will ensure this does not happen again by giving the instructor five or so extra gis to carry with him to class. I consoled the little ones who watched from the sidelines with granola bars and some hand sanitizer, which satisfied them entirely as they dabbed it all over themselves as if it were a fine perfume.

I was so impressed with the discipline, determination and joy of karate these little begging street boys displayed during their two hour training. After class I was approached by one of the younger kids who wanted me to know how happy they were to have karate. My heart felt too big for words.

Today I trained with the morning class, having promised them I would the night before. One or two did not believe I could be a black belt until they saw it for themselves in person. I loved practicing with the kids. In the afternoon we had a good meeting to discuss how to advance the karate program (we will be adding an extra day of morning training for the little ones at the centre, and a good ongoing communication plan is now in place to keep the all the karate kids informed of expectations for advancement and their progress toward higher belts, and an "in house" tournament will be held at Maison de la Gare every four months, and the supplementary meal plan will be advanced to include the Thursday night kids as well).

Today is World Talibe Day (although there are really only talibes in Senegal). There was music and a soccer tournament at the centre to celebrate. Hundreds of talibes participated in games and dancing, not wanting the fun to end, even for meal time. Amazingly we did not run out of food for what surely must have been four hundred kids. But, the sandwiches were smaller than usual.

After the music stopped and the talibes shuffled out into the dark streets to head to their daaras I made my way to the dojo. I arrived after training, in time to hear Sensei orienting the students about expectations for belt grading, realistic timelines, what life opportunities can be provided by karate, and how the unique opportunity to do karate was thanks to Robbie Hughes, me, and  Douvris Martial Arts in Canada. Wait a minute...gratitude is not what I want these boys to feel. I explained that sponsorship such as they receive is something given to worthy candidates because they deserve it, they have earned it, and good people feel lucky to have the chance to help other good people who deserve that help. The Sensei explained it is also important for them to feel gratitude, in order to better appreciate their opportunity. I can accept that. But, it feels odd. I do know, however, that we are sure doing something good here.

Time to Get to Work Again

When she was 14 my daughter, Rowan Hughes accompanied me to Senegal for the first time to meet the talibe boys of Maison de la Gare. She taught about a dozen kids to use email and introduced them to the internet, 

launching the computer program at the Maison de la Gare centre. Today many begging street kids arrive at the Centre each day, check the progress of their favourite soccer players online, then log in to Facebook for a quick online chat with international volunteers with whom they keep in touch. At the age of 13 my son, Robbie Hughes

 started a karate school for begging street kids in Africa during his first visit. Today, a few years later over 50 kids are practicing karate regularly and dozens have earned advanced belts and are pursuing their passion for martial arts as members of a dojo. My Dad met Issa Kouyate in Senegal for the first time nearly 10 years ago. He has become an important partner in the planning, growth and financing of the centre and its programs, and I have joined him in this work. Thousands of talibes have found shelter and hope since then at Maison de la Gare. 

…in order to become the best person I can be and share this progress with others…

- Douvris Student Creed

Volunteering with Maison de la Gare over the past nine years has been a gift beyond imagining. Doing it with my family has made the experience even more special. My husband, Robin, my sister-in-law, Karen, and my niece, Alicia have all travelled to Senegal with us to help the talibes and to open their hearts to the difficulties and differences in this world. All of us have been changed by the experiences we have had in Senegal, moving closer to being our best selves, and sharing this progress with those who need our help. I have  felt the essence of this transformation and obligation since I began coming to Africa. But it has been articulated and clarified for me in the student creed of my dojo since I joined Robbie in practicing karate four years ago.

Today I have arrived again in Senegal, this time with Rowan and my Dad. The word will have spread that we are coming,  from our Facebook chats  with some of the talibes. We will make our way to the centre this evening, once we get to Saint Louis. The journey to get here is long, and feels longer this time due to the emotional strain of nearly missing our connection in New York. But, there is much to do in little time. Rowan will be partnering with Arouna to convert her Mapping of the Talibe System into French to present it together to the Maison de la Gare board of directors. I will be working with Noel to review and advance the karate program, along with teaching. And I'll lock down the program for an upcoming planned karate based group volunteer trip.  I will also work on a special project outside of Maison de la Gare to help secure the future for a lovely family of six kids 

who with their mother are now on their own, without means and very much at risk after the death of her husband, Samir who was the sole earner, and my friend. We will all visit the village of M'Baye Aw, where we are supporting a school that a local cobbler has been responsible for building, inspired by our example with Maison de la Gare. Maison de la Gare has brought the school under its umbrella. Ecole M'Baye Aw, for girls and boys in a village that had no school, and others like it could be one of the solutions for the talibes, just as Rowan and arouna will be mapping out in their illustration of the talibe problem and solutions landscape. All the just over 100 talibes from M'Baye Aw have now been repatriated and are attending school along with the roughly 100 girls, all who previously had no educational opportunity. Rowan and I have many articles to write for the Maison de la Gare and Global Giving websites about all of these things. And, Dad's long list of objectives, working with Issa and the staff of Maison de la Gare, is too long to list, as usual.

Its time to get to work.