Monday, December 3, 2018

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.




Saturday, December 1, 2018

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.