My Story
First of all, let me introduce myself. I am Liesbeth Ndiaye-Van Camp, from Belgium and 28 years old. I came to Senegal in June 1996 and opened a small hotel-restaurant called Via Via on Route de Cimetiere in Yoff, situated about 15km from Dakar, the Capital of Senegal. (See Map)
Via Via is associated with a Belgian travel agency called Joker. The talibés used to sit outside the door of Via Via every day and through time, I began to get to know them. Little by little the children became my friends.
For a long time now, I’ve wanted to help the children by giving them good living conditions and a good education.The only thing I can do at the moment is to offer them breakfast each morning and provide basic medical treatment to the ones that are hurt. But, I want to do much more than that, and this is what this project is about. To really solve the problems of the talibés is going to take a long time, but with the help of others, and little by little, Inch Allah, we can do something positive.
INTRODUCTION: THE PROJECT
The project is based on providing shelter for the talibés of Yoff. There is currently space for 21 talibés but I intend to widen this capacity in 3 years time.
WHO ARE THE TALIBÉS?
The talibés are the young boys who can be found begging for food and money in all the big cities of Senegal. At a young age, the talibés leave their family and the small village from which they come from, to go and live in the city with a marabout who is responsible for their education and the teaching of the koran. Sadly, these children are too often found in the streets begging. The marabout is usually unable to accommodate all the children and they become children of the streets. They live in unfinished houses or in ruins and are exposed to all sorts of trouble. In addition, they often fall ill and there there is no one to take care of them. In winter, with the cold, they have to make a fire to keep warm, which also poses risks. Without accommodation, they are unable to keep themselves clean. At the age of around 15, they go to their village, without any form of education, only what they learned on the streets, and their only alternative is to return to farming or return to the streets and all the problems that come with that life. (You can find out lots more about the talibes and almudos here and here.)
WHAT IS AVAILABLE FOR EACH CHILD
The following are provided for the children:
- 1 bed for each child
- 3 bathrooms
- 1 dining room which is also used as a classroom
- 1 pharmacy
- 1 garden for growing their own vegetables
- 1 small shop
INVESTMENT NEEDED
22 BEDS
(21 Children + 1 guard) | = | 616.000 CFA
(22 x 28.000) | US$1,020 |
| 24 CHAIRS/6 Tables | = | 420.000 CFA
(6 x 70.000) | US$695 |
| 22 MATRESSES | = | 330.000 CFA (22 x 15.000) | US$604 |
| 22 COVERS | = | 88.000 CFA (22 x 4000) | US$145 |
(More budget info to come soon!)
| Email Lies (My Friends Project) at
Email Brian (almudo.com) at |
Click our sign to visit our new home. (March 24, 2003 Update)
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- To see more background information on the talibés, click HERE.
