In 2005, Senegal banned a widespread system of child exploitation disguised as apprenticeship.

Despite being illegal, the mistreatment of talibés — an Arabic term meaning “student” — persists across the country. Families send their children to traditional Quranic schools known as daaras, where they study under a spiritual teacher, or marabout. Instead, many are forced to beg in the streets for rice, sugar and money.

In recent years, the issue has made headlines. A Human Rights Watch report compared the experiences of an estimated 50,000 children to modern-day slavery. Many of them — predominantly boys, some as young as three — live in extreme poverty. Traditional daaras are often poorly ventilated and offer little protection from the elements or diseases such as malaria.

Dafa Yow, a Belgian NGO, supports the education and development of daara schools. These “modern daaras” aim to become self-sufficient, combining Quranic studies with French, mathematics and vocational training.

Produced by Dafa Yow
Text by Clé Hunningan