An estimated 100,000 - 200,000 children are begging for food and money in the streets of Dakar.  Many of them have been sent to Senegal from neighbouring countries so that they can benefit from an education at a religious boarding school.  They are known as “talibé” children – followers of a religious teacher. 

But the reality these children face when they arrive in Senegal is not what they expect.  Having left their families behind, they are often not provided with proper food, education, and a safe place to live.  Many children have no choice but to beg on the streets for money and for food.

Based on the UK’s support for child rights around the world (the UK is party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child), the British Embassy in Dakar is supporting the work of Perspectives in Senegal and SOS Griancias Talibes in Guinea-Bissau.