Senegal: Plus de 30 000 enfants-mendiants recensés

Three Talibé boys asking a taxi driver for money. They have a can each that they use to collect money, food, and other things that people give them. Daaras, or Koranic schools, are a widespread phenomenon in Senegal. The pupils of the schools are called Talibé. They are taught to read and write the Koran, and many of them go begging in the streets every day to collect money so that they can pay for the teaching. According to UNICEF, around 100,000 children in Senegal are forced to beg on a daily basis. Often the children are orphans, or their parents don't have the money to take care of them. So they are sent to a daara, often far away from their homes. The children live in the daara. One of these many daaras is run by 36-year-old Bubacar Diao. The daara is located in the outskirts of Dakar, the capital of Senegal. There are around 100 children in the school. Photo by Thomas Lekfeldt /Ekstra Bladet /MOMENT NETWORK