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Senegal's Street Children Among Those Most at Risk for COVID-19

Estelle Ndjandjo

   DAKAR, SENEGAL - Senegal has more than 200 reported cases of
   coronavirus, prompting President Macky Sall to declare a state of
   emergency last week. Among those most vulnerable to the virus are the
   street children of the capital, who live in crowded boarding homes and
   are forced to beg for a living.

   Jules Souleymane Ndiaye distributes milk to street children, known as
   talibes, in Mbour, south of Dakar. The children are told to line up
   single file, with a distance of one meter between each person.

   Son of a talibe himself, Ndiaye is co-founder of Pour Une Enfance
   Senegal (For a Childhood in Senegal). The Franco-Senegalese association
   was created in 2012 to help street children, who are estimated to
   number at least 100,000.

   Boarding homes

   Ndiaye said the talibes are among the most vulnerable to catching and
   spreading the coronavirus. Most live in daaras, which are boarding
   homes run by Islamic scholars that are notorious for their unsanitary,
   crowded conditions.

   Ndiaye said association members tell the children they must not shake
   hands with people, and that they must clean up when they come in from
   outside. He said some of the kids have even made a homemade sink in
   which to wash their hands.

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