The Independent (Banjul)
Isatou Badjan
20 April 2001
interview
Banjul, the Gambia — In continuation of last week's discourse with renowned Gambian sociologist Halifa Sallah, Child Care in this issue talks to him about the plight of the 'Almudos' (street children) who live on leftovers handed out to them by benevolent people.
Plucked from their parents' care to learn the Koran they are instead made to beg for alms for their upkeep by their ruthless masters. The authorities, it must be said have been lax on the issue which is not helping the situation at all. Child Care asked Mr. Sallah how he sees this unfortunate mass of struggling children.
This is a tradition through out West Africa and The Gambia is no exception. That is why before certain conclusions are made it is good to make a comprehensive research, which must be national in character.
Clearly, the system of Almudos is an institution, which has been linked to a certain type of socialisation, which has been some how traditional and is linked to the creation of institutions to train people in the Quran. Prior to this educational institution which exists today the 'Daara' was a formal training institution, in essence it was a classroom and many of the teachers ended up establishing what may be called a boarding school, which lacks all the facilities of a boarding school. And that means that people would send their children thinking that the child requires very calm hands, requires knowledge in learning the Quran.
When the child becomes somebody who is knowledgeable, the expectation is that no matter what the child goes through, it is going to help him to become an adult - a pious human being who would know all the problems of the earth and live a pious life on this earth. You would find a mother who really loves a child and would be crying when giving the child away to the marabout who provides the training. Although the mother would realise that her child will undergo a lot of suffering but because of the concept of society it is felt that it is necessary and the mother is left with no power to act. There you find marabouts with lots of children in a farming community so that the children would go into farming and would actually provide what is needed for that particular family.
When the economic build-up is poor, you will find some of these marabouts leaving the farming system because of the hardship and would find patron in the urban areas who would accommodate them in a home where they would end up with these children.
In most instances, these children would not be going to the normal school system but the 'Daara'. Consequently these children in the morning would set out to get any thing they can get whether given to them in cash or kind.
All this is given to the head of the ' Daara' to continue the type of situation. The phenomena of Almudou is a Gambian phenomena and it is the abuse that we have clearly come to see but we must understand, the Daara as a social institution and if we are to solve the problem we must do so at the grassroots level and that means educating all parents and society and the provision of options to those parents.
As we see sometimes it is interrelated in the society. So it is a problem that can only be solved by the society as a whole by changing its institution.
Any Final word to the Gambian child?
The Gambian child is as I said in the beginning highly misunderstood and having difficulties in knowing who he or she is. So what is required now is to build self-confidence and to understand. One must begin to cope and learn to know that the human being must not head towards self-destruction but self reconstruct.
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