Tabara Sy /
Tostan /
Dakar, Senegal /
As a Senegalese woman living in America, I have seen, witnessed, and been the victim of a large spectrum of human rights violations. Coming to NYU as a freshman, I decided to focus my study on social and cultural analysis throughout the African diaspora, encompassing the intersectionalities of politics, economics, education, socialization, etc.
Since my youth, I constantly noticed and was intrigued by the young orphaned children filling the streets of Dakar, Senegal. In exchange for a place to stay in Quranic schools (daaras), where they are supervised by a Quranic teacher, these children, called talibés, are required to collect money, grains, food, sugar, etc., to bring back to the teacher. If they do not reach their quota, they are subjected to brutal beatings and other more extreme abuse by the Quranic leaders.
While I was born in the United States, I grew up living between both New York and Dakar. As an insider and outsider to Senegalese culture, the daily lives of those young boys never sat right with me. I understand that because it is so common and unfortunately part of the life in Dakar, not enough people take a stance against it or go out of their way to help talibés.
In my work with the non-governmental organization, Tostan Dignity For All, I plan to both bring more awareness and pose more solutions to this issue. One of the biggest projects that Tostan has taken on is their Community Empowerment Program (CEP), their way of bringing together communities with the help of local facilitators in several villages throughout Senegal. This summer, I will help organize these community-based programs and push important discussions to the forefront.
Change starts with locals themselves and their ability to form and transform communities. I can’t wait to witness and participate in that change this summer with Tostan!