Talibe

There are few things in this world more fulfilling than being with children, especially when those children have been sent out of their homes because their parents can no longer afford them. These children are the Talibe. Their parents have given them to a marabout, a leader of a Senegalese Muslim brotherhood. Daily, these boys are sent out on the streets to beg. I've written about these boys before, about the problem with giving them money. The boys never see this money. It goes straight to the marabout. I decided last week that something had to be done, so I went to a market and bought 27 pairs of shoes. There is no drop off center to care for these boys, so when a person decides to do something for them it means walking around the streets until you find the boys. This past Saturday, January 14, that is exactly what I did. I walked from my guesthouse down to the corner pharmacy, where I found two shoe-less boys. I also found that their feet were covered with sores and cuts. I went back to my guesthouse, got three bottles of water, some neosporin, and a towel. I walked back to the pharmacy and bought bandaids, rubbing alcohol, and cotton. By that time more boys had gathered outside the pharmacy, with their faces pressed against the glass. I walked outside and sat down on the pavement and begin my work. I called two United Methodist youth, who live near the pharmacy, to come and help. These children didn't speak French, so the phrases I had prepared to ask them were useless. I sat on the ground at the pharmacy for 2 hours with Edouard and Mor. We sent the boys who had gathered there to go get more boys. There was a constant stream of open wounds, bloody feet, and cuts all over their bodies. My job was to clean their wounds while Edouard fitted them for shoes. Mor's job became crowd control. We had around 20 boys huddled around us, and that obviously caused a scene. At one point, I looked up to find 10 or more Senegalese adults standing around and asking questions. Mor said they wanted to know what we were doing and why. He said he told them we were caring for the future of Senegal because nobody else would do it. After we finished seeing all the boys we got them something to eat. About that time one boy came to us and said all the boys needed to go, because they had to report back to the marabout's house at a certain time. Later that day we saw some of those boys as we were walking to eat. They ran to us, and for the first time they weren't asking for money. They simply wanted a hug, a high-five, and a confidence booster. I realized in that moment, that these boys had never been loved. They didn't know affection and care. Just this morning (Monday, January 16) as I walked to the Mission, two boys ran up, calling my name, and sporting some nice new flip-flops. They now know that somebody cares. A Senegalese pastor what we had done on Saturday, and he called to thank us for giving hope to the hopeless.

In the US, it's very easy for us to "help" people. Anybody can drop off a bag of groceries at a shelter on their way home from work. Anybody can make a donation. Anybody can pray that the situation gets better. But I find that if we really are followers of Jesus Christ, then we are all called to go out into this world and give hope to the hopeless. When we are really loving people it means tears, broken hearts, and sacrifice. I cried many tears sitting outside the pharmacy. One of the littlest boys stayed by my side the whole time, and with his dirty little hands he would wipe my tears away. We have to make the effort to seek people out to care for them. A word used many times throughout the New Testament is GO. It sounds so simple. GO. Don't wait for someone to come to you with a need. GO to them. GO find someone and show them the love of Jesus Christ, because they may have never seen it before.