SUSI Summer 2014 - Waly Edouard Ndiaye:

Waly Edouard Ndiaye Photo
Participant Name: Waly Edouard Ndiaye
Project Location: Dakar, Senegal
Program: Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) on Social Entrepreneurship
Term: Summer 2014
Project Title: Help the Street Children
UConn GTDI Project Award: Application Accepted & Funding Awarded

 

Parents in Senegal look to Quranic teachers to educate their children in the Islamic faith. However, many families cannot afford to pay for their children's education so their children become talibes. These children live together with other talibes and earn their tuition, room and board from begging for money on the streets. In many cases, talibes live in poor conditions lacking proper sanitation and lack healthcare and health education. 

After completing the Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) program during the summer of 2014, Waly returned to Dakar in order to launch his project Help the Street Children. The organization's mission is to ensure that talibes and street children have access to free healthcare, access to free hygiene and health classes, access to education and vocational training and help with social reintegration. The organization also aims to educate Quranic teachers with first aid training because they regularly interact with talibes on a daily basis.

Five-Year Project Goals:

  • Treat and educate over 500 street children across Senegal
  • Set up a medical insurance system for street children to receive free healthcare at local hospitals

Organization Information: Help the Street Children

Website: www.hsc-aer.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hsc.aer/?ref=br_rs

Using the grant funding awarded from UConn, Help the Street Children launched on September 12, 2015 with its first program, a free consultation day in Ouest Foire, a district in Yoff. Several partner agencies, including Présence Médicale Saint Luc and Guédiawaye Priorité Santé, joined Waly in his effort to help children living on the streets in Dakar.

Two years after its launch, Help the Street Children has educated and treated over 300 children, placed first aid kids in 4 schools, and provided first aid training to 13 Quranic teachers across Dakar. In September 2017, the organization won an $11,473 grant from the U.S. Embassy in Senegal to help expand their programs to other parts of the country. Help the Street Children has used the grant funding to launch an awareness campaign within talibes communities in order to help protect street children from exploitation.