As a child my first memories of Almudus was at my
Mums.

My mother (bless her heart) has this huge compound
with numerous apartments in which she house these
Almudus for free.  She was more like a foster parent
to them, very concern about their well being.  She
used to tell us kids, that was the way her Dad, Omar
Jallow came to the Gambia from Guinea Conakry, as a
Talibey.

Many a time she was awaken in the middle of the night
because one her 'sons' was in trouble, either with the
law or by ‘Douso’ (the inhaling of glue to get high).
I still can remember how determined my Mum was to make
a difference in the lives of these delinquents.

Not all of these Talibeys were able to escape the
ever-groping talons of poverty.  Some of them died or
return back to Guinea Conakry.  A few lucky ones were
able to be financially established to own property.
The pride and joy on my mother’s face whenever one of
these success stories comes to visit her was evident.
It did mean a lot to her knowing that she had made a
difference in someone's life.  To this day she is
engaged in this kind of work.

The second most profound impression that Almudus had
on me, was when I saw the movie "Jangane".  This was a
movie that was produced and directed in Senegal.  It
was mostly about the horrific lives of Almudus.  It
depicted very graphic scenes about the atrocities
committed against talibeys by their 'Seringe Daras'.
I was about seven at the time but the movie was
forever imprinted on my mind.

These kinds of treatments are not restricted to
Almudus only.  In other parts of Africa the selling of
kids as laborers or into slavery is becoming very
prevalent, mostly in the Sudan and parts of Nigeria.

What we need to do in the Gambia and Africa, as a
whole is the addressing of these troubling issues, and
effectively acting upon them.

Most educators in the Gambia have no clue as to what
child abuse is.  Take the 'slow' or retarded student
for example, most teachers go as far as being verbally
and physically abusive to these impressive young
minds.  Eventually these treatments diminish their
confidence and in the end they drop out of school,
thus becoming another number in the illiteracy line.

The best thing that can be done to end this trend is
to educate our teachers on child abuse.  It should be
an ongoing process that is put into practice.




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