The 2016 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, issued by the U.S. State Department to grade countries on their anti-slavery efforts, has identified the forced begging of children by their teachers as Senegal’s primary trafficking problem, according to the article. Many children in Senegal are sent by their parents, or trafficked, into Islamic schools called daaras, where they are promised room and board and teachings from the Koran. However, the children often end up exploited and forced to beg in the streets by the teachers in these daaras. According to the article, “Senegal was downgraded in this year's report to ‘Tier 2 watchlist’ - meaning that while the West African nation is making significant efforts to meet the U.S. minimum standards to end trafficking, it requires special scrutiny during the year.” Despite a poor rating, Senegal is making efforts to address its child trafficking issue. Issa Kouyate, founder of Maison de la Gare, a shelter for street children in Senegal, was named by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry as one of nine global heroes in the fight against trafficking this year for the organization’s work in feeding, clothing, sheltering, and educating children in Senegal and trying to reunite them with their families.
