Today me and some of the other volunteers cleaned a Daara. A Daara is a home for Talibe (the street children of Senegal. Normally I do not even clean much at home, so this experience was somewhat new to me. The Daara was a four story building painted in gray (A somewhat cruel color that seemed to serve only to emphasize the bleakness of the Talibes’ living conditions). We started cleaning from the top floor down, first sweeping and then washing and scrubbing. It probably would’ve taken all day if not for the Talibe who decided to join in and help us clean. We worked from about 9-1. To be honest, even when we were finished cleaning, it still did not seem that this would be a very sanitary place to live. The odor of feces floated throughout the second floor where the bathrooms were situated, and I saw cockroaches the size of an iPod Nano. It’s really a shame that there wasn’t much more we could do for them.
As I was walking back home, I saw a little boy in a wheelchair trying to get over the curb. I went over to help him, but he stood up. I quickly realized that he was bringing the chair to an old sitting against a wall. The man started shuffling himself over to the chair with his hands, so I asked if I could help him. He replied with a “wah” (yes in Wolof), and I carried him to his chair. He thanked me with an appreciative handshake. As I turned around to continue on my way, a few older Senegalese women who had seen the whole ordeal thanked me and gave me looks of respect and commendation. Now all I need to do is help an old lady cross the road and I can join the Justice League or run for a political office. I can see the slogan already: “DJ Riefler: Teacher, Volunteer, living cliché”
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