An objective description of Daaras

For those who don’t already know, a Daara is a school where children in Senegal go to learn the Koran. The children who study the Koran in these Daaras are called Talibe or disciples. The majority of them are boys, and their ages generally range from 5-25 years old. They come from all over Senegal, and even neighbouring countries such as Mauritania and the Gambia. The majority of them come from very poor families who cannot afford to raise them. The families will often send them to some of the bigger towns in Senegal like St. Louis to learn the Koran, or sometimes just to experience hardship . Each Daara is run by a Maribu who is in charge of teaching the Talibe the Koran, and providing them with food. However, because nobody pays the Maribu to run the Daara, he often sends the children out to beg for money so he can feed them. Some of the Maribus are very corrupt and merely use the Talibe to beg for money which he just takes for himself. The Talibe generally spend 10 years memorizing the Koran, usually at a pace of one page per day, and 10 years learning what they’ve memorized. Because they must memorize the Koran in Arabic, and none of them know Arabic, it takes a very long time to learn and understand it all. Most families will give their leftover food to the Talibe, but they are still a very big problem.