Arriving in Dakar in 2009, Ahmed was living with his older brothers in the Apecsy district by the sea. He worked as an apprentice in a tailor shop. For 10 years, he grew up in pitiable conditions in a "school" directed by a "Marabut" who forced him and his companions to beg in order to reach every day the daily quota required to maintain them. They were beaten if they did not reach the target.
Ahmed lost his father a few years ago and he says that his mother has a lot of hope for him. So as not to disappoint her he started to learn a trade and to study French. Many young Senegalese do not speak French, since in the Daara they study only Arabic.
Now Ahmed has joined the literacy course organized by the Don Bosco Centre. It helps many young people to study and make up for gaps in their education, thereby improving their employment opportunities. But the literacy course is only a first step. Ahmed would like one day to attend a professional course, preferably an evening course, so that he can keep his day job.
Ahmed has a dream: to become a good tailor and a great business man. He lacks the money to start, but does not stop hoping, and never fails to try. He does not want to disappoint his mother and he does not want to disappoint himself.
Ahmed is just one of many young people helped by the Salesians and the staff of the Stop Trafficking campaign. “This is about human beings.” Through the efforts of Don Bosco Missions and International Volunteers for Development (VIS), they are working to make potential migrants aware of the risks of the journey and to promote development projects in their own locality.
For more information: www.stoptratta.org
