The Downside

Okay, I had to quickly follow up the last post with another highlighting some darker aspects of life here – just in case you were getting too rosy a picture. There is always a flip side of the coin…

Some parts of living in Senegal are hard to swallow. Especially downtown, there are a lot of kids begging on the streets. They hold out cans and constantly follow you around as you walk and shop. It’s heart breaking! You would like to give all of them money, but we’ve been told to be careful in these situations. It is likely that they have to give or ‘report’ the money to someone at the end of each day. So, who really benefits from money given to them? It’s kind of like a Slumdog Millionaire scenario. Some people from my school give them food or a small toy in lieu of coins, but others do give money from time to time.

Trash, trash, trash! And then mix some more trash in there just for the heck of it. There’s always trash around Dakar - everywhere you go. The city can’t handle, or doesn’t have a system in place, for handling the garbage its inhabitants produce. Seeing heaps of trash, of all sizes, on the side of the road and around town is a common sight.