Who are you trying to help? What issue are you trying to address?

Mercy Trucks is fighting against the large-scale child trafficking that is occurring between Guinea Bissau and Senegal.

We have completed the work in Senegal on the large trailer we drove down from England loaded with medical and educational equipment. We converted the trailer into a medical & dental unit and it is now being managed by a couple who came to volunteer with their family from Brazil. This Mercy Truck unit is now supporting a project to the south of Dakar that helps the Talibe boys who have been illegally trafficked, from Guinea Bissau, then kept in horrendous conditions until they became emaciated and then put on the streets to beg for their masters. It’s distressing to see the whip marks on some of these boys, if they don’t bring back at least one Dollar each day for their Marabou masters, they often get badly beaten. We saw the results of some of the more severe beatings as some boys had tried to escape. Many of the Marabou now have hundreds of boys working for them, it’s big business and because no one is able to stop them, it’s rapidly expanding.

For more information please download the Human Rights Watch report at
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/senegal0410webwcover.pdf

What is your project and how will it help?

We have just finished filming for a documentary we are hoping to make. This is to try and alert the rest of the world of this massive scale modern day atrocity that is happening with these young Talibe boys. We are working to give these children a voice so that their cries can be heard. It is our hope that through this TV documentary we can educate people about what is happening here.

How can other people partner with you on your project?

We are seeking partners to help with funding the new facility in Senegal for boys who have escaped and also for producing and airing the documentary.

Also interested in hearing from those who could assist in putting political pressure on the Senegalese authorities to start addressing their human rights atrocities.

Please detail the resources that you need.

Please contact us for further information.