Feb. 28 – Mbeubeus is Dakar’s dump area, where 2,000 people live and work, of which 300 are children. Located in the City of Malika, 25 km from Dakar, the Mbeubeus landfill receives every day hundreds of tons of garbage from all over the region, characterized by a constellation of slums which arose from the recent and uncontrolled urbanization process. Since 2006, “Fratelli dell’Uomo” Onlus, an NGO for international cooperation, is working in Malika – in partnership with the local association, Intermondes – both to guarantee the right to education and vocational training for these children and young people, and to build opportunities local economic development. “Once Mbeubeus – the organization said in a statement – was a salt lake, now it is filled with garbage, which attracts adults and children in search of a means to survive. Children, in particular, are exploited and lack hygiene, rummaging in the garbage looking for items to recycle. They constitute the weakest link in a socio-economic urban waste management.” In particular, over the last four years, “Fratelli dell’Uomo” has launched the project “Against Child Labor in the Mbeubeus landfill in Senegal”, intended for 82 children and 50 adolescents who were able to take a course in education and training. The project, still in progress, provides for the continuation of these individual and collective routes, as well as the expansion of a micro-credit fund to finance projects of social recovery and the start of the service of waste collection in three districts of Malika. To achieve this goal, “Fratelli dell’Uomo” has launched a campaign to raise awareness and funds, for which the testimonial is Diego Abatantuono.
