Samba: A Good Pupil and a Good Farmer

Pierre Faye - Posted on January 5, 2009

Uniting school studies and activities such as farming breeding is part of children’s education in the Serer’s society. Therefore, even though a child is enrolled at school, at the same time he is asked to be involved in activities at home, such as taking care of the cattle or helping with the farming. Samba is a lucky boy. His father understands that studies come first and he urges his son to sudy well.

“My name is Samba, I am 9 years old I am a sponsored child since 2006. My sponsor has not yet visited me. I only receive photos from my sponsor and his family. Since the beginning of my sponsorship I have received many letters. Now I am in the 3rd grade in the primary school of my village and I prefer lessons at school. We have recently started our classes and I like going to school.”

That’s how Samba introduced himself when we visited him, accompanied with the child supervisor, El Hadj Senghor.

A child supervisor in a key person in the follow-ups of hundreds sponsored children scattered in many villages and sometimes in remote areas.

Samba spends the rest of his time helping his father taking care of the cattle and watering the garden.

They have six goats, every day he takes care of them after his classes, giving them grass, or leading them to the bush where he can stay with his friends until 6 p.m. It is, for him, another way to learn other activities and be useful at home. He likes to help his parents.

“My father often congratulates me when he sees me taking care of the goats and I have one I prefer because she makes me run,” Samba says.

His father is a farmer. Apart from farming, they grow millet and cowpea during the rainy season. They also have a garden next to their house in which they grow okra, mango trees and cashew trees.

Early in the morning Samba goes to the garden, after his breakfast if he doesn’t go to school. He waters the plants and puts some manure on the ground. He does the same during the rainy season if he does not go to the millet and cowpea farms.

“I like going with my father to know how he spends his time. I also enjoy breeding [our herd] because I want the goats to grow so that I can sell them in the future to have money and buy cows. I want to be a great breeder,” he added

One day his father told him if he does not study well he will sell the goat and he will no longer have time for animals. According to his father studies come first.

“I want to be a good pupil and a good shepherd because I like animals very much,” Samba says.

Back to Top