The objective of the KHIDMA / DAARAS Project is to eventually cover all of Senegal. However, for the purposes of a gradual, effective and controlled approach, a pilot zone was chosen in the pilot phase, where the initiative will begin, before being progressively extended elsewhere in the country.
Since the project essentially relies on the extraordinary potential of Senegalese religious communities, the city of Touba was chosen for the pilot phase. A choice is all the more relevant given a number of reasons:
- Touba is one of the most representative religious centers in the country;
- It is the second largest city in the country, after Dakar, the capital;
- The Mouride community, whose Touba is the epicenter, is known for its attachment to the holy city, its exceptional power of mobilization and its spirit of autonomy prompting it to take charge of the evolution of the city. The number 28, corresponding to the monthly amount (in dollars and euros) of a child's sponsorship, coincides with the numerical value of the word "Touba" in Arabic. It should be noted that it was the exact amount of "voluntary contributions" Cheikh A. Bamba had set for each "head" during the financing phase of the Touba mosque in 1925
- Because of its historical vocation of "Daara-City", according to the wishes of its founder, Touba counts one of the biggest numbers of daaras of the country (almost 1500 according to the last census of the Association of the Koranic Masters) ;
- Successful implementation of the KHIDMA / DAARAS project in an emblematic area such as Touba will make replication in other parts of the country easier.
This pilot phase will begin with an initial stage which will involve 13 pilot daaras, identified and enlisted in collaboration with the daaras actors and the Ethics Committee. It is only after the enrollment and the successful sponsorship of this first stage that the project can be extended to 300 other daaras of Touba; which will total a target of 313 daaras for the first year. For the second year, the same procedure will be envisaged for 700 other daaras of Touba (which will make a total of 1313, symbolic figure, corresponding to the Hegelian year of the exile of Cheikh A. Bamba in Gabon). It is only after this pilot phase that the project can be extended elsewhere in the country.
The success of this first phase of KHIDMA / DAARAS could make Toubathe first city without begging by the Talibés of Senegal!
