The begging takes place seven days a week by the boys, known as talibe children (from the Arabic for student), who are reported to suffer extreme neglect and abuse by their so called teachers, known as 'marabouts'. The African director at the Human Rights Watch stated "Senegal should not stand by while tens of thousands of talibe children are subjected every day to beatings, gross neglect, and, in fact, conditions akin to slavery."

Ironically whilst these talibe street children beg for 5-7 hours every day whilst away from home at school, their actual studies during the evenings simply comprise the learning of verses of the Koran off by heart so that when they leave school that's pretty much all they can do with none of the broader education that would assist them in finding adult employment. Part of the failure to address this problem in Senegal, which has tried various approaches including the banning of begging, is that talibe children, having been schooled in religious doctrine, are easy to control by religious leaders boosting their brotherhood numbers and therefore their influence in the community.