Anta Mbow

Anta Mbow (born August 5, 1951) is a Senegalese woman who founded Empire des enfants to help exploited "street children" in Dakar known as Talibé. She objects to the term "street children," arguing that streets do not have children.

Life Mbow was born in Dakar in a lower-class neighborhood. She married a professional basketball player. Together, the couple went to study in France in 1972, where Mbow lived for 30 years. After receiving her education, Mbow worked as a secretary before retraining for social work.

During a visit home she was distressed to see the homeless children of Dakar. After talking with her brother Babacar Mbow and a French diplomat named Valérie Schlumberger, a plan came together to repurpose and renovate the abandoned "Empire Cinema of Dakar" as a refuge for Talibé.

Awards

In 2013, the Orange foundation awarded her the Special Women for Change Prize and gave her work financial support. On July 13, 2019, Anta Mbow was raised to the rank of Knight of the French Legion of Honor by the French ambassador to Senegal in the Official Journal of the French Republic.