SOS Children in Mali
The current famine affecting Niger is also spilling into Mali. Some of the regions of Mali also face famine as a result of poor crop yields in the 2003/2004 season and locust invasions. Based in the SOS Children's Village in Socoura near Mopti, SOS employees have distributed basic foodstuffs and other relief goods (90 tons of millet, 3 tons of milk, 400 cartons of biscuits, 25 tons of fodder and 17 tons of seeds) to 570 families with 2,200 children in 16 villages to help them get through the coming months.
Still, SOS Children does not only provide temporary relief in Socoura but has also been establishing a number of social programmes since June this year for strengthening families and helping them to secure their future. These programmes include counselling, literacy courses for adults and training programmes for women and youth, learning support, health prevention services, tailor-made support for extremely poor families, distribution of donkey carts, working animals and more.
Mali is the second largest country in West Africa; nearly one third of it is part of the Sahara desert. The most populated area is the river Niger basin in the south of the country, a huge land-locked delta. It is one of the least developed countries in the world. One of the frequently drought-stricken Sahel countries, the unfavourable climate and its land-locked situation have hindered Mali's economic development. Sixty per cent of the population is illiterate. Life expectancy is low, at around 52 years, and many people suffer from bilharzia and river blindness.
The charity opened its first community in Sanankoroba, 30 kilometres south of Bamako, in 1987. It has thirteen family houses built in the local traditional style and there is a youth house in Bamako for the older boys starting to lead independent lives. The village has a kindergarten and a primary and secondary school, all of which are open to children from the neighbourhood. The school has capacity for 700 pupils and includes workshops for vocational training. A small clinic provides medical care for both the SOS and local families.
In 1996, the charity opened a Children's Village at Socoura/Mopti opened its doors. In central Mali, it is approximately 20 kilometres from the centre of Mopti on the road towards Gao. Socoura has twelve family houses, also built in the local style, and a kindergarten for both the SOS and local children, for whom daily meals are also provided. The village is actively involved in efforts to control malaria in the neighbourhood, which include periodic spraying programmes and the distribution of impregnated mosquito nets to local families.
Local Contacts
SOS Children in Mali
Association des Villages d'Enfants SOS du Mali, Quartier Torokorobougou, BPE 495, Bamako, Mali
Tel: +223/228 96 63, 228 57 60
Fax: +223/228 32 88
e-mail: vesos.mali@afribone.net.ml
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