SOS Children in Mali

Overview of Mali

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.

Our work in Mali

Sanankoroba

We opened our 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 nursery 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.

Mopti

In 1996, we opened an SOS Children's Village at Socoura near Mopti. 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 nursery 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.

In 2003/2004 regions of Mali faced famine as a result of poor crop yields in the season and locust invasions. The employees of SOS Children's Village in Mopti 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.

SOS Children does not only provide temporary relief in Mopti but has also been establishing a number of social programmes. The 'family strengthening' programme offers:

counselling
literacy courses for adults
training programmes for women and young adults
learning support
health promotion services
tailor-made support for extremely poor families
distribution of donkey carts and working animals

Kita

SOS Children's Village Kita opened in Mali in November 2009. It has 15 family houses for 150 children. A large SOS Nursery offers pre-school education for up to 200 children and an SOS School will provide education to about 800 children. An SOS Social Centre provides Family Strengthening Programmes to about 800 people from the local community

Aids Orphans in Mali

Life in SOS Children's Villages Mali: Adama's speech improves

Adama did not have a very good start in her life. Left by her father before she was born and abandoned by her mother at a very early age, Adama ended up staying with various relatives until she found a new home at SOS Children's Village Socoura in 2004. Her difficult early childhood has had a devastating impact on her development, but Adama and the village community are working to improve the situation.

Adama's problems started when her father, a worker in a sugar factory, left his wife to seek adventures while she was pregnant with Adama. The girl was born in September 1997 in the city of Markala in Southern Mali, but was not granted a long time to spend with her mother. Her mother, who was suffering from mental conditions, abandoned Adama; she is still missing. Adama was first accommodated by members of her extended family. Then, her aunt on her father's side took Adama with her to take care of her. This aunt died five months later (in 2001). Adama's next caregiver was her paternal grandmother, but she died, too (in 2003).

Once again, Adama stayed with her extended family, until another aunt agreed to take care of her. This aunt, however, was thrown out of the house with the child by her husband who accused Adama of being an 'evil child' (according to traditional African beliefs). Faced with the threat of divorce, the lady requested help from the Centre of Family Placement, where Adama arrived in November 2003. Soon after, six-year-old Adama was admitted to SOS Children' Village Socoura near the town of Mopti.

Being shifted around has left clear traces in Adama's development. Adama is now nine years old, but looks as if she was five. But her problems reach far beyond that. When Adama arrived at the SOS Children's Village, she used to cower down and remain in that position almost all the time. Her SOS mother Brigitte recalls that "she was not able to do anything; her arms were just like rags.". And she did not speak a word.

Brigitte - who had been eager to take Adama under her wing from the very first moment on - and the other village staff had a lot of work ahead of them, and a lot of loving care as well as patience and understanding was needed from the whole village community.

"Brigitte has always accepted her and she is doing a really good job to help Adama," states Ms Tapo Kadiatou, social co-worker of the village.The SOS mother adds, "At first, I had to provide her with toilet training, which is quite a difficult job with nine other children in the house. Then we moved on to dressing oneself. I used to pull clothes over her head when I dressed her, and she tried to finish on her own. Now she can dress herself, she can even put on her shoes."

Another main concern of the village staff was - and still is - Adama's capability to speak. "The medical examination was fine - her vocal cords are not damaged. Here, in Mopti, we don't have speech therapists and psychologists", says Brigitte. So the village co-workers do their best to stimulate Adama to speak.

In addition to that, SOS Children's Villages offers her the best speech and development training available in Mopti. "She has appointments with educators at the 'AMALDEM' (Malian association for abating mental disabilities) Centre of Re-Education three times a week", says Tapo.

Very slowly, Adama left her shell she had withdrawn to from the outside world. First, she proved that she understands spoken language. "She reacts when I call her and when we tell her something, she acts accordingly. She understands what we are saying", Brigitte points out happily.

"She is now integrated, she plays with her peers, but she still misses speech skills very strongly. She becomes angry and irritated when people don't understand her", reports social worker Tapo.

Brigitte is still focussed very much on the child who needs her the most: "My only wish and hope is that Adama will, one day, talk like the others, so that she can live a normal life in society. We - the children and I - keep on trying to teach her how to speak. We don't give up; we always continue to stimulate her." Recently, Adama started delivering the most wonderful reward for their efforts: "She can say 'Mum' and 'Dad' now! And she tries to pronounce the names of her sisters and brothers!"

*For privacy reasons, we have changed the girl's name and do not use photos showing her.