This evening we went to join the group for dinner and a movie at the English school where they’re staying. Francois Cisoko manages the school here and when Mike’s groups come they set up camp there.
The electricity in Bamako has been off and on a lot the last few weeks. When there’s no power, the fans stop and the rooms with AC get warm in about 3 minutes! Several of the kids moved their beds to the roof, hoping for a breeze to cool them in the night.
Here’s the kitchen where they’ve prepared their meals. These groups bring lots of freeze-dried foods that are quick and easy to prepare. Tonight we had rice, chicken and gravy and fresh mangos.
After dinner everyone had things to do. Some of the girls had henna designs painted on their hands or feet. Tomorrow is their last day here. John and I brought our hard drive with movies and we set things up to show “Sahara,” one of our family favorites about Mali. It’s a great movie! I think the kids enjoyed it.
One of the best things I’ve ever done in my life is being involved with the Days for Girls organization. It’s been 8 years now, since I first started teaching women at home and in Mali about Days for Girls feminine hygiene kits. These simple kits are a game changer for the girls and women here. I’m thrilled every time I see a kit placed into the hands of a girl here. These kits help keep these girls in school every day of the month.
Today we taught and distributed kits to more than 100 thrilled young ladies!
After Rose taught the girls about menstruation and menstrual hygiene, and before we gave each girl a kit, she asked me if I wanted to share anything with the girls. I said, “Yes!”
I told the girls that there is a God above who loves us. Being a women and having a period is a gift from God that allows us to have children. This gift is special and we need to manage it well and protect our bodies. I told them these kits will help them to do that. They are made and given with love.
I never tire of seeing the happy faces of girls when they realize what this gift will do for them. As I circulated through the room, helping them figure out how to put the shields into the underwear and snap them securely, one by one, girls quietly thanked me. You can see the joy in their eyes!
This morning we traveled to another village outside of Bamako about 1.5 hours away, through bad traffic and then bad roads. The bus was hot and full. The kids in the group are tired and dirty. The villagers were waiting and excited.
The bus pulled into the school and the children ran to greet us, cheering our arrival. The water tower and tank and the bore hole had been prepared this last week by the contractors here, so the villagers knew exciting things were coming.
These boys make their own drums and become part of the village’s celebration committees!
The village dancers also came to perform for us.
We were given kola nuts, a traditional Malian gift often used ceremonially, presented to chiefs or guests.
After all the dancing and greetings and speeches, we went to work. The school kids were probably too excited to stay in class the rest of the day, we were a bit of a disruption! Here is the school bell:
When Mike’s groups come, they use several of our Bamako Branch members to help with translating and the work here. It’s a great opportunity for these members to meet Americans and practice their English skills.
So everyone went to work for the rest of the day. Mike’s agenda included these things:
Install Water Purification System
Dig Trenches for water pipe to school and garden
Install garden drip system and plant garden
Water Education classes
Days for Girls Education and Distribution
Dental Hygiene Education
Distribute school kits
School Uniforms
Vision Screening
Ear Cleaning
These water projects include drilling a bore hole, adding a pump 18 meters down inside the bore hole to pump water up to the tank on the tower. The pump is powered by the solar panel up on top. This tank is then piped to some faucets, one near the tank, and another is piped to a garden that may be near by or across a field or two. The tank is also piped to handwashing sinks in the bathrooms at the school.
This gentleman was so interested in how everything worked. He said this source of clean pure water will be a great blessing to the villagers here.
This is what the new school bathrooms look like with their new sinks.
While some worked on assembling and installing the water filter, Aaron and others went to work in the women’s garden, helping to prepare the furrows and driplines for planting.
The women selected the seeds they wanted to plant.
Others were checking ears and eyesight. A group of eye doctors will be coming over in a few months to do follow-up work.
This little boy had a bad ear infection.
The team brought some reading glasses and did some eye screenings here:
Elsewhere in the village today, I enjoyed trying to communicate with the people I met. Here are some of the things I saw.
Beans harvested and drying:
The cattle wander where they will, while the herders keep an eye on them.
A pot for afternoon tea:
A typical home:
Doing her homework:
These men (in the very hot sun) were laying a foundation. This reminded me of the primary song I’ve been teaching the kids about the wise man who built his house upon the rock.
Here is a grinding machine. Sometimes these are owned by the village and sometimes by individuals. Women bring their grains to be milled or ground here–things like millet and corn.
Here are some of the beautiful school kids. We did a Days for Girls class and distribution here this afternoon (see the next post).
Mike’s group likes to give out school uniforms, school kits, toothbrushes and some toothpaste.
These are some of the basketball boys who came with us to help.
It was a good day. These expeditions give our kids a small taste of Africa. They will go home changed, hopefully more aware, more kind and more focused on others.
During the last several years, Mike’s group has been cheering on a local basketball club here in Bamako. Several young boys have been recruited from here to play in Utah as they prepare to play collegiate ball. Some very good relationships have been formed.
This morning Mike and a few others came early to the school where they play to install some more exercise equipment for the boys here. They held a skills camp and then we had a game with a team of our boys playing a team of their boys (who are 15-18 years old). Several of the boys on our team played high school ball. It was a fun morning and we had a tent filled with spectators cheering the boys on.
Before the game started, the girls swept the court off. One of these girls played at Purdue for 4 years!
The game was very close and exciting. In the end, the white boys pulled off the win, but just barely.
I need to say something here about Ramadan. The temps today were high–way over 100 degrees. All of these local boys were observing Ramadan and fasting, that means NO WATER before, during, or after the game. Our boys were dying of heat and exhaustion and needed hydration all morning long. The local boys are tough and strong. I don’t know how they do it. But they do. I honor and respect their skills and perseverance.
I also need to mention that last night we had real RAIN. Our first rainstorm here in Bamako! It was loud enough to wake me up. I thought our air conditioner was broken and leaking, but it was the rain outside pounding against our windows. Oh happy day, cooler and wet days are coming. But not soon. We still have a month or more of very hot weather ahead.
Today we visited the village of Moussadiebougou, one of our Ouelessebougou Alliance villages. We’ve been doing work with these friends for more than 30 years. They were ready and waiting when we arrived. Having these relationships makes all the difference in the world. These villagers were happy to participate and help with the work. Before we came, they had all the trenches dug and the pipes to the far away garden buried. It was amazing. We were among friends here and they welcomed us warmly.
We arrived before the group coming from Semana, so I took a wander around the village. It’s been awhile since I’ve been here. I love visiting with the people and watching how they do things.
This is a smaller village of about 300 people and they have great leadership. They have a health committee and an education committee. Their young men were excited to learn about the water filtration project that will be a huge blessing.
The weather here in Mali is so hot right now. And everyone is fasting because of Ramadan, so that means No Drinking or Eating during the daylight hours. It’s amazing to see the faith these friends have and how diligent they are in their devotion to Allah.
Here are the village leaders as we waited for the rest of our group to arrive.
There is a charcoal farm in this village. It’s fascinating to see how they make the coal for their cooking fires. This young man was bringing a load of wood in from the bush.
Branches of uniform sizes are also cut and gathered.
The wood is sorted by size so it will burn uniformly.
Then the piles are covered with dirt and the wood is set on fire inside so it will burn slowly and smolder. You can see the smoke coming out of the air holes in the sides or top.
When it reaches the right temperature and has burned enough to turn to coal, the piles are opened and the charcoal is cooled so it can be bagged.
Then it’s ready for use.
These clay ovens are for roasting shea nuts.
The villagers were making their way to the village center where we were gathering.
A fine collection of pestles for the motars.
I met this nice woman who was taking a break from her sewing business. My kind of friend. I told her I also sew.
And I said hello to this boy who was having some lunch. The children don’t fast during Ramadan.
The waste water from the compound bathroom goes out of the compound.
Mangoes are hanging and ripening in the trees.
The group has arrived from Semana! They were hot and thirsty. We brought some cool drinks for them.
The children and the village leaders welcomed everyone.
Some wanted COVID vaccinations.
The engineering team went to work on the water filtration system.
And others went to work in the garden, preparing for the drip lines.
Here’s the tank with the solar panel and the bore hole.
This is the water line that was run to the garden.
Our Ouelessebougou staff came along today to oversee things. This is Teningnini and her husband. They both received vaccinations.
Today was Friday mosque day, so at 1:00 everyone went to pray here or at the big mosque in Ouelessebougou.
Curious onlookers.
The garden had this well. We kept dipping into it to dump water on our heads to stay cool.
Once the rows were dug and the driplines were buried, the women selected the seeds they wanted and decided which would go in which row.
Planting begins!
Today was a great day. It’s good to be here. It’s good to help. It’s good to make a difference in sustainable ways.
We were up before the crack of dawn to load the bus with supplies and aid this group brought to distribute in Semana. There were 20 in the group, including a few adults. Most are students from Utah.
Semana was about a 3 hour drive south from Bamako, much of it off-road and on donkey cart paths. We had to unload once while the bus navigated a bad dip in the road.
We drove through areas of plowed fields harvested last year. The farmers are waiting now for rain before planting season begins anew.
This is a Baobab Tree, one of the most stately trees of Africa.
When we finally arrived in Semana, the villagers turned out to greet us with song and dance.
Greeting the village elders.
The village welcomes the group.
Villagers arriving to join the excitement.
Unloading the totes and supplies at the school.
This group was here to install a water filtration system. In the last week or two, a contractor drilled a borehole and constructed this water tank here in Semana. We came to finish the job. Solar panels on top provide the power to a pump in the borehole (well). Taps were installed to feed the water to the school latrines and a school garden.
The engineers in the group, including Aaron went to work assembling the filtration system to purify the water.
Other worked on the drip lines for the garden.
While that was happening, some of the kids did eye tests and screenings. Eye doctors will be coming over in a few months.
Here are some of the beautiful faces of the school kids. They are the future of Mali.
Washing the blackboard with a wet sponge.
Oh, these eyes!
This afternoon Rose taught about 100 women and girls about Days for Girls. They were thrilled and excited to get kits that will help them manage their periods each month and stay in school.
These kits are The Best Gifts Ever.
Late this afternoon, John, Aaron and I left Semana and drove back to Ouelessebougou, about an hour or more away. We spent the night there in the Ouelessebougou Alliance compound, our home away from home. Aaron is the last of our family members to spend time there.
The rest of the group brought foam pads and slept in and around the school in Semana this evening after a long hot day of work. They were exhausted and still a bit jet-lagged.
Last week our friends with the Ouelessebougou Alliance went to visit the well project in Faraba 2. Djiba kindly sent me these photos and this great report, “Boubou and I went to Faraba 2 to see the new manual pump well and see how they are doing. We surprised them and the village was so clean. The kids were so clean as well. They are so grateful for the Alliance and the LDS church for this new pump.”
* * * *
We are so excited that our IDP (refugee camp) proposal has been accepted by LDS Charities. We are moving forward with plans to start providing some assistance and aid to our new friends near Ouelessebougou. Here is another report Djiba sent this week that made me feel happy:
“This is one of the IDPs in Sounsounkoro in the North settlement. I met him in Ouelessebougou when he was cutting the firewood of a family. I am so proud of these hardworking people. They do not sit and wait for help. They do what they can. I love that.”
“Being a refugee may be a defining moment in the lives of those who are refugees, but being a refugee does not define them. . . . This moment does not define them, but our response will help define us.”
–Elder Kearon (April 2016 – Safety from the Storm)
In 2018, there were 228 million malaria cases that led to 405,000 deaths. Of these 67per cent (272,000) were children under 5 years of age. This translates into a daily toll of nearly 750 children under age 5. Every two minutes, a child under five dies of malaria. Most of these deaths occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. (From the Malaria in Africa UNICEF website.)
This is why it’s important to help provide education and mosquito nets to those who have had no access to them. Today our friends from the Ouelessebougou Alliance visited our friends at the refugee camps in Sounsounkoro. My dear friend, Djiba, from the Alliance took these beautiful photos.
Djiba said, “The Ouelessebougou Alliance’s staff trained the Internally Displaced People in Sounsounkoro how to use the bed nets properly and talked about the importance of nets. The Alliance has offered each family four nets. The Sounsounkoro village Chief attended the event. These refugees, particularly their women with small children and the pregnant women were so thrilled and grateful for this incredible service.”
Something as simple as a mosquito net can save lives here, especially for small children under age 5.
You will love seeing these beautiful and grateful faces.
Today we had to return to Bamako, but our Ouelessebougou Alliance Team returned to the refugee camps to share and teach these good people. I would have liked to have been there. Judy Hut shared these photos with me of Teningnini teaching the women and girls about Days for Girls. They were enthralled and grateful to receive the kits.
Djiba also taught them about basic health care and hygiene and things they can do to keep their living areas clean and safe. They have selected a woman named Mariam who speaks both French and Bambara to act as their Health Matron and our staff will train her so she can teach the others. They’ll begin with our “Good Health Begins at Home” program, followed by the Healthy Village Workshop.
What a blessing this education will be for these friends. I’m so excited our paths have crossed. It feels as if we were led to each other to make this little corner of the world a better place.
In our weekly security reports, we learned that “according to the U.N. Refugee Agency more than two million people are now displaced inside their own countries within the Sahel [sub-Sahara] region of West Africa. The UNHCR reports that internal displacement quadrupled in two years and continues to rise. The region also hosts more than 850,000 refugees with most from Mali.”
I hope Malians throughout the country will rise up to help their neighbors and help them navigate these difficult times.
Here are more of the photos Judy took today of these beautiful women and their Days for Girls kits.
This morning we visited an IDP Camp not far south of Ouelessebougou main town. We learned of this settlement thanks to Djiba’s keen observation as he drove along the main road one day and noticed a small settlement where there hadn’t been one before. So on the way back, he drove in and talked to this Imam chicken farmer who was his friend and he learned of their situation. Djiba told Anounou and they all came out to check things out. The Alliance ended up donating about 30 bags of millet, enough for each family to eat for 3-4 weeks.
We were greeted by a small group of men, women, and children who were expecting us. They escorted us over to an area where the group was gathered to talk with us. Djiba introduced us, explained why we were wearing masks, and then we asked questions to better understand their situation.
Here’s John’s summary of the things we learned:
• This settlement on the north side of the village of Sousounkoro was the first place occupied by refugees from the Mopti region of north-central Mali, a town called Bandiagara. They are Dogon people. The first had come down about three years ago and chose this location because there was another Dogon person who lived in the village and told them they would be welcome.
• The village chief was willing to let them stay temporarily. As in other refugee settlements we’ve encountered, the village elders observe the newcomers to see if they will be a positive addition to the community. This “testing” lasts up to five years. If they behave themselves, they may be allowed to buy the land where they have settled.
• This community now consists of 12 families, about 90 people. The vast majority have come in the last year, generally fleeing for their lives. We were told of one woman who was forced to watch the throats be slashed of her husband and two sons. She came down here but has since wandered off. They fear she has lost her mind. They fully expect that more of their people will come. They hope to stay here forever and are working hard to prove themselves. Most of the men leave early in the morning for Ouelessebougou to try and find any manual labor jobs they can to earn a little money.
• They shared with us their challenges, none of which were surprising. No clean water close at hand, no farmland to grow food, no school or clinic or mosque, no job opportunities for the men or women. We thanked them for sharing and explained that we were doing a quick visit today because we had to leave for Bamako, but another team would come tomorrow and take a more detailed look at things.
• They were happy to have us walk through the settlement to inspect their living situation. They are clearly very industrious and had built good mud-brick houses, latrines, and ovens. Things were well kept. Just off the edge of the open area where we were seated was their mosque—a plot of dirt that was outlined with 12-inch diameter rocks.
We looked at the crude well they had dug by hand that wasn’t very deep and therefore not very productive. Gratefully, a local group had come out, covered the well for safety, and poured a cement perimeter.
We watched the young boys make mud bricks to build more permanent homes.
We saw the bandaged mid-section of a young teenager who had had some sort of GI surgery at the Ouelessebougou hospital but couldn’t afford to stay there. Up north, he had had to hide in the bush for weeks to avoid capture like his brother and had suffered great physical trauma. His follow-up appt is tomorrow but they don’t have the money to pay for it.
• There was no pleading or begging or other histrionics. It was a serious-minded group of people trying to map out a new life for themselves in a strange new area. They wanted us to understand their situation and hoped we could find ways to help. But they seemed to understand that it would be a process that took time. They had been treated kindly by the village chief and villagers and OA had offered generous help with millet when they needed it most. They were willing to be patient. And grateful.
We gathered with these villagers and listened to their story.
It took us about 10 minutes to drive to the second settlement site, on the south side of Sounsounkoro. We went back onto the main road, then turned west toward Tinkele, Neneko and Selingue. After a bit, we turned south onto a short dirt road and found our second group of Dogon friends. The situation here is much the same as the first site, except they are a smaller group: 10 families with a total of 50 people. And they were granted some farmland use about four miles away. They haven’t farmed it yet. Plus, they are very close to Sousounkoro so they have easy access to schools, the mosque, and a midwife. These refugees have all come within the last year, along with the others in the first settlement. The chief divided them up because the north site was full. They also dug a well by hand, but there was no cement perimeter or safety cover. It was also shallow and polluted. No one is very old in either of these two groups.
These boys are in charge of bringing water to the village. They travel quite a ways to fill the containers, then haul them back with their donkey carts.
Their hand-dug well that helps them get by. The water isn’t clean.
These are the faces that keep me awake at night. I hope we will be able to help here. These people are lovely and kind and trying to survive on very little. I wish all my friends who have plenty could come visit for a day and feel inclined to share a bit more with others.
Our Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan East and Bamako, Mali Mission 