Category: Humanitarian Work

Celebrating the New Pump Well in Faraba Deux

This afternoon in Faraba Deux we celebrated their new pump well with song and dance.  We partnered with LDS Charities to dig this well here, in a place where water is precious and hard to find.

Imagine if you had to go far to find water, and then carry that water to your home every day–every drop for cooking, washing and bathing is precious.  This well has helped to relieve some of the burden these good villagers have had to carry (literally).


 

 

These women were doing laundry today by the well.  What a blessing this will be for this village!

Men Who Know–a Days for Girls Program for the Men

While the women in Faraba 2 learned about Days for Girls and received their feminine hygiene kits, the men met under a mango tree and they had the “Men Who Know” lesson.  The chief told us afterwards that it was the most important thing they could have learned.

Djiba and Anounou talked with them about honoring their women and what it means to be a strong man.  As the lesson progressed, and these men came to trust their instructors, they asked question after question.  They told us that the young girls have their grandmothers to teach them about menstruation, but no one–No One teaches the men about their bodies or about their wives’ bodies.  The village chief thanked us over and over again for coming and for bringing this information to them.

Faraba 2 Malian Women Receive Days for Girls Kits!

This afternoon we taught the women in Faraba 2 about Days for Girls feminine hygiene kits.  As you will see from their faces, these kits are a life-changer.  The women were intrigued to learn more about their bodies and what happens inside of them each month.  Then when they each received a kit to help them manage their menstrual needs, they erupted with joy!

Teningnini is an excellent teacher.  She’s taught girls and women throughout the Ouelessebougou commune.

The women practiced snapping the shields and pads around the underwear.

Oh happy day!

We left extra kits for the women who weren’t here today and for the young women who have gone into Bamako to find work.  The women did not want a single woman to miss out on receiving a kit.  We gave out 43 kits in all.  That’s 43 lives changed.  It’s the best feeling Ever.

Healthy Village #2 Training in Faraba Deux

This is a one-room school built by the Ouelessebougou Alliance in the 1990s.  It’s no longer used as a school here–the children walk to a neighboring village school–but it still serves as a meeting place.  Today we held our Healthy Village Training here.

The leaders in the village, including the chief, gathered for this anticipated lesson.  In their first Healthy Village Training last year, they made a plan for changes they wanted to see in their village to make it a healthier place.  These changes were drawn on a village map they created. 

The Alliance has helped them work on their goals and today we talked about the next things that need to be done to continue this improvement.  They were excited and so were we!

They set measurable goals in several areas of things they will work on in the next year.  In addition to continuing with the general cleaning, sweeping and burning the trash, they want to move latrines farther from their homes.

In the future they’d also love to have a village garden and a maternity clinic and their own school.

You can see the date this school was constructed on the beam.

At the end of the training, lunch was brought in.  We provided the ingredients for this meal and women in the village prepared it.



A Visit to a Hamlet Called Faraba Deux

We had a fantastic day.  We traveled about an hour west of Ouelessebougou, on a bumpy dirt road to a small hamlet called Faraba Deux.  The Ouelessebougou Alliance did some work here in the 1990s and in the last year, we’ve partnered with LDS Charities to dig a pump well for the villagers here.  Today we came to do a “Healthy Village Training” this morning and some Days for Girls work this afternoon before celebrating the new well with the villagers.  We had a fantastic day.

This small village was wonderful. The people, in anticipation of our arrival, had cleaned every inch of ground and swept with their little home-made whisk brooms. You could see the sweeping patterns in the dirt everywhere we went. They’d burned piles of trash and weeds. It was beautiful! And they were all excited for our visit and greeted us warmly. They let us wander through the village and greet the families. We saw the well and walked through many of the family compounds. There were no walls or barriers between the families. They were happy and kind.

Here are a few pictures of my wander through the village this morning:

You can really see how the dirt was swept in this picture:

Roasting and shelling shea nuts to make shea butter:

A battery and a light bulb:

A proud mother!

Visiting Neguela Village–A Well and the School

 

The village elders in Neguela are very concerned about having access to water in their villages.   They said most people have to walk at least a kilometer to get good water.  They said there are some wells in the village, but they don’t have clean water and they go dry in April and May during the hot dry season.

We asked if we could see one of the wells and they took us into a family compound in the village.  They said it was a large extended family, with 8 families living in the compound.  They had a well in their compound.  They said this water was only used for household cleaning, not for drinking.

They are concerned about the water situation here.  Every other well we saw was no longer working.

These children were curious about our visit.  I think they are absolutely beautiful.

We walked through the central area of the village by the main road.  These bushel-type baskets are made here.  They are used in the markets for produce.

As we later drove out of town, we passed this bakkie with a load of these baskets up on top!

This was another interesting shop.  I’m not sure if they were making the grinding machines here or just selling them.  These machines are usually owned by a village or an association in a village and are used for grinding grains, corn or cassava.  In the south they’re used for grinding shea nuts and millet.

Here’s a shop with meat for sale and a skin drying.

Next we went to see the school.  Neguela is the main village in this commune, so the schools are here and children come from all of the out-lying villages to attend here.  Some walk for miles to get to school.  Today it was quiet and peaceful here, during this holiday vacation time.  It was fun to imagine this place teaming with children.

There were big beautiful trees providing shade here.

The classrooms were crowded with bench desks.  The education leader told us that the secondary school, on one side of the campus, has 3 classes, each has more than 100 students.

You can see the class count in this room is 107 students.

There was a well and water pump here, but it hasn’t worked for several years.  Sad.  There are between 1200 and 1300 students this school.  They have no water.

This is the “Cantine” or cafeteria (of sorts) for the children who live too far to walk home for lunch.  About 200-300 eat lunch there every day.  They serve rice with peanut sauce or tomato/onion sauce and ask the villagers to help donate to pay for the food.   The children who live close enough go home for lunch.

They have a library here that was built by World Vision and a donor provided the books and materials.

What a nice day we had, here in Neguela.  It would be nice if there were more we could do to help.

A Trip to the Village Neguela — Delivering COVID-19 Masks from LDS Charities

After a morning at the church working on membership records, headed on a road trip with Pres Sekou and Fr Mbaya.  We have received several cases of COVID-19 masks from LDS Charities that needed homes.  Some were shared with the hospital in Ouelessebougou last month, and today we took a case of 1000 masks to a village called Neguela, about 2 hours north and west of Bamako.

Here are a few things we saw along our way.  Today it was 97 degrees here.  This man was dressed for the chilly weather.

Traffic in Bamako is always a little crazy and people transport crazy amounts of stuff on their heads, motorcycles, and on their moto trucks.

Market day in a village we drove through:

The road was paved the entire way, but we dodged plenty of pot holes!  We stopped here to put more air in the tires.

A load of firewood:

As we got out into the wide open country, it was hot and dry and dusty.  It’s hard to tell from these pictures, but the flame trees were in bloom with bright orange-red flowers.

We arrived in Neguela at about 2:30 this afternoon.  Neguela is a small town and seat of the commune of Bossofala in the Cercle of Kati in the Koulikoro Region of south-western Mali.  The town is 61 km northwest of Bamako., on the road that goes to Senegal.

The village elders were expecting us and were excited that we came.  Pres Sekou has met these villagers before, providing some humanitarian relief during the hard COVID times.   He was told about this village by a friend who knew there was suffering here.

We gathered under a shady thatch meeting place with the village chief, the mayor, the head of education and some village medical providers.  These men were kind.  They were grateful and concerned about their villagers. They said there are 16 villages in the area (commune) they serve.  Beyond that, there are another dozen or more hamlets (smaller villages).  There are about 18,000 people in the whole commune.

Pres Sekou explained to them that we were here representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we had a gift for them from our humanitarian relief organization, LDS Charities.  They were so grateful and gracious that we’d even consider helping them in this remote place.

They suggested we go with them to take the case of 1000 masks over to the health workers at the nearby maternity clinic.

 

Here is the entrance to the medical clinic.

We had a brief ceremony, handing off the case of COVID masks there at the clinic.  The mayor wore his Malian sash and gave a thank you speech.

The village chief and the mayor:

A former villager who studied in Germany to be a veterinarian returned to  build this Maternite for the women here.  They are so proud to have such a nice birthing center.

This is the receiving room where women are checked in before delivering.

These are the two birthing rooms.   The nurse told us that they deliver 30 to 35 babies a month here.

This is where the babies are cleaned and welcomed to the world.

Here is the recovery room:

Outside the Maternite is an area for families to wait and a small pharmacy.

A very pregnant donkey waiting her turn!

The chief, the education leader and the mayor:

The toilets:

The older clinic building:

There is a well and water tank here, but they do not work.  They haven’t had water here for a long time.

This is the ambulance for emergencies.

Here is the housing where the staff lives:

After this clinic, we went to see one of the few wells in the village, some basket industry here and the village school.

The Well and Water Filtration Project in Tabakoro

In November 2020 this wonderful water project was completed in the village of Tabakoro, Mali.  We partnered with LDS Charities and a local NGO with help from Mike Clayton and his humanitarian team who came over and oversaw the installation.

A well was dug in the village schoolyard, a big dirt field, between the primary and secondary schools.  This well, solar pump and filtration system will provide water for everyone in the area–a huge blessing.  This is the school the children from the chicken farm attend.  We visited here today after our church meeting there under the mango tree.

There was a shade tree near the well with a group of boys under it, and one wizened old man who was guarding the well and the pump equipment. He had a sleeping mat and his little tea pot and burner. The boys were there with him, keeping company and making sure the hardware was safe, especially the solar panels and the battery.

The gentleman showed us the pump at the bottom of the tower with the tank at the top which was enclosed by a cinder block wall. Not far away from the water tower was a cemented area with a double tap coming out of the ground. He said the water was free for anyone to come and take. He had a pink plastic cup he filled and drank from, so happily. What a difference clean water can make in their lives! It was exciting to see how thrilled they were for this new source of clean water.

Here is Pres Sekou Dembele, our Bamako Branch President, showing us the water project:

The young guardians:

This is the well:

And here is the solar panel:

Here is the tap where people can come fill their containers with clean, pure water.  This tap is mid-way between the school buildings, providing water for all of the school children.

This kind gentleman was enthusiastic about the new water source here.  He said the people in the surrounding village are so grateful for this gift–what  a great blessing to so many families!

The secondary school:

The primary school:

Our thanks to LDS Charities and all who helped provide this life-giving gift!

Days for Girls Kits–From Yakima to Abidjan to Bamako to Dakar!

Here’s part of an interesting story that has unfolded here.  Below is a piece of Sister Bendixsen’s letter home last month sharing some miracles they’ve experienced here.  We’ve been sitting on these Days for Girls kits since they arrived in August.  I kept feeling a bit of a stupor about who to give them to, so they’ve just been sitting at the mission home.

To family and friends on 1 December, Sister Bendixsen wrote:

Our senior missionary sister is heavily involved in Days for Girls (please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjjsH2Go2Cc&t=32s to learn all about it). After watching the video back in January of this year, I contacted Ann and asked her if I could bring some kits over with us. We were allowed about 400 cu ft of space to send items to Côte d’Ivoire. She told me that whatever I could bring would be fantastic. Ann gave me the name of her friend, Toni, who is in charge of the Days for Girls Chapter in Yakima. Toni and I met in Tri-Cities so I could take some kits from her. I really didn’t have any idea how big they were, how much space they would take, or how much room I would have in my limited shipment. She brought 6 large black garbage bags full (about 300). They filled the bed of her pick-up. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t have room to take all of those. I decided that I would take 3 bags (150) and told her if I wasn’t able to take all 150, I would find a way to get the others back to her.

I worried for weeks about having enough room to take all of the kits. After listening to Ann’s story, I wanted to do what I could to help. When our movers came to pack our things, I told him I REALLY wanted to get all of these kits to Africa and they thought they would fit, but there’s no way we would have had room for all 300!

After our shipment came to our home in Abidjan, Ann and I have been wondering the best use for the kits. My initial thought was to give one to each of our sister missionaries. However, because most are from a large city, they’ve grown up using disposable feminine products. We decided that wouldn’t be the best use for the kits. Ann had said that she had started a chapter of DFG in Mali (part of our mission and where Ann serves with her husband, John) and that they were pretty set for kits, or at least had the ability to make kits. We thought maybe an orphanage here in Abidjan would be able to use them, but we haven’t contacted anyone yet and the kits have been sitting under the stairs now for 3 months.

On Saturday night we went out to dinner with Elder and Sister Lewis – our last date night out before they go back to Mali. Ann told me that she received a message from a friend in Senegal (a part of the Abidjan West Mission). The Days for Girls group there (AlphaDev) is partnering with UNICEF, who wants the group to make 60,000 kits!, AlphaDev needs a small number, as soon as we can get them there, for a showing to UNICEF. Guess how many they need? Yep, 150. The exact amount we brought with us. Kurt and I happen to be going to Mali with Ann and John this week, so between the 4 of us, we think we can get most, if not all of the kits up there. There is a driver who can get between Mali and Senegal, so getting them to Dakar won’t be a problem. What are the odds that all the pieces fell into place and that they needed the exact number of kits that we brought to Africa? Pretty much zero!

Miracles amaze me. God amazes me.

So, last week, these 150 kits came to Bamako and tonight we sent them with a driver on to Dakar.

Last month our neighbor from Orem came to Bamako with a humanitarian group of eye doctors and helpers.  They brought this additional tote of flannel and PUL to send to Dakar.

This evening we met this gentleman who drives between Bamako and Dakar.  He will deliver all of these gifts to the DfG Enterprise in Dakar.  They are working with the LDS Missionary Couple there, the Collettes, and with LDS Charities and UNICEF to make some very good things happen.

When we all do our part, the pieces of the puzzle come together beautifully to help others.  But we must be aware and do our part.   It’s good to be a puzzle piece.

Visiting our Ouelessebougou Alliance Friends and the DfG Enterprise

Pres Bendixsen, Djiba Soumaoro, Sis Bendixsen, Ann Lewis, Anounou Sissoko, Teningnini and Boubou

This morning we were on the road early with the Bendixsen’s driver, Sambu.  We wanted them to get a feel for more of our favorite places in Mali, starting with Ouelessebougou, about 2.5 hours south of here.  This is the place where we first visited Mali many years ago, and where we have returned each year since.

The Ouelessebougou Alliance is an NGO which began in the mid 1980s in Salt Lake City.  I first met the organizers in 1987 after I returned from living in Nigeria.  This group has been going strong ever since and John and I have loved working with this organization. Pictured above are our in-country staff.

A few years ago, a Days for Girls sewing center, or Enterprise, was set up in our Ouelessebougou compound.  These 3 women sew feminine hygiene kits that are distributed to young women throughout the 25 villages served by the Alliance.

Teningnini is my Malian sister and friend.

Our faithful staff, Boubou, Djiba, Teningnini and Anounou spent the morning with us.  We gave the Bendixsens a tour of our Alliance compound, and drove around the new Ouelessebougou hospital near the Alliance compound where a medical eye expedition from Utah worked last month.

Next we drove south to visit one of our villages called Famina and then we came back to show the Bendixsens our women’s garden.  We hope someday to have missionaries in Ouelessebougou.  The seeds have been planted here and have been nourished for all these many years.  We hope soon it will be time to harvest.