Gender Equality Mali Project #24187

Help Build a Future for IDP Women & Children

by Arts To End Genocide

Project Report | Mar 25, 2021
Pathway Out of a Garbage Dump

By Mitch Lewis | Executive Director

Faladje IDPs

I wanted to bring you encouraging developments on our Faladje IDP relocation project. In our eight years of working in Africa, this is the most challenging project ATEG has ever undertaken. Major humanitarian organizations, have previously tried and failed. Over the past few months, our team has met with Mayors from a number of potential host communities, and although the meetings appeared to be encouraging, ultimately our proposals were declined. Anyway, I think that we might finally have found a pathway forward.

A major businessman and philanthropist in Mali, has donated 185 acres of land in Zantiguila for use by IDPs. There are currently about 450 IDPs from the Mopti region living there, and receiving limited aid from various organizations. The land is in need of development in terms of housing, wells, latrines, irrigation and agriculture. However, it presents a safe, clean, welcoming environment and a wonderful alternative to the Faladje Camp, where the IDPs have spent the last 2 years living in a garbage dump under the most deplorable, toxic living conditions. We have been holding meetings with the Faladje community about the option of resettlement to Zantiguila. The exciting news is that, after previous reluctance to leave, approximately 70 households (about 500 people, including 375 children) have indicated a desire to be resettled at Zantiguila.

We are planning to meet with the players at Zantiguila, including– the IDPs currently living there, representatives of the aid agencies, and the businessman who donated the land. We expect to be partnering with them and are looking to determine the roles and responsibilities of each agency, what services they are providing, and what gaps need to be filled. We will then define ATEGs specific role in the process.

Although there are major aid agencies involved, their resources devoted to Zantiguila are limited. The issue is that there are over 41 million IDPs globally, with many any of them living in conflict zones. The plight of 1,000 IDPs living in a garbage dump is hardly a blip on their radar. So the future of these Faladje IDPs rests in large part on ATEG. Although this is the most ambitious project that we have ever taken on, our wonderful GlobalGiving donors have always come through and given us the encouragement and financial support to make the impossible happen. We hope you will join us on this journey.

Children of the Faladje IDP Camp

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Dec 22, 2020
Relocating 500 children out of a garbage dump

By Mitch Lewis | Executive Director

In Bamako, Mali the Falhadie IDP Camp is home to over 1,000 IDPs who fled the violence in Central Mali. Over half of them are children. They are living under the most deplorable conditions. Their community is on an active garbage dump, adjacent to the livestock market. The smell from the market is horrible and the animal waste creates a breeding ground for disease. They are suffering from food insecurity, but growing food on this site would pose a great health hazard. The garbage at the dump is always being burned in an attempt to create more space. The fumes from the burning garbage are toxic, causing many in the community to suffer from upper respiratory illness. Although the government wants them relocated, their attempts have been unsuccessful. This is primarily due to the lack of advance planning of a comprehensive resettlement program.

Falhadie community leaders have asked ATEG to intervene on behalf of these IDPs. We initiated our intervention by running a series of Focus Groups to ensure we had community buy-in. It was essential for us to learn why previous attempts at relocation had failed. These sessions revealed that they were anxious to move, but their new home had to be close enough to the livestock market so that the animal traders could continue their trade. They were also interested in relocating to arable land and having us develop an agriculture plan so they could gain food security and sell surplus crops as a source of income. ATEG has formed a team of agricultural and livestock experts, including some of the world’s greatest authorities on the subject of food insecurity.

ATEG has been in conversation with the Mayors and Prefects of a number of cities, all a very short distance from Bamako, about leasing a parcel of arable land for development. It appears that we have a tentative agreement from Mountougoula Commune, a city about 12 km from Bamako. Because of the enormity of the entire project, we will begin with a pilot project that will include relocating a limited number of families. We will dig wells, install latrines, build mud huts and cultivate the land. Before we begin any of the physical work, we intend to run a public relations campaign in the host community so that they understand how they will all benefit by welcoming the Falhadie IDPs. We expect that our pilot project will establish proof of concept. At that point we will proceed to Phase 2, which is the relocation of the entire IDP camp.

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Aug 28, 2020
Food Insecurity at the Falhadie IDP Camp

By Mitch Lewis | Project Leader

As part of the ATEG program to limit the spread of Covid-19 among the street children of Bamako, Mali, we donated 33 portable hand wash stations. We distributed them to schools, facilities that shelter abandoned children, and IDP Camps. During this process, the Falhadie IDP Camp reached out to us seeking help with severe food insecurity at their camp.

The Falhadie Camp is home to 1,000 IDPs who fled the violence in Northern and Central Mali. Over half of them are children. They are living under the most deplorable conditions. The site was built on an active garbage dump, next to the livestock market. The small from the market is horrible and the garbage at the dump is always being burned in an attempt to create more space. The fumes from the burning garbage are toxic, causing many in the community to suffer from upper respiratory illness. To add to their suffering, the government has no social safety net, and they have no reliable source for food.

In response to their outreach, ATEG has formed a team of agricultural and livestock experts, including some of the world’s greatest authorities on the subject of food insecurity. We initiated our intervention by ensuring we had community buy-in. We ran a series of gender specific Focus Groups. There were groups were participation was limited to only women, others for men only, and some were mixed groups. We are analyzing the data from this input and will be developing a plan. The community understands that aid is not a permanent answer, and their long term survival is dependent on them achieving a sustainable solution. Together we will work towards establishing food security and economic independence through community led programs for agricultural and livestock. We are also exploring the possibility of relocating the community to a more environmentally friendly site.

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