Vaccinate Children and Prevent NINE Diseases

It's a long, bumpy dirt road to the remote village of Farani. A crowd of mothers and their children wait patiently under a large tree and cheerfully greet the vaccination team when they arrive. Infants like Coulibaly receive his vitamin E drops and a round of vaccinations. He cries when he gets his shot, but his mother Sida is happy knowing that her son is being protected from life-threatening diseases. The Health Matron in Farani said, "Since Farani started receiving vaccinations, we have only had one infant death in several years." Village families have the peace of mind knowing their children can live happier, healthier lives.

Because of your support, children like Coulibaly have a chance for a healthy start.  Our vaccination program runs from October - June. Last year, 8,418 children ages 5 and under received immunizations in and around rural Ouelessebougou. This is only possible through the generosity of donors like you.Together we have brought health and hope to this corner of the world.

We envision a future where the children of Ouelessebougou will no longer suffer from preventable diseases, malnutrition or other devasting effects of poverty due to the lack of health or education opportunities. Thank you for investing in our programs and supporting our efforts to improve the quality of life for our village friends. 

Recently, I have been reading critiques on international NGOS written by anthropologists, development experts, academics and other individuals intimately familiar with the field. I strongly believe that no individual or organization is above criticism, and for this reason I've been introspectively analyzing not only the Ouelessebougou Alliance, but the organizations that we partner with as well.

The strongest critique that I have consistently found in these papers, both academic and editorial, is the lack of sustainability in programs implemented by certain international non-profit organizations. Sometimes, programs have been designed by individuals that, while knowledgeable, are far removed from the daily struggles affecting their target populations.

Although the Alliance, like any other organization, certainly has room for improvement, we continue to pride ourselves in our model of development which emphasizes sustainability and villager involvement above all else. Unfortunately, countless stories exist of well-intentioned initiatives failing due to a lack of buy-in from the local populace. While we have problems like any other organization, this is not one of them. All Alliance programs are villager-initiated and emphasize sustainability - a fact we are very proud of.

Lastly, nearly all of the papers I read emphasized vaccinations as a simple but effective way to change lives. I know this to be true because I have heard of it first-hand from our field director. For the villagers of Ouelessebougou, vaccinations represent several additional years of life, as opposed to a routine visit to the doctor like it may be for many of us. Thank you for supporting our vaccination program. Thank you for caring about the people of Mali. Most importantly, thank you for saving lives.