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Children’s Program in Bamako, Mali

By Paula Al-Saihati

As you can see from the report sent out on September 22 below, the families are scattered and many now living under tarps.   We have identified 10 of our children that were in our school program.   Unfortunately, many are now far from not only the school they were originally attending but far from any school.    The school they were previously attending has allowed the children to pass (even though they did not finish the school year) if they were passing and attending at the time the IDP Faladje Camp was razed.  School started on October 1 and they have all this month to get reenrolled in another program.   At the time of this writing, we are still awaiting word of which children have been enrolled in a new school.  

As we start the new Women’s Training Program in a new building where the women can be trained by those previously in our programs, we will have a preschool program for the children that come with their mothers.  We will have a teacher for these children that are old enough to learn some basic educational skills.   

We are extremely grateful to those that have donated to our educational program as well as our other programs.  These vulnerable women and children have had many challenges but they have not given up and we will not either.   We will work with all those we can find as well as the little ones that will be coming soon to our newly leased building.

Shelter From the Storm

By Mitch Lewis | Executive Director

When the Malian government bulldozed 3 IDP Camps in Bamako, it caused 3,000-4,000 IDPs to flee. With no government plan or support, most ended up living on the streets of Bamako. With “rainy season” approaching, the IDPs were begging for tarp shelters to protect them from the elements. ATEG immediately responded to their pleas and supplied tarps to shelter 500 of the most vulnerable including the elderly, disabled and families with infants and young children. We expect this program to be ongoing as we provide shelters for additional IDPs who have been, once again displaced.

ATEG also responded to the unfortunate circumstances of the Women’s Coop. Over the years, ATEG had trained hundreds of these women in vocational skills which enabled them to provide for their families. When their facility was destroyed as part of the Faladje IDP Camps destruction, it left them not only homeless, but also unemployed. In response, ATEG has leased a building in Bamako to serve as their new workplace. It has rooms for the women to work as well as rooms in which additional women will be trained. There will also be a room which will serve as a childcare center so that mothers of young children can bring them to work. Additionally, the building has a storefront where the women can display and sell their merchandise.

ATEG is most grateful to our wonderful donors who allowed us to initiate this emergency response to the crisis. The IDPs of Bamako, as well as ATEG are most appreciative of your continued support, as we look to shelter additional vulnerable families.