Education Mali Project #4159

Support Mali's Vulnerable Children

by A Child For All, ACFA Inc.

Project Report | Apr 30, 2024
Expansion continues with your help!

By Lisa J Savitt | Chair of the Board, A Child for All

Mural painting project at ACFA

What a wonderful start to 2024!

Although Mali is going through difficult times, the ACFA children are continuing to learn and thrive, and the Zorokoro Children’s Complex is entering a new phase. This is despite ongoing electricity outages and extreme heat of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) during some of the first quarter of 2024.

By January, the Zorokoro Children’s Complex (“Complex”) community library and computer lab was finally finished, and books and other materials were transferred from the temporary library and computer lab to the beautiful two-story new building. The work of setting policies and procedures in place and cataloging of the books began in earnest. A soft opening is set for the first week of May and the official inauguration will be the end of May.

The garden and agricultural projects at the Complex are really coming along. ACFA now has lots of vegetables including tomatoes, onions and cucumbers and even an arboretum with fruit trees such as mango and guava blossoms! Teachers at the ACFA Complex school are incorporating environmental lessons into the curriculum daily. The children enjoy caring for the vegetable beds and watering the plants. This project also expands the potential opportunities the ACFA children may have in future agricultural vocations.

In its’ strategy of diversification and improved opportunities for Mali’s vulnerable children, ACFA has now implemented an arts program. ACFA hosted its first new artistic event: mud cloth painting, known in the Bambara language in Mali as “bogolan,” meaning “made with the earth.” Bogolan is Mali’s renowned dyeing technique of cotton material, made with natural dyes. This event was made possible thanks to the pro bono support of Korka Kassogue, a renowned Malian artist designer, comedian, and photographer. After introduction to the concept of bogolan, the tools, cloth, paintbrush etc., and observation of Korka’s execution of a sample, the children were each given their own canvas to paint on their own. Art is a good way of expression for children and can help educators to detect talents and provide guidance for vocational training.

Continuing with art projects, ACFA teenager Alassane and students from the American International School Bamako (“AISB”) painted a mural on the wall of the dormitory at the Complex. The mural includes maps of Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Mauritania and Ghana, all linked by the national colors of Mali. The toddlers of the Complex joined in and put their handprints with paint on the mural.

On March 8th, 2024, ACFA celebrated International Women's Day in several ways. ACFA staff at the Complex discussed with the children the concept of social inequalities and justice, while one of the teachers explained the importance of equal opportunities in education for everyone and gave examples of female ministers in the Malian government.

Malian musicians performed a mini concert in the new ACFA community library and computer lab with national songs praising women. The children enjoyed the music and dancing, and will be taking lessons on how to play instruments. ACFA plans for more humanitarian artist visits soon.

The older children continue to play sports and work towards independence. Diakassan won another gold medal in fencing.

A Child for All is grateful to all its supporters and is proud of what ACFA has accomplished so far in its’ journey and looks forward to continuing its holistic approach supporting Mali’s vulnerable children. We cannot do this without the generous support of our donors. There is much more planned – please help us.

Please consider donating to ACFA today to support our continued growth and enable more vulnerable children to receive what all kids deserve: care, a safe and loving home, nutritious food, an education and opportunity.

Thank you.

Links:

Website

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Dec 29, 2023
Gratitude for a remarkable year

By Lisa Savitt | Chair of the Board, A Child for All

We have been most fortunate this year as ACFA continued to grow in many ways.

We opened the new school year at the ACFA Zorokoro Children’s Complex this fall with 100 children! In addition to the ACFA children, we also provide education to children from surrounding villages. We now have lower, middle, and upper sections of kindergarten, 1st grade, and for the first time ever, a 2nd grade. We hired 3 new teachers and bought supplies for our expanded school size. We also feed all the students at the school. Our ACFA family at the Complex grew with the addition of three new 5 year old boys in November. This puts us at 25 children, which is our current capacity for housing. The older children in Bamako continue their schooling or vocational training, and are moving towards independence learning life skills such as budgeting, how to save money, and responsibility for one’s self.

Other exciting news is the completion of the construction of the ACFA Community Library and Computer lab. This was generously funded by B2Gold and will benefit not only the children at ACFA, but the entire community. We plan to hold English, literacy and computer classes that will be open to the public. We also plan to have a culture corner” where we can share about different cultures from the United States and Mali including music and dance, as well as storytelling.

Another addition to the ACFA Zorokoro Children’s Complex this fall was the installation of a new basketball Court! 1001 ASAP and CD13 collaborated to fund our basketball court at Zorokoro. This is the first step to having a sports complex at the Zorokoro Children’s Complex.

ACFA is continuing to work towards our vision of environmental sustainability. ACFA has a farm that has been dormant. Thanks to a donation, the farm now has a well and we are hoping to be able to fund fencing for the eventual use for livestock and crops. The farm will not only help feed the children, but can be used to raise money by selling products at the market and also provide training opportunities for the children. At the Zorokoro Children’s Complex we have been expanding the garden there by planting trees and vegetables. The children help daily by tending the beds and sheep. They were so excited to pick the first crop of cucumbers in November, and now the garden is producing eggplant, lettuce and more!

Please consider donating to ACFA today to support our continued growth and enable more vulnerable children to receive what all children deserve: care, safety, and opportunity. Thank you for your generous and continued support of ACFA.

Links:

Website A Child for All

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Aug 31, 2023
ACFA children have a busy end to the academic year

By Lisa J Savitt | Chair of the Board, A Child for All

It has been a busy and fruitful summer at A Child for All (ACFA)!

As part of our environmental initiative and goal towards sustainability, we have continued to plant trees around the ACFA Zorokoro Children’s Complex. This includes mango seedlings, which the children enjoy watering and caring for.

The children enjoyed a break from school before starting a summer school program including kindergarten and first grade classes. In addition to the 22 ACFA children, we also teach children from the surrounding villages. We still want to help more vulnerable children at the Complex. Please help us to build out the rest of the dormitory so we can take in 100 vulnerable children.

Every few weeks, the first grade students at the Zorokoro Children's Complex practice story telling with the books in the temporary library. The story is chosen from a theme of the week and the theme is mostly supported by the visual aids of the books. Some of the stories are written in Bambara and some children can recall them because they have heard the stories before and they are happy to see the stories told in a book. The final touches are being completed for the permanent community library and computer lab, and planning is underway for setting up and running the library with community involvement.

Supplementing the classroom education, teaching our children life skills and responsibilities is part of our program. While not in class, the younger children at the Complex help with daily chores such as preparing food in the kitchen or weeding the vegetable garden. The ACFA children still have plenty of time to play and run around the Complex. From tending the garden, ACFA also ensure that the children understand about a healthy diet and the environment.

Our staff in Mali continues to build relationships and support within the community around the Zorokoro Children’s Complex. For example, they recently met with a local village council to teach them about ACFA, and learn about the challenges facing people within their community. Outreach like this helps with all aspects of support for the Zorokoro Children’s Complex. We are particularly focused on support for the ACFA school as well as the upcoming community library and computer lab.

Speaking of vocational training, we have an ACFA success story to share! One of our teenagers at the Bamako Children’s Home, Fousseyni, graduated from the culinary school, École Hotelliere Chaka Sidibe in June! To celebrate Fousseyni's achievement, our founder, Kadiatou, and the chef who owns the restaurant that Fousseyni currently has a paid internship at, Le Loft, attended the ceremony.
Insecurity has long affected Mali’s economic system, making it challenging for many Malians to achieve employment and financial security. One of our four primary goals at ACFA is to equip ACFA children with the education needed to be able to support themselves within the Malian economy or wherever their lives take them. We are so grateful for the support of the ACFA community in making a difference in these children’s lives.

Please consider donating to ACFA today to support our continued growth and enable more vulnerable children to receive what all kids deserve: care, safety, and opportunity. Thank you for your generous and continued support of ACFA.

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