Mali: report 2010

April 2010: There was a surprise for the children on the first Thursday of this month.  Along with their milk, each of them received a whole packet of biscuits donated by the Italian mission.

Day by day, however, the local situation worsens for families who have been displaced and also for those who have remained.  As always, it is the children who suffer most.

The food aid that we offer to the orphaned children has a positive impact on the women who look after them, they work more and more efficiently to maintain good standards of hygiene and keep the children healthy.

At the Nutritional Recovery Unit the children recover steadily.  As one child is returned to health and leaves another arrives to take their place.

Our situation is verging on that of our neighbours in Niger.  The countryside has become a vast, empty expanse of sand without a single blade of grass.  As a result, the livestock farmers are becoming desperate, there are no reserves left.  Our hope for the children rests on our partnerships with the WFP and UNICEF.  We have the strength and will to keep them healthy but we need the means to do so.

May 2010 :  For several days now the temperature has reached 51°C by 1pm.  Most of the children are suffering with heat rash.  The mango season has arrived and we have bought some for the children with the donation from the International Women’s Club of Nyon.  Mangoes are a valuable source of much needed vitamins and greatly appreciated.

The shrinking pastures and lack of water have driven the nomads into huge concentrations around the remaining wells, many of which are running dry.  This leads to tension and conflict.  Any remaining water is often contaminated by parasites harmful to people and livestock.  Unfortunately they have no choice but to drink the water.

The promised supplies of food for people and livestock haven’t arrived due to lack of funds available to pay for transportation.  The carcasses of animals litter the countryside.  It is important to understand that 95% of the population of this northern region rear livestock and depend on their animals.  Without water there is no pasture, without pasture there are no animals and without animals there are no nomads.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the veterinary services of Mali have undertaken an expanding project.  They are buying livestock from the nomads at the pre-crisis price to inject liquidity into the market and try and stabilise prices.  The animals are then slaughtered and the dried meat is distributed to the poorest group of the population.  Our orphans will benefit from this extra protein for several months to come.

To the great despair of the stallholders, the largest market in the northern region has, for a second time, gone up in flames.   Everything has been lost.

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Distribution of milk and biscuits

Awa - 3 month old - 1,5kg

Mango distribution