Mali: report 2013

June, July, August 2013 :  After several months of negotiations, we are finally ready to start another year working with UNICEF on the programme to fight malnutrition.  In addition to this, we will be working with them to protect children through a strengthened system especially for children in emergency situations in the region around Gao.  To do this we will establish a system to radically improve the protection of children and we will work in very close collaboration with the technical services.

The programme will address several issues.  It will be concerned with displaced children, or those who have become separated from their families (of whom several were recruited by the djihadists during the conflict).  It will attempt to locate children born in 2012 and 2013 in order to issue them with birth certificates.  In addition, it will address the problem of access to healthcare, fight against sexual abuse, fight against the use of child labour and work to prevent accidents caused by unexploded mines.  This will involve a considerable amount of work and cover both the Gao and Ansongo regions.

Because of the security situation in Gao, Sophie still doesn’t have authorisation to live permanently in Gao.  She is permitted to visit once a month so she is directing her team of 21 people from the capital, Bamako.

Thanks to mobile telephony and the Internet, operations in Gao continue to function well.  The offices of our reception centre, Oasis Zankey Aljanahugo, have now been set up and it will soon be possible to welcome children there.

Our orphans are all well and our operations are running smoothly.  Badra is still working with the children, his primary occupation is sourcing milk and other supplies.  He also supervises the Saturday distributions which are made by Oura and Fatoumata.  Our guard, Abdoulaye, is helping out as well with preparing the sachets of millet, rice and flour.

We would like to extend warm thanks to the French organisation « SAISON » for donating clothes and toys to the AAG orphans.

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Setting up the offices in the reception centre


Distribution of toys by the organisation « Saison »

Saouda enjoys sweeping the courtyard