Mali: report 2015

July-September 2015: The rainy season has arrived with disastrous consequences.  There is a severe lack of rain in some areas and flooding in other areas.  Many of the houses made of banco (mud bricks) have collapsed.  In the pasturelands, the animals are too weak and malnourished to withstand the inconsistency of the rains and many have died, much to the dismay of their nomadic farmers.  The lack of rain in certain regions coupled with the discovery of contaminated fertilizer has raised concerns among farmers who now fear a shortage of crops at harvest time.  This will be exacerbated by the current lack of funds in the international organisations such as the World Food Programme.
Insecurity in the region continues with frequent threats and terrorist attacks and a corresponding loss of life.  For this reason, there is no mission into the countryside in August.
During July, in collaboration with the DRS, the AAG helps train 163 community health workers in the district of Gao.
World Breastfeeding Week takes place from the 1st to the 7th August and the AAG decides to broadcast radio messages over a three-month period, informing people about the benefits of breastfeeding.  
Our orphans are all doing well but we must remain vigilant because the rainy season always brings an increase in cases of malaria, cholera and skin infections.  We make sure to stress the need for proper, basic hygiene when families come to the weekly distribution days.  Daouda is now in charge of the distributions while Oura is away on a Haj pilgrimage to Mecca.
We have learned that the Mayor of Gao has been suspended from his post for three months.  We need to have the reception centre protocol document resigned at the end of October.
In August, nine new-borns arrive, including a pair of boy twins and a pair of girl twins.  They have all lost their mothers, either during childbirth or in the weeks following it.
Sophie is too tired and unwell to travel to Gao in September.  Instead, she spends her time assessing the track-record of the Government over the last two years.  Her summary will provide a disappointing report for the country.

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