For anyone who has yet to make it all the way to Timbuktu, Mali is a landlocked nation situated in the hot and dusty plains of westernAfrica. With over 58% of the country being made up of theSaharaDesert and the rest of once-fertile savannah land, was an empire in its own right prior to the Moroccan invasion of 1591. Made up of a population of which over 90% are Muslim and containing a once world-famous seat of learning in the heartland of its capital, Timbuktu, Mali is now one of the most politically and socially stable countries inAfrica. But despite such political success, environmental and economic disasters have left much of poverty-stricken and helpless.
Why?
Adverse weather conditions, deterioration of fertile and cultivated land, inadequate health services, and a lack of funds for education have all led to the demise of rural village life throughout Mali. The decline of cash crops caused by extreme weather has led to such staggering poverty that people are barely able to feed themselves or their families. Infant mortality is at its highest ever as diseases such as malnutrition and malaria grip entire village populations. With no education infrastructure available to help create future teachers or doctors, the country’s future development is now bleak.
How?
To help ’s most dire villages establish the prospect of a future, emel has established its Mali Village Appeal supporting Islamic Relief. Geared towards long-term provision of education and health services, sanitation, food security strategies, and helping to create income-generation opportunities, monies raised will help some of the world’s most vulnerable people to reach services that the rest of us take for granted. To do this we need your help.
The Target:
Our mission is simple: to raise £50,000 to help four rural villages in. These villages are Sanankoro Djitoumou, Ouelessebougou, Bougoula and Tiele. The money raised will help provide:
Education:
4 new classrooms
1 headmaster’s office
2 warehouses
3 blocks of latrines
1 school renovation
25 trained teachers
41 trained school managers
3 fully equipped classrooms
Health:
1 equipped maternity centre
1 community health centre with nutrition standard assessment tools, nutritional food and birth attending kits
6 fully trained socio-sanitary agents to provide children & mother malnutrition screening
12 fully trained village extension agents to facilitate community based nutritional support, epidemic and transmissible diseases control promotional activities
6 trained traditional midwives who will facilitate health information, monitoring pregnancies before and after births
Income Generation:
2 grinding mills
2 vegetable producers’ groups
2 capacity building programmes
For our part we will be doing all sorts of crazy money raising schemes which we want you to support, and we also want you to raise the funds through your creative genius. You can give your money to Islamic Relief through this Just Giving page or send a cheque to emel, Mali Village Appeal, Barakat House, 4th Floor, 116 Finchley Road, London NW3 5HT. Cheques should be made payable to emel - Mali Village Appeal.
For money raising tips see the Ramadan issue of emel at www.emel.com
