Adama and Lassine TRAORE: Born on 02/03/2002, these twins are father orphans. Since then, they have had a difficult life with their mother. As it is costums in Mali, the twins use to accompany their mother to the Grand Mosque and to the markets of Bamako to beg for food and money. Due to the lack of minimum living needs, the mother had to forgo her work of horticulture for the benefit of begging as she was struggling to feed her children.

Because of the begging the children could not properly attend school and had to miss classes to search for a way to put food in their tommy. Hence they were held back in school and lost the whole 2009-2010 accademic year. Currently, Adama and Lassine are supported entirely by ACFA. Their school situation has been re-established, they are attending school and which the help of ACFA financed tutors, they have improved and have moved up from the bottom 5% to the top 10% of their class in just three months. Additionally they are doing great in the basketball classes as well as the Taekwondo classes that they are taking, all financed by ACFA.



Saleh and Korotoumou SINAYOKO: These are brother and sister. Korotoumou was borna round 2004, and Saleh around 2005. They came to ACFA-Mali without any birth certificate. Additionally their parents could not agree on a birth date for either of them. Their father is alcoholic and their mother has mentally ill. She is not reliable and used to abandon the children unaware of the extend of her acts on her children.

Saleh and Korotoumou have 9 (nine) older brothers and sisters, none of whom have ever attended any schools. Upon their arrival to ACFA-Mali, Saleh and Korotoumou have been issued birth certificates and have been enrolled in shcool. They are in first grade and are doing great in school. In addition to school work like all students, they have tutors that teach them extra hours and they aslo are taking Taekwondo classes.


 

Assana and Fousseni DIALLO: Assana and Fousseni also came to ACFA-Mali without any birth certificates. They were born around 2004 and are twins who have lost their father and the mother is incapacitated, and use to take them on the streets to beg for food and money to survive.

They attended the first grade in 2009-2010, and due to lack of financial resources and time needed to study, they were both held back in school, and ACFA had to re-register them in first grade. They are doing well in school now and are taking advantage of the tutor’s instruction as well as the Taekwondo classes.


Bily and Fanta KONATE: These twins were born on 12/08/2005. The father has left the country for Guinee since 2006, and has not been in touch with the family, hence abondoning the mother and the twins. The make ends meet the mother reverted to begging on the street with the twins.

These children had not been in school and are now enrolled in first grade and are performing well not only in school but also in their Taekwondo classes, where they want to be Gold Medal Winners one day.

Fatoumata Sow is just one of the many underprivileged children in Mali. The oldest of four children, she was born in the town of Satigila, in the Sikasso region of Mali. She has never been to school, and does not know her own age. Her mother passed away in February of 2010, and her father, who supports his family on $20 a month, took the opportunity to offer her a better life by accepting a family friend’s offer to take her to Bamako in the hopes that she could gain an education and have more opportunities outside of her village. [read more]

“Kadidiatou Kolohogon lost her father and was living with her mother who could not provide for her, as she had 4 other children to care for, and no ways of earning a living. Bassan Doumbia is a vulnerable child whose father has fled the family in Bamako for Sikasso.  For over 3 years the family has no information on the father, the bread winner’s where about.  The mother takes her to the streets to beg for food and money. ”

No amount is too small, and you would be surprised how much the smallest amount can impact the life of a vulnerable child in Mali. If you are interested in learning more or donating, please visit our donation page where you can contribute to the cause of the most vulnerable in Mali. Your donations will go a long way. Thank you for your support.

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