What is the life our godchildren like?

The area our godchildren live in is about 60 km away from the capital Bamako. It consists of 14 villages and it is very country-like. The village inhabitants live from agriculture in first instance. They also make gardening, trade and fishing as well as livestock breeding and they collect fruits. Unfortunately, the area is not very fertile. Therefore the harvesting is low. Families cultivate millet, sorghum, peanuts, maize, rice and cotton.

Eight estate schools, one pre-school and four traditional Koran schools are there for children, but not in reach for all of them. Furthermore there are seven health centers, with scarce access for the inhabitants. That is the reason why sick children cannot be treated appropriately. The most common children diseases are malaria, respiratory infections, diarrhea and malnutrition.

The Malians get water from the Niger River, out of traditional fountains and from the own boreholes. The water quality is generally bad since only few people have access to clean water. There is not enough nutrition available for all village inhabitants during bad harvesting periods. The bad state of the streets additionally complicates the access of schools, health centers and water.

Most of the girls are Muslims. Their language is Malinke. Some children are orphans and live with relatives. Furthermore people use common toilets.

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