Sweet Dreams Educational Project – Mali.

The Sweet Dreams Educational project is based in Mopti, a small town in the West African State of Mali; the 4th poorest country in the world according to the UN.  If you want to find Mali on the map, look directly below Algeria.  It’s that enormous largely blank chunk of desert sandwiched between Mauritania to the West and Niger to the East, two other enormous, largely blank, chunks of desert. 

There are actually two projects; Yeredeme and an educational fund for local children, both run by Dominique Lusardy, a French Algerian woman living in Mali for the past 14 years and whom I have known for the past three.  

Yeredeme is a centre for very young unmarried mothers living on the streets of Mopti. They operate a small restaurant and make and sell jam, dried fruit, meat and Shea Butter, a natural skin cream.  Some of the girls are as young as 14 or 15, many were originally destitute and stories of rape among them were common. Others, due to lack of education, didn’t even understand where their children came from.


While there is a very strong tradition of the family as the centre of society in Mali it is a Muslim country and this has a considerable effect on the treatment the  girls receive and the way they are perceived by the community at large. 
There is still enormous social stigma around unmarried mothers in some sections of the community and there was considerable local opposition to the project when it opened. 

At Yeredeme the girls can work without harassment, receive certification for the training they receive and bring in a small wage. This last point is very important, given the poverty most of the girls live in. Many live in one room houses of mud, with no running water or electricity. Many come from large extended families of 12 or 15 people where any extra mouths to feed are a considerable burden. The girls bring their children to work with them as it’s a safe environment and they can feed them while at work.



Education in Mali is not free. In a country of often absolute poverty it is difficult for parents to see the long term benefits of sending a child to school when they are needed here and now; often as bread winners, often when there is nothing to eat. Money From the fund is not given to parents but paid directly to the schools. The fund helps in the education of local children in a particularly poor part of Mopti. The girls at Yeredeme, and their children, also have access to the fund.

In the last three years I have raised almost € 5000 for both projects. Several of the girls, who were previously living on the streets, are now in full time education in Bamako, the capital.  



While in Mali, in November 2007, I spent time with Moulay a young man who is a recipient of the educational fund. There are between 90 and 120 pupils in some classes in Mali and Moulay is deaf in one ear.  In the past he has had great trouble hearing what was being said in school. He is a very bright young man but he fell very far behind in his lessons and was in danger of being expelled from school as he had began drinking and had become involved with drugs.  Through Dominque he was sent to Bamako where he did a short computer course. For Moulay it was a revelation because he no longer had to struggle to hear what was being said.  He now works for the government in the treasury offices in Mopti and at night studies to be an accountant.  So far he has three years completed, he has four more to go. 





And finally....

Here are a few facts and figures about Mali for you to ponder...

* Mali is the 4th poorest country in the world.
* The average wage is €250 per year.
* The infant mortality rate in Ireland is 5 deaths per 1000 births, in Mali its 134, the highest in Africa 
* 25% of children suffer with malnutrition.
* Only 19% of the population in Mali can read or write, of that figure only 12% are women. 
* The average life expectancy is 49 for men and 51 for women.
* There about 6 landline telephones, 10 TVs and 40 radios per 1000 people. 
* In Ireland there are approximately 3 doctors per 1000 people. In Mali there are 22,500 per trained doctor. 
* There is one pass machine in the entire country.