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The MALI ASSISTANCE PROJECT
| The Mali Assistance Project was established to assist
the village of Foutaka Zambougou in Mali, West Africa, which has about 1500
residents. This is the home village of renowned master drummer
Abdoul Doumbia, who currently resides in
Boulder, Colorado. In 1999 Karen Marx, a djembe drumming student of Abdoul's,
traveled with him to Zambougou, where they were welcomed with open arms by
Abdoul's family and fellow villagers. Upon examining the stores of food, it
became apparent that these warm-hearted, generous people were soon to be facing
a desperate situation. Due to a drought, compounded by a flood washing away the
fields of planted seeds, Abdoul's family and the villagers were soon to be out
of food. " "The Mali Assistance Project" was founded in August of 1999 by Karen
Marx and Abdoul Doumbia, under the umbrella of "Witness", a 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization founded by Jeff Long. Through a fund-raising drive,
$10,000 was donated. |
| SUMMARY
OF EFFORTS TO 10/2002 |
PHASE ONE -
Abdoul and Karen traveled to Mali in October 1999, and purchased 33
tons of food in the town of Segou, including 55,000 pounds of millet, 5,500
pounds of peanuts, and 5,500 pounds of beans. Four huge trucks were rented and
driven 4 1/2 hours through mud and flooded-out roads to arrive in the village
of Foutaka Zambougou. There are 81 families in the village, with some families
having as many as 35 members. The timing was critical, in that the villagers
had rationed food for some time and had not eaten anything in two or three
days. Without our assistance, the people of Zambougou would, most likely, have
starved to death! The amount of food purchased would provide 6.88 oz of food
per person per day for three months. Keep in mind that this is not a "side
dish" but the millet, beans, and peanuts are all they have, with the exception
of chickens and a few goats & sheep that are sacrificed on special
occasions. When you look at the actual quantity of food mentioned here, you
realize that it is not much, but it is enough to survive. " The Chief, the
Marabou (spiritual leader), and the elders of Zambougou determined the
procedure for distributing the food. Each family came forward with their donkey
and cart, loaded their food, and transported it to their dwelling area. In the
afternoon, a grand celebration took place with drummers, a "griot" singer, and
about 100 women and men from the village dancing. " Contributions came from all
over the United States, from Europe, and even from Australia and South Africa.
PHASE TWO -
Plans began to create an irrigation system for the 81 farms.
Research into potential irrigation and human-powered pumping systems by MAP was
conducted. Innumerable conferences were held with members from MAP and IDE, an
international development organization located in Colorado and primarily funded
by the Swiss (dedicated primarily to water projects around the world), and with
engineers and associates from CU, led by Professor Bernard Amadei. NGO's were
contacted in Mali and Europe to discuss their efforts regarding wells and
pumps. It was determined that a "rope pump system" is the only human-powered
system that would be effective with the depth of the wells in Zambougou being
60 to 70 feet. . We planned to dig 40 tube wells for the 81 farms and to
provide pumps, holding tanks, and drip irrigation systems to enable the
villagers to farm year-round, instead of only during the four-month rainy
season, staving off future threats of drought and starvation and to create a
sustainable environment with "appropriate technology". " Another goal of Phase
Two has been to help the village with digging and constructing additional wells
to increase the availability and quality of water. Existing wells are
contaminated, and are insufficient to supply the water needed for the village
population.
ENGINEERS
WITHOUT BORDERS - MAP enlisted the assistance of Bernard Amadei,
Professor in Engineering from the University of Colorado. Professor Amadei
created an organization called Engineers
Without Borders - USA. In 2002 arrangements were made to send Professor
Amadei to Mali in June with Abdoul Doumbia, to provide an engineering
assessment of needs in the village. " Professor Amadei's visit to Zambougou was
successful in terms of delivering valuable information and recommendations.
With his visit, we became aware of the serious water shortage and extreme
contamination of existing water. " Prior to this excursion, a grant was awarded
to Professor Amadei for Zambougou through the CU-Outreach program through the
Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering (CEAE) Department at CU
Boulder Department of Engineering, in the amount of $8,000. " Additionally,
"Safe Systems", a Colorado-based company, donated to Professor Amadei several
solar water pasteurization units for use in the village.
PHASE THREE - Ultimately, we
intend to build a small school, and a medical facility to care for the
residents of the four villages clustered near each other. Currently, the
villagers have to walk approximately 8 hours to the town of Segou to receive
medical attention. " Professor Amadei has recommended several micro-enterprise
opportunities for the village, such as fabrication of clay pots for water
filtration and the manufacture of rain catching systems and holding tanks. " We
hope that the improvements and education about water systems that Zambougou
receives will then be shared among the surrounding villages and ultimately
throughout the Sahel region of Mali.
October 2002 -
The current situation in Foutaka Zambougou: " The five primary
wells in the village of Foutaka Zambougou have nearly dried up, with a foot or
two of muddy water at the bottom of each well. " Rainwater collected in a swamp
area feeds into one shallow well. The animals use this swamp for drinking and
bathing. With sheep, goats, and donkeys going into this swamp, the
contamination issue is beyond imagination. This is the primary source of
drinking water for the people in the village. It is no wonder that half of the
children die before the age of five and many people are ill. " Women collect
some water for their families by walking five miles to the village of Teserila,
with a large calabash shell on their heads, to carry water back to the village
of Zambougou. " Imagining what this means to the villagers to have so little
water is dreadful. They have only muddy water to drink and very little; limited
muddy or contaminated, worm-infested water with which to cook; having no water
to bathe children or adults or particularly the babies. Mothers do not have
diapers for the babies but use rags. Water is needed to wash these rags and the
babies. Husbands and wives cannot make love without water with which to wash. "
The dry season begins mid-October, at which point the swamp and the wells will
dry up for the first time since they were hand-dug some 50 to 100 years ago. "
Most disturbing, we learned a few days ago, is that their crops failed again
due to the current drought and the villagers will be out of food in about a
month from now. There is no possibility of help from the Mali government. The
twenty villages near Zambougou are also about to run out of food; whereas in
1999, the other villages had enough to get them through the winter. "
It is urgent that aid be provided within the month.
Immediate efforts: " MAP and EWB-USA have contacted two Peace Corps volunteers
who are committed to assisting Zambougou and are now in Mali, requesting that
they seek help from the US Embassy, USAID, and the Peace Corps. We are waiting
to learn whether help is possible from these sources. As for the water issue,
we feel that the best course of action is to deepen the existing five essential
wells to find a deeper aquifer. To do this, a drilling rig and operator must be
hired and sent to the village. A machine must now be used due to the depth of
the wells. Currently, the wells are about 65 feet deep. The village of
Teserila, about 5 miles away, has a well that is about 85 feet deep and has a
good supply of water. The Zambougou wells probably need another 20 feet of
depth.
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Important
Note:
This page is
provided as a service to The Mali Assistance Project by HumanSongs.
HumanSongs does not take
responsibility for any aspect of the program. |
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Copyright © HumanSongs Records |
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