Where We Work

About Mali

Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is bordered by seven nations, and marked by the Niger River. The climate is mostly arid and desert.

There are many ethnic groups in Mali, including Bambara, Mandinka, Fula (Peuhl), Dogon, Songhai, and Tuareg. French is the official language, but Bambara is the primary spoken language.

Mali has a uniquely peaceful culture. Diatigiya, a national concept of hospitality, and sununkuya, or joking cousin systems soothe tensions between formerly warring groups, and allow for incredible conflict resolution and conviviality.

Mali is also the world's 3rd poorest country.

72.3 percent of the population lives with less than a dollar a day
81 percent of the adult population (15 and older) is illiterate
29 percent of the population suffers from malnutrition
Nearly 1/4 of the children die before the age of 5
Life expectancy is 47.9 years.

-- Source: DHS and the UN

"When you can use the earth as shoes and the sky as a hat,
you can claim to have understood the world a little."

-- Bambara proverb

The Mali Health Organizing Project works in the country of Mali, West Africa in a slum neighborhood called Sikoro.

93% of Mali's urban population lives in slums. -- UN-Habitat

We believe that places like Sikoro are particularly deserving of attention. According to the UN, a slum is an urban area that lacks:

Safe water
Sanitation
Secure tenure
Durable housing
Sufficient living area

Slums in Mali are neighborhoods. They are not violent; people are motivated and organized.

Dan te dinye na.
"The world is...limitless"
-- Bambara proverb

About Sikoro

Sikoro means "little old shea tree" and is a neighborhood just north of Mali's capital city of Bamako. An estimated 60,000 people live in Sikoro.

The people in Sikoro mostly come to the city from rural places hoping to find work. Houses are constructed out of mud-brick called banco and generally last only a few years. People stay in Sikoro for much longer than the typical lifetimes of their houses because they cannot afford to move into the city and are too ashamed to move back to their villages.

Few people in Sikoro own their land. Few people vote or pay taxes, so the government does not provide services. Some people in the town are 4 kilometers on hilly rocky pathways from water, clinical care, paved roads, or electricity.

Despite all of these hardships, Sikoro's people are active and engaged. The need for change and the potential for people to lead it make Sikoro an ideal site for Mali Health Organizing Project's community-committee model.

Click here for pictures from Sikoro.