Your kind gifts are making a world of difference by bringing clean water and new hope to families across Mali.
Mali is a land of vibrant culture and incredible resilience, yet families face the daily challenges of a changing climate and limited resources.
Your faithful regular giving provides a vital beacon of hope in Mali. By partnering with the local church, you’re helping to provide life-changing resources – like clean water and the skills families need to thrive.
Watch this video for a warm welcome to Mali from Issoufou Jadi, Tearfund Country Director.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pibCq9U1lI
You're supporting communities to prevent violence, peacefully resolve conflict and protect the rights of women and girls.
You’re enabling families to provide for themselves through vocational training and small business support, generating income and building resilience.
You’re helping churches respond to crises, provide healthcare, build water pumps and support vulnerable people.
Mali is a large, landlocked country in West Africa, where the Sahara Desert meets the Niger River.
Slide 1 of 3: 13,326 people trained in peaceful conflict resolution and protecting women’s rights.
Slide 2 of 3: 11,326 people’s livelihoods improved through skills training and small business support.
Slide 3 of 3: 18,742 people have gained access to drinking water through new and repaired water points.
13,326 people trained in peaceful conflict resolution and protecting women’s rights.
11,326 people’s livelihoods improved through skills training and small business support.
18,742 people have gained access to drinking water through new and repaired water points.
Your gifts are helping children thrive with clean water at school
Thanks to your generous love, Mahamadou's pupils no longer need to make a daily choice between getting water to survive, or getting an education to thrive.
Mahamadou Sanogo, known affectionately to his community as ‘Kièkorba’ or ‘the old man’, is a principal who cares for 815 pupils at his school. But for a long time, the lack of clean water made his students' lives incredibly difficult.
‘Before the help came... there was a water crisis,’ Mahamadou says. ‘The children were going to draw water from the marigots [streams], and also from the neighbouring families. It was really very difficult to see them in this situation.’
The lack of water didn’t just cause thirst – it stripped school staff and students of their dignity. Without a water source, the schools’ four small latrines were impossible to keep clean. ‘The smell was bad, it was very dirty,’ Mahamadou explains. This poor sanitation had a direct impact on the health of the children, frequently causing sickness and stomach pains.
With the closest water source being over a kilometre away, plant life was nonexistent, so children had no shade to protect them from the hot sun while at school.
The search for water was a daily gauntlet for students. ‘The risks faced by the children were enormous. Among these children, there were very small children... who went to fetch water from the well,’ Mahamadou says. ‘They risked snakebites. They even risked drowning.’
Even reaching out to the community was met with hostility as people chased them away due to the scarcity of water.
Top: Your support is helping provide the stable environment that Mahamadou needs to keep his school running smoothly and students learning without disruption. Bottom: Through your regular support which helps provide essential resources like clean water, you're helping Mahamadou create a better environment for over 800 pupils to learn.
Education also took a backseat to survival, with many students having to choose between their education or having water for their basic needs. ‘The impact on these children... they came to school late. They weren't regular in class and it really plays into their future,’ Mahamadou shares.
The burden was so heavy that he admits he once felt like giving up because the problems felt insurmountable.
But your generous support changed the story. Through local partners, a new water system was installed, along with standpipes within the schoolyard and outside the school grounds for wider use.
The transformation was immediate. Students now arrive ‘simply, fresh and without any problem.’
Your support reaches beyond the classroom. You have helped give hope and peace to Mahamadou, concerning the students in his charge.
The impact on their health has been profound. Because the school and the latrines can finally be kept clean, the children are no longer falling ill. ‘Now there is clean water so the problem of stomach ache is over,’ Mahamadou says with relief.
‘Now I can say that 10,000 people have already benefited.’
Crucially, the school is finally beginning to bloom. Mahamadou is now planting trees and flowers to provide the shade his pupils have long been denied. The project has even healed the wider community, as the families and people who once chased the children away now share this new water supply.
Mahamadou estimates the reach of this gift is vast: ‘Now I can say that 10,000 people have already benefited.’
Your generosity has transformed life for Mahamadou, his pupils, and thousands in the surrounding community. By helping to provide a sustainable source of water, the daily struggle for survival has been replaced with hope. Instead of fetching water, students are back in the classroom and able to focus on their education and a future free from extreme poverty.
Thank you.
Experience a taste of West African culture with Djouka, a traditional Malian dish made from a nutritious grain called fonio. It’s similar to couscous, naturally gluten-free, and packed with protein.
Your regular support helped fund church-led training. Gauthier now understands the importance of healthy, loving relationships within his family.
Your gifts are helping fathers like Gauthier lead themselves and their families out of poverty
Gauthier, 33, is a married father of two. For a long time, he felt his life was at a standstill. 'My relationship with other people was not good,' he admits. 'I often felt a little marginalised since I was on the sidelines.' This isolation was mirrored at home, where he felt he had to maintain total authority. 'I thought that I was the boss, so I can do whatever I want,' Gauthier reflects. 'Everything revolved around me alone... I did a lot of things without consulting [my wife].'
The turning point was the church-led training made possible by your support. These sessions focused on showing how faith, practical work, and healthy relationships are all connected. For Gauthier, the Bible studies changed his entire perspective on how to lead his family. 'This training... equipped us spiritually and physically too,' he shares. 'It allowed me to understand that I can do something... I can also manage my own life.'
Through your generosity, Gauthier gained a new perspective on partnership, leading to a stronger and more respectful marriage.
The change started with an attitude of partnership. 'Everything that happens in the family, I share with her,' Gauthier explains. 'Today our relationship is perfect.' By replacing his "boss" mentality with one of shared decision-making, Gauthier and his wife began working together to build a future for their children.
This restoration at home became the foundation for his success. Thanks to the training, Gauthier saved enough to buy an ox for fattening, eventually selling his livestock to buy land for his family. 'Today I feel really comfortable,' Gauthier says. 'I am independent and on good terms with everyone. I earn from my own efforts.'
Because of your faithful response to Jesus’ call, Gauthier now sees a family at peace. 'In the family, I am only flourishing,' he says. 'I bless the Lord for everything.'
Your support provided the training that helped Gauthier build a stronger, more peaceful relationship with his wife and children.
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