SOS Children hard work in Mali

In Mopti, southern Mali, there are currently 4,638 displaced individuals, and the figure is expected to rise to 10,000 in the coming weeks. Many children who have arrived are separated from their parents and are in the care of extended family members. 

Three children who now attend the SOS School in Mopti are amongst those who fled the violence in the north. They currently live with fifteen others under one roof. Mr. Cissé, the father of two of the children and the guardian of the other, took on responsibility for thirteen children in his extended family, taking them to safety in the south whilst the parents stayed at home. Their trip south was long and painful. The travelled by road from Kidal to Gao, in various trucks. 

They then took a “pinasse” (a traditional flat fishing vessel) over the river from Gao to Mopti, taking several days due to the current dry season and low water levels. On their arrival, staff from the SOS School approached the family to offer the children an education, and three of the children in the group now attend the SOS School in Mopti, where they get a free meal for lunch and a good education. 

Children evacuated from SOS Children’s Village Mopti Last month, the children and SOS mothers living in the SOS Children’s Village Mopti were evacuated as a preventive measure in the aftermath of the advances of armed groups further south. They are now living at the other two SOS Children’s Villages in Sanankoroba and Kita