Closer to Her Children

Monday, March 13, 2006
By: Karla Leitzke

It is five in the morning, Djoliba, a devout Muslim, wakes up and says her first morning prayer. After a few minutes of dutiful prayer she is ready to start her day.

She is no different that most women in Segou, one of the nine regions of Mali, the largest country in West Africa, where one third of the population lives in poverty.

After prayer, Djoliba starts her family’s breakfast. She usually prepares local porridge that provides all the nutrients they need for the morning’s tasks. By seven o’clock her family is heartily eating their morning meal. Eventually each family member goes off in their own direction, and she cleans the house and yard, washes the clothes and goes to her ADRA women’s group. It is part of ADRA’s Community Education and Women’s Development project in Segou.

Djoliba is happy to arrive at her women’s group where she is taking the literacy classes provided by ADRA. Now, along with nineteen other women, she is learning about health, nutrition, the environment and civil rights. Some are trained in income generation management and receive loans to increase their family income.

For her and her classmates it is more than just a class—they have became very good friends. They enjoy learning together, sharing real life experiences, and supporting each other. They say they are friends for life.

Thanks to ADRA’s literacy classes, Djoliba can now read posters and newspapers; she feels she is part of the real world. She is more involved in her children’s education, helping them with their homework and studying together with them. She says ADRA has helped her to be closer to her children.

Djoliba also feels very comfortable going to the local health center and talking to the nurses. She is learning about health and nutrition and can completely understand the nurses’ advice and read her prescriptions. She doesn’t go to the local traditional doctor anymore.

After her class she is at home, preparing lunch. By noon her children arrive from school and a warm meal is ready. In the afternoon the boys go to the streets to sell cold water and the girls stay home helping with household chores like getting water at the nearest well, taking care of their younger siblings and helping with some millet grinding.

While her children are hard at work Djoliba starts to cook small cakes and grind millet to sell at the local market. Once finished she prays again before leaving the house.

She carries her products in a big bucket balanced on her head. She will stay at the market, selling her products for two hours. She can negotiate with her clients since she is now able to perform basic calculations. Once finished at the market she’s on her way back home, stopping only to buy some wood to cook dinner.

Once at home she prepares her mat and says another prayer before preparing dinner. Once dinner is ready, Djoliba relaxes a bit and talks to her neighbors and friends before saying another prayer at sundown. Soon dinner is served and the family gathers after a long day.

After dinner Djoliba will say her last prayer of the day. She then washes the dishes with her daughters as they talk about their day. Then she starts to prepare the house for everybody go to sleep.

It was another blessed day in Djoliba’s life. She is glad for the blessing of life, the strength to work and for the difference ADRA has made in he life. She is grateful that ADRA’s women’s group is assisting her and other women not just in literacy but also showing them how to be equal participants in Malian society. Most important they are learning to have healthier families and be more active in their children’s lives. Thanks to ADRA Djoliba says she is getting closer to her children day by day. She smiles. Today was another good day.

Djoliba is one of the 1,186 women that are benefiting from the Community Education and Women Development Project in Segou. 872 men also benefit from this project. This project is funded by the Swedish Mission Council through ADRA’s Office in Sweden.