Help 30 Hungry Villages in Gao-Mali Grow Food NOW!

We are so grateful for your generous support of the Gao, Mali work to provide more food for hungry families.

General Conditions in Gao

Although the occupation is over, people are still living under terrorist threat, with rockets fired into Gao at least once a month. Both electricity and water are still off and on. And sometimes a neighborhood has an entire day without such basic services.

Refugee families, who fled during the occupation, are now continuing to return home. This is putting the town under great pressure to meet the basic needs of a growing population in the absence of many public services.

Women’s Gardens are producing well, thanks to your support

The village women’s organization is very happy to have been able to increase the productivity of their gardens because of the Chiwara water pumps we purchased. Before the pumps there was just one planting season. With these pumps they can grow vegetables throughout the year. In addition to being able to feed their familes healthy food throughout the year, your contributions have allowed them to sell some of their vegetables in the Gao market. Your support has increased the purchasing power of women, allowing them to improve the nutrition and well-being of their families. These women gardeners have expressed their sincere gratitute for your participation in this BERADA/FOOD FIRST food project which has also made it possible for them to increase their family income so that their children can go to school.

Your support has allowed the farmers to explore new ways of growing rice

With your support, all of the villages of Gao received seeds in August of 2013. Because that harvest was not as productive as had been hoped, we have encouraged the farmers to use fish waste as fertilizer. Since the rice plots are next to the Niger River, capturing this now wasted resource makes sense. One of the farmer-fisherman reported that this is the first time anyone has thought about assisting them by providing fishing nets. He cited a Malian Songhoy proverb to make the point that if you put a fishing net in the hands of a Sorko (fisherman), he has his survival kit and he can take his life into his own hands.

Public technical services, including the Regional Office of Fishing, have not yet been re-established since the occupation of this area in 2012. The BERADA project directors have discovered that these fishermen need training to adapt this new technology. The fishermen are looking forward to having the support of extension agents to help with the proper use of fish waste as fertilizer. Your additional support now will help with this training.
The villagers of the Gao, Mali region are enormously grateful for your support, which has enabled them to assist the most vulnerable in their families and, at the same time, improve the nutrition of other families in their community.
Your support is even more urgent today as we have reports, that there is no rain.