Mali

Mali, known as the jewel in West Africa’s crown, boasts a long and fascinating history. The mysterious city of Timbuktu, alone, is enough to raise eyebrows.  Add to that the Sahara desert, trade routes on camel caravans, and the fascinating Tuareg & Bozo tribes and you have an extraordinary story.  But it is the poverty of Mali, ranked the fourth poorest country in the world by UNICEF, which has caught the attention of Compassion Corps.

Mali was conquered by the French in the middle of the 19th century, became part of the Sudanese Republic in 1958 and became an independent republic in 1960.  Ninety percent of Malians are Muslim with the rest following animist beliefs.  Timbuktu has been a center for Islamic learning since the Middle Ages.

Areas in which CC has been invited to partner include efforts in and around the city of Timbuktu where our partner, Pastor Nouh Ag Infa Yattara, has his ministry.  CC is working to help children, especially the orphaned & abandoned children of Timbuktu’s “Belt of Misery” by supporting the Elijah House Youth Center.   Compassion Corps also promotes village and project adoptions (wells & irrigation systems, schools, clinics) which permit economic development in regions of great need.  Another vital focus is bringing teams of medical professionals to malnourished peoples who have little to no access to medical care, yet who live in a region plagued with malaria and countless other diseases.  CC also invests time and resources toward helping to develop vocational training for destitute women at the Timbuktu Women’s Center.

Short-term teams revel in a walking tour of the city of Timbuktu as Pastor Nouh shares its fascinating history.  It is an unforgettable experience to sit on a mat under an acacia tree with a village chief, or to learn a traditional dance with a tribal woman, or to eat goat and millet out of one bowl with 8-10 others…all of this leaving the visitor yearning for their simplicity and joy in the midst of great difficulty.