One of Barouéli's early childhood care and development centres

Barouéli

Area: 4,714 sq. km
Population: 209,161
Areas of operation: 67 villages out of 213
Children sponsored: 7,750

The circle of Barouéli, located in the north western part of Segou, has a population mostly composed of Bambara, Sarakolés, Fulani and Bozo ethnic groups. The main activities are agriculture, livestock and trade.

Barouéli is ranked as one of Mali's poorest regions, and faces enormous challenges, including low rainfall and infertile soil, affecting agricultural production and livestock.

Plan has been working here since 2005 to improve children’s rights.

Programme highlights

Early childhood development

Plan has set up preschools for children aged 3 to 6 in 22 villages – boosting pre-schooling rates to 16%.

Plan has carried out activities to strengthen parent education on providing for and caring for children and training management committees of the centres to run and uphold the pre-schools. Plan has also provided equipment, toys and materials to the pre-schools, making learning fun and interactive.

An emphasis is placed on hygiene and sanitation through practices such as hand washing to curb diseases related to sanitation.

Primary education

Universal education for children is important to Plan, so as part of this aim  the construction of classrooms for students and learning materials have been provided to schools in Mali, to make education more accessible. Plan has also been training teachers to improve education quality.

Plan has been working hard to increase the amount of girls in school in Mali, providing personal hygiene areas, support and school kits, to improve learning and school conditions.

Child protection

Plan begins work to protect children against abuse and all forms of violence.

As part of the struggle to end the practice of female genital mutilation, a campaign to sensitise communities on the issue  is underway. Forty villages in Barouéli have so far been involved, helping to lift the taboo on this issue, and show women that it is wrong.

In addition, 20 village committees and municipal mayors have received training on the prevention and management of disaster risks in the context of child protection. This has enabled communities to develop contingency plans and response strategies, preparing their regions for when a disaster may occur.

Maternal and child health

Reducing maternal and infant mortality has been undertaken by 13 community health centres with Plan’s support.

Community volunteers have been trained in health care and a campaign has been launched to raise awareness of how to prevent and care for infections and diseases such as malaria,  sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS.

As a result of activities and workshops in communities, more pregnant women are visiting the health centres-  increasing  successful and safe births, as well as the amount of parents seeking prenatal and infant vaccinations.

Livelihood development

Plan set up classes for communities, particularly women, giving them the opportunity to learn new skills in maths and literacy. Members were then encouraged by Plan to pass on their skills to others in their communities. This has improved women’s opportunities and provided them with the chance of retaining a higher income through the implementation of ‘Saving for Change’  - a microfinance programme in Mali.

Read about Mali’s other programme units