After months of struggling to get by and not knowing where the next meal would come from, Maimouna Cisse has finally received some respite from the hunger that’s blighting Mali.
‘Today is a great day and our thanks go to those who’ve remembered the poor and needy,’ she says, after being supplied with 50kg of rice from Tearfund partner TNT.
Maimouna is a mother-of-seven who lives in the town of Gao, which has been in the frontline of Mali’s ongoing conflict between Islamic groups and Malian forces.
‘I never thought the crisis would last so long,’ said Maimouna, for whom regular meals have been a distant memory over recent months.
TNT has supplied 2,000 people in Gao and Timbuktu with rice, targeting the most vulnerable households – widows, orphans, the elderly and people with disabilities.
Gold
Maimouna, who is supporting her family alone, said, ‘We were always hearing that aid was given by this or that organisation but my family and I never even got a piece of rice. I want to thank the people who are bringing us this aid.’
TNT is working with local communities and authorities to supply 20 tons of rice to those most in need.
Abdoulaye Aboubacar has seen his business as a tailor dry up as people forgo weddings and social occasions due to the conflict.
‘Our business no longer has any value,’ said Abdoulaye, who has 11 children to support. ‘I am currently ill and I suffer from high blood pressure.’
For him, the rice from Tearfund is vital: ‘This is the first time in eight months that I have brought home a 50kg sack of rice. My infinite thanks. This sack of rice is like gold for me and my family.’
Solidarity
Another rice recipient, Lamine Younoussa, who is visually impaired, said, ‘I can’t tell you how happy we were to get it.
‘We really thank you for this gesture of solidarity and love. We have prayed for you and we are sure that God will hear our prayers on your behalf.’
Fellow resident Hawa Moussa provides telling insights into how important the food has been for people who have felt isolated and overlooked.
Recalling life before the Tearfund distribution, the widow, who has four children, said, ‘There were days where we didn’t eat anything.
‘The [food] shortage is so great and the solidarity that existed yesteryear has disappeared. Today it is every man for himself. Thank you for thinking of others and for this bag of rice.’
Future shocks
Cath Candish, Tearfund’s Country Programme Coordinator for Mali , said, ‘The conflict began over a year ago, when Mali was already facing a severe food crisis due to failed harvests and escalating food prices.
‘The Tuareg rebellion, army coup d’etat, jihadist insurgency and imposition of extreme forms of Sharia law, the subsequent mass displacement of communities, disruption of agriculture, transport links, and markets, has made the situation a whole lot worse.
‘Put the conflict in a context of droughts, floods and high food prices in a country already chronically vulnerable, with a long history of hunger and poverty, and you have a challenge, not quickly, easily or totally solved by military action alone.
‘Tearfund and our partners are working not only to respond to immediate needs where we can, but also, perhaps more importantly, to build resilience to future shocks and crises.
‘We also want to see more international funding directed towards education, peace building and child protection, as this conflict is likely to affect the future of a whole generation of young Malians.’