The young man has been working for arche noVa for two years now and is in charge of finance control and logistics. He is from the municipality of Ouelessebougou which is 80 km south to Bamako. At the age of 16 he moved to the capital to pass his baccalaureate exam and then went to the university of Bamako to study English. After his studies he worked as an English teacher and translator for various international NGO’s. He knows how important a sound education is. He experienced it himself. Education provided him with opportunities to start a career. “Only education creates prospects in the long term”, he says full-heartedly.
If the work requires it, the situation is safe enough and our local partner organization is able to prepare a trip, Adama K. visits the project area – accompanied by worries. The way is long and dangerous. The number of hostage-takings, attacks and marauding gangs increases the farther north one travels from Bamako. For foreigners the trip across the countryside is impossible. They can only reach Timbuktu by plane, accompanied by the UN. This is one of the reasons why arche noVa employs mainly local staff in Mali and collaborates closely with Nordev.
Adama K. especially likes to visit our education project in the district of Gao. The latter is often present in international press because of the frequent attacks. But the inhabitants still have to face their daily life, namely under difficult conditions. Hence our commitment is very important for the local young people. Since 2016 we offer education programs and advanced trainings in the fields of handicraft, agriculture and veterinary medicine.
Adama K. takes his time to talk to the trainers and listen to the participant’s worries and expectations. He wants to get his own impression on how the courses are executed and what can be improved. When he asks the people about their wishes, they all share the same hope: security and peace in their region, enough food for their families and good education for their children.
Besonders gern besucht Adama unser Ausbildungsprojekt in der Region Gao, die in der internationalen Presse immer wieder wegen Anschlägen Aufmerksamkeit findet. Doch auch hier findet Alltag statt und zwar unter schweren Bedingungen. Umso wichtiger ist unser Engagement für junge Leute vor Ort. Seit 2016 bieten wir Aus- und Weiterbildungen im Handwerk, in der Landwirtschaft und in der Veterinärmedizin an.
Am wichtigsten sind die Menschen im Projekt
Adama nimmt sich Zeit für die Trainer und hört sich die Sorgen und Erwartungen der Teilnehmenden an. Er will sich selbst ein Bild machen, wie die Kurse durchgeführt werden und was verbessert werden kann. Fragt er die Menschen nach ihren Wünschen, so haben alle dieselbe Hoffnung: Sicherheit und Frieden in der Region, genug zu essen für ihre Familien und eine gute Ausbildung für ihre Kinder.
