Regions: Africa   Asia   Latin America


Name of Organization: AJA Mali

Country: Mali

Project Title: "Scholarly support for apprentice children in the Fourth and Fifth Districts of Bamako"

Project Timeframe: 12 months

Location of Project: Communes IV and V in Bamako

Budget Amount: $22,450

NGO contact and website:
Souleymane SARR
Directeur Exécutif, Tel 229 58 21, cel 622 90 50

Amadou Baba DIARRA
Chargé des Programmes, tel 229 58 21, cel 671 15 43

Numéros de téléphone et (fax) de l’ONG : 229 58 21

Adresse: ACI 2000 Hamdallaye, près de l’immeuble ABK6, Rue 432, porte 1102
Ville: Bamako
Code postal: 2141, Bamako, République du Mali

Project's Primary Objective: Reinforce formal and non-formal education systems

Description of Organization: AJA Mali is a non-governmental organization. Its mission is to contribute to the socio-economic engagement of Malian youth and children in difficult situations by promoting employment and training. In this way, AJA Mali has progressively put in place the following projects during the last then school years:
  • Educational support (basic education) of child apprentices, ages 9 to 18, in three districts in Bamako
  • Social reintegration and rehabilitation of child trafficking victims thourgh psychosocial care, literacy, training, and professional placement, while campaigning and advocating for the protection of children and the promotion of child rights in Koutiala, Yorosso, and Koury.
  • Educational support and pre-professional initiation at the Educational Center for Development for non-schooled and drop-out youth, ages 9 to 16.
AJA has a solid experience in education and social and professional integration for children in difficult situations. AJA has worked with Oxfam America, Acced, French Cooperation and Cultural Action Service, Francophone Inter-Governmental Organization, Global Funds for Children, Trickle Up, Save the Children Canada, and the International Office for Migration

Description of Project funded by CIRCLE: The Communes IV and V in the district of Bamako are mainly composed of original rural populations who came in city to look for money but who are living in a big poverty. This situation obliges people to fight daily to survive and prevents the parents from sending normally their children at school. So we find there a big proportion of young children who don’t attend school. Many parents prefer to send their children in artisans’ workshop to learn an artisan job. Children are then exposed to any form of exploitation from artisans who don’t know the elementary rights of children

In reaction to this general sad situation that AJA Mali proposes a one year project of education and protection of apprentices from 14 to 18 years.

The main activities of this project are:
  • The basic school teaching in favor of apprentices. This teaching is an alternative education organized in each commune, in the artisans’ association place. It’s executed during 10 months and progressively procure to children/apprentices: an improvement to their general culture, a basic knowledge in French (speech, written and calculation and arithmetic),
  • The promotion of a real culture of children right in the target communities through information and education toward the artisans
  • Concerning the children right. it’ s expected from this activity that people changes positively their behavior,
  • The communication and information campaign of apprentices to anticipate VIH/SIDA which is one of the main reasons of young and children death
Project Targets (Common Indicators):
Enrollment: 80 child apprentices in alternative education (aged 9-18) (40 in each commune)
Persistence: 100%
Transition: 60 participants should be able to apply new skills (math, writing and reading in French) to their respective jobs.
Completion: 80 should complete the program, 60 should have a basic knowledge of writing, reading and math in French