Kidal
Mali, with its population of about fourteen and a half million, is located in west Africa and shares borders with Algeria to its north, Niger to its east, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast to its south, Guinea to its south-west and Senegal and Mauritania to its west.
"The heat, the sun – we are used to that. But we cannot bear a lack of water." So reports a teacher from the remote location of Kidal in Mali. Kidal is effectively a desert region with temperatures reaching as high as 45 degrees Celsius during the day. The region has a population 85,000 and the economy, such as it is, is largely based on livestock breeding, craft-making, and commerce. As you can discover by watching the above video, the region is extremely underdeveloped, without even having waterways or an established road infrastructure for transportation. Life is harsh.
Today, life is becoming even harsher with erratic rain patterns creating a severe water shortage. Although the Mali government is working hard to transport water into the area, animals, the very bedrock of existence there, are dying of thirst in their multitudes on a daily basis and without food, famine will surely follow.
Alhabass Ag Intallah, a member of parliament from Kidal, stated “The best we can hope for this year is to save one-tenth of the livestock" and the head doctor in the region commented "Having water to drink and bathe has become a luxury .... this is the first time I have seen hunger to this extent ... not only among the people but among the animals." If you want to make a difference, contact one of these charities who are working with children in Mali:
www.worldvision.org.uk
www.african-child.org
www.jolibatrust.org.uk
www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk
www.savethechildren.org.uk
TAGS: Kidal, Kidal Region, Kidal in Mali, Kidal Water Shortage, Kidal Info, Kidal Water