Many of the girls who leave their villages are full of hope and can hardly wait to leave the confining corset of the village and poverty behind them. The young girls' wishes for self-realization, social status, education and financial independence are rarely fulfilled - on the contrary. Many of them live and work under slave-like conditions - they have to do hard physical work, are inadequately nourished, have no access to medical care, are physically abused or even sexually abused. The young girls often become pregnant unintentionally and are thrown out onto the street by their employer.
On the one hand, the project aims to improve the living conditions of the girls who work as domestic helpers in Bamako. The girls are educated and informed about health and legal issues. The aim is not to send the girls back to their home villages, but to enable them to protect themselves from dangers such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and to eliminate abuses in their working conditions: Working hours must be limited, accommodation must be adequate and they must receive a minimum wage. The girls must also be empowered to demand these rights. Violence and exploitation must be brought to justice. Girls who are pregnant and have been thrown out on the street by their employer can find help and support at the Center for Maids in Need.
However, prevention must start even earlier - on the one hand, the girls should be as well prepared as possible for what awaits them in the big city before they leave their village, so that they and their families can make informed decisions regarding migration and the girls do not leave the village naively. Traditional practices, such as the pressure to bring a dowry into marriage on their own, which force girls to migrate to the city, should be questioned and changed. All of this is embedded in a general improvement in the position of women and girls and the income opportunities of women and families in order to eliminate the fundamental causes of the problem and anchor change in the long term.
The project is aimed at around 200 maids working in Bamako every year, as well as landlords, employees of health centers and authorities. In the municipality of Benkadi, located in the Koulikoro region, the project activities are aimed at the population of 16 villages with around 8,500 inhabitants; and in particular 200 young girls, parents, decision-makers, teachers, school clubs, etc.
Partner organisation
APSEF (Association pour la Promotion des Droits et du bien Etre de la Famille)
Project phase
1.1.2022 - 31.12.2025
Support the people in our projects with a donation! Thank you.
Donate now
