Initiatives Needing Support

Help start a new community-led environmental association in Mali. $32,000

Tandana has been collaborating with the Olouguelemo Environmental Association (OEA) in the Bandiagara Region of Mali since we helped create the organization in 2012. The 36 villages of the Association have come together with Tandana’s support to work on climate change adaptation and regeneration initiatives. Many villages in neighboring townships want to replicate the OEA model and create new environmental associations. You can help one of these townships start a new association with 6 villages, all working together on regenerating the environment and achieving food security.

Storehouse for environmental association tools. $8,750

The Olouguelemo Environmental Association (OEA) in the Bandiagara Region of Mali needs a secure storehouse to keep their tools and materials. This will free up the meeting room for other events that benefit the community, including women's leadership workshops, literacy trainings, environmental association assemblies, and more.  You can give them a secure place to store their tools and thus increase their efficacy in adapting to climate change and achieving food security.  Any funds collected in excess of those needed to complete this project will be allocated to fund other similar initiatives.

Supporting displaced students in Bandiagara. $11,000 

Because of insecurity in certain parts of rural Bandiagara District, many families have fled their villages and moved to Bandiagara, where they are living in tents or temporary shelters. This is not only dangerous but also disruptive to students who should be in school. This program allows students who are members of families who have taken refuge in the town of Bandiagara due to insecurity to go to school by providing food, school supplies, soap, school fees and remedial classes to help them succeed. For $11,000, you can make it possible for an additional 20 children to benefit from this program. Any funds collected in excess of those needed to complete this project will be allocated to fund similar initiatives.

Many families have fled to Bandiagara due to insecurity in the region. You can help parents of these families start generating income in their new location to provide for their families. With startup funds and basic training, they can start micro-businesses in market gardening, mechanics, making cloth, making rope, selling food and many more activities based on their skills. Your gift of $1,000 gives an additional parent the means to start working and providing for their family. Any funds collected in excess of those needed to fund one business will be allocated to other parts of our internally displaced families program.

Reforestation Campaign. $480 

Each year the Olouguelemo Environmental Association holds a reforestation campaign, planting thousands of native and fruit trees in fields, forests, public place, and along roads. You can make a significant contribution to this campaign, which also receives support from the Association itself and the Mayor of Wadouba Township. Any funds collected in excess of those needed for reforestation will be allocated to fund other environmental initiatives of the Olouguelemo Environmental Association.

Rainwater collection system. $37,600

The village of Kansongo has a community orchard and garden; however the water from the nearby borehole is not sufficient for irrigation the plants. They have a community meeting room near the garden and want to build a system to collect rainwater from the roof of this building and use it to irrigate the garden. Any funds collected in excess of those needed to complete this project will be allocated to fund similar initiatives.

Rice field for Kansongo. $45,000

Residents of Kansongo, in their perennial efforts to work toward food security want to diversify their agricultural production. There is a variety of dryland rice that they can grow if they can create earthworks to catch, retain, and channel rainwater. They need to hire earthmoving equipment to create this irrigation system. Any funds collected in excess of those needed to complete this project will be allocated to fund similar initiatives.

Pond Expansion. $2,000

The village-run Olouguelemo Environmental Association seeks to expand ponds so that more water can be conserved during the rainy season and subsequently used for gardening and livestock when water is scarce. Expanded water sources allow for vegetable gardening during the dry season to supplement field crop production and allow herders to raise more livestock, thereby helping to diversify food sources and provide an additional quantity of food. They need tools for this work and food to allow them to do this labor during the lean season.

Local teacher for a school in Mali. $600

Many schools in Mali are understaffed, sometimes with only one teacher for over a hundred students. Parents associations are willing to pitch in to hire more teachers, but their capacity to raise funds is not enough. There are often local young people who have the education necessary but haven't had the opportunity to find a job and are very excited to have a chance to help their own community by teaching in the local school. You can match the parents' association's donations and provide a stipend for a local teacher. This system creates a win-win, providing much better instruction for the students and a job opportunity to a local adult. It also supports the motivation and responsibility of the parents' association by requiring them to contribute and then matching their funds. Any funds collected in excess of those needed to complete this project will be allocated to fund other similar initiatives.

Startup funding for a Malian Women's Association to create a business. $2,000

Your gift will allow a Malian women’s association involving 20 or more women to start their own business. Women's associations created through Tandana's Women's Literacy, Leadership, and Enterprise program will have an opportunity to submit business plans to a contest, and the best proposals will receive funding. They might start a business raising sheep, market gardening, dyeing with indigo, or many other ideas. Your gift will get them started so they can generate income long into the future. Any funds collected in excess of those needed to complete this project will be allocated to fund other similar initiatives.

Professional Training Scholarship in Mali. $750

You can help a student from rural Mali learn a profession that is very needed in the rural communities, such as health professions or agrofrestry. Your gift can cover 50% of a student’s costs for a year, while the student and their family cover the other 50%. You will not only help a student access a better future but also help the communities find trained professionals to serve their area. In exchange for Tandana's support, scholarship recipients engage in community service to share their new skills and knowledge for the betterment of their communities. Any funds collected in excess of those needed for one student will be allocated to fund other scholarships in the Dr. Ash B. Varma, M.D. Scholarship Program in Mali.

Create a new grain bank. $7,000

In Mali's Bandiagara District, food security is a major concern. Community members work hard, farming millet, peanuts, sorghum, cowpeas, and other crops, and yet decreasing rainfall and increasing pest problems have caused harvests to diminish. In most years, most families cannot harvest enough food to last them through the year until the next harvest.  A grain bank gives a community a revolving fund to purchase millet when the market price is lowest and sell it at a constant price in the village year-round, so that residents can purchase it when they need it.  It also provides a safe place to store the grain and training for the leadership committee so they can manage the bank successfully long into the future.

Help pay the director of the Sal Health Center. $1,000

The community health committee is in charge of paying the salaries of the staff at the health center, and they have asked for assistance as they get started.  For $1,000, you can cover half of the director's salary for one year, while the local committee covers the other half.  You will ensure that the health center can function well and provide care to local residents.

Help pay a staff member at the Sal Health Center. $750

The community health committee is in charge of paying the salaries of the staff at the health center, and they have asked for assistance as they get started.  For $750, you can cover half of the salary of the midwife, the medical assistant, or the pharmacy manager
for one year, while the local committee covers the other half.  You will ensure that the health center can function well and provide care to local residents.

Best forest competition. $2,000

A competition for the best forest among Olouguelemo member villages will showcase the hard work of association members and motivate everyone to do their best to care for their forest areas.

Environmental exchange visit. $1,000

An exchange visit among the various Olouguelemo member villages will help share ideas and best practices, as well as encouraging everyone to do their best so they can show off their results to people from other villages.

A literacy classroom in Mali. $780

You can provide the materials that local masons will use to build a shade hangar for a women’s literacy class in Mali. In this classroom, women can hold class in the middle of the day and without disturbances. They will learn to read, write, and calculate, gaining independence, confidence, and the ability to navigate the market, their children’s schools, and township offices successfully! Any funds collected in excess of those needed to complete this project will be allocated to fund other aspects of the literacy program.