A Malian special education school will soon have running water again, thanks to the generosity of Zakat Foundation of America donors.
In Bamako, Mali, the Foundatrice de L"amaldeme day school for children with a wide array of disabilities has been without running water for three years since the plumbing connected to its water tank broke. The staff at the school have had to rely on bottled water purchased at market for the children"s food, drink and sanitation. The lack of functioning toilets and showers has been a particular hardship because some of the children suffer from incontinence and need to be bathed frequently.
The 531 students at Foundatrice de L"amaldeme in Bamako range in age from three months to 15 years old, and live with a range of conditions including hydrocephaly, microcephaly, cerebral palsy, hemiplegia and neurological disorders. The school receives meager funding from the government, and families of the children pay the equivalent of $12 to $18 per month for the care and therapy their children receive either long-term or until they can be integrated into a mainstream school. However, no child is turned away because the family cannot pay.
The Zakat Foundation of America-sponsored plumbing repairs that will restore running water to the school will allow the children to have clean water for handwashing, drinking and for cooking in the cafeteria. Repair and connection of the toilets is planned following the rebuilding of the school"s well.
To continue Zakat Foundation of America support for this underfunded and under-resourced school, the only one serving children with disabilities in Mali, please donate today.