Inside Zakat Foundation of America’s New Care Center for Mali's Youngest Orphans

Some children lose their families before they ever learn to say "Mama.”  

In Bamako, Mali, that is where this story begins; not with a child old enough to walk to school, but with infants and toddlers, some abandoned within days of birth and others living with severe disabilities that relatives cannot manage alone. 

For these children, there is no uniform to buy or school bus to fund. What they need first is somewhere safe to exist. 

The earliest years of life are also the most fragile. Malnutrition, untreated illness, and the absence of consistent care can affect a child’s development for years. A baby who does not receive enough nutrition cannot simply recover from the lost opportunity later. A treatable medical condition left unnoticed can become a lifelong challenge. 

National nutrition surveys estimate acute malnutrition among Malian children under five at roughly 11.6%, including 2.2% classified as severe. Stunting effects an estimated 22–25% of children under five. UNICEF projects that more than a million Malian children may need treatment for acute malnutrition in a typical year. 

There's a quieter crisis beneath the medical one: according to UNICEF, approximately 13% of children in Mali are not registered at birth. Without a birth certificate, a child effectively doesn't exist on paper, making it far harder to access healthcare, enroll in school, or ever establish a legal identity on which to build a future. 

This is the gap Zakat Foundation of America is working to address with its new Zakat Children’s Home in Mali. The center will care for children from birth to age five, including children with severe disabilities. It will provide nutrition, medical follow-up, daily care, and a stable home in a country where formal orphan care for this age group is limited. 

The Zakat Children's Home will grow carefully and responsibly: 25 children in the first intake, expanding to 50, and ultimately serving up to 100 as staffing, funding, and infrastructure grow and develop. 

Another important part of the work is helping children obtain birth certificates—the first legal document connecting them to a recognized identity and opening pathways to healthcare, education, and a future beyond the home. 

Zakat Foundation of America’s project is built around partnerships with Mali’s Ministries of Health and Social Development and the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and Families, as well as local health centers and established child welfare organizations. 

Each child’s wellbeing will be monitored through monthly and quarterly visits. This ongoing oversight is designed to ensure that children receive not only food and shelter, but appropriate medical attention, developmental support, documentation, and protection. 

The goal is a functioning system of care—one where a sick child is treated; a child ready for school is enrolled, and every child’s progress is tracked. 

In February 2027, the Zakat Children's Home in Mali will enter its first year of operation, renewable as long as the need remains. Every stage of that growth depends on continued support. 

Help us give Mali’s most vulnerable children the one thing every child deserves before anything else: somewhere safe to begin.