Testimonial from Kadidiatou DIARRA, President of the CAFO (Community Action and Development Organization) in Sourountouna, San district, Mali.
Before Pro-ARIDES arrived in our community, we lived according to traditions that weighed heavily on our lives and those of our children:
- Approximately two-thirds of girls enrolled in school dropped out to work in the fields or take care of the home.
- More than one-third of pregnant women had to bear the cost of prenatal care (PNC) alone.
- Two-thirds of young girls were married far too early, sometimes exchanged for labor.
- Household chores fell solely on women’s shoulders, with no sharing or support.
Dialogue between men and women was rare and often impossible.
With Pro-ARIDES, thanks to training, dialogue forums, and awareness-raising on gender equality and the fight against gender-based violence (GBV), something began to change in our community.