The 3000 unsung heroes in Mali
Celebrating youth engagement and resilience across the country
Face beaming with joy and hope; he said from pianissimo to fortissimo, "You are unsung heroes; keep spreading peace around you.”
These words stuck in my mind while walking in my neighborhood.
A 60-year-old man addressed it to a group of adolescent boys and girls who had just completed their door-to-door visits to sensitize communities to peace and social cohesion in Faso Kanou, a neighborhood in Bamako, Mali.
"You are unsung heroes; keep spreading peace around you."
These words reminded me of the 3,000 youth and adolescents, girls and boys, from the regions of Kayes, Koulikoro, Sikasso, and the district of Bamako, these unsung heroes.
Inspired by this sixty-year-old from Faso Kanou, I’m writing a letter to Mali’s 3,000 heroes.
Dear heroes,
Often, at your age, in some parts of the world, adolescents and young people have a different life: They live in a peaceful and reassuring environment.
They go to school and enjoy leisure activities.
Unfortunately, in Mali, you don't necessarily have the same opportunities that your friends do in other countries.
For many years, the country has been facing a crisis, and you are the first affected because you represent more than half of the population.
Many of your friends have been subjected to violence, displaced from their homes, and taken out of school.
And while there are many reasons for you to be discouraged, you are not.
What courage, what resilience!
Instead of watching the situation deteriorate, you took the bull by the horns and decided to train and serve your communities for positive change.
You agreed not only to participate in the social cohesion and peacebuilding programme but also to participate fully in the "ANBE GNOKON BOLO - We are together" project funded by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) and implemented by UNICEF and Search For Common Ground.
Dear heroes,
Like your friends in the Faso Kanou neighborhood, you have carried out community-based conflict prevention interventions in 4 regions of Mali. These resilience projects have positively impacted the community, as evidenced by the more than 1,200 home visits you have made to raise awareness of social cohesion, reaching approximately 20,000 people.
Beyond your actions in the life of the communities, I am happy about the impact this project has had on your lives.
Your friends, Kadiatou, 14, and Mariam, 18, told me that they were not aware that they were perpetrators of verbal violence towards their friends because they always grew up in a crisis environment where bad words and quarrels were regular.
Today, through this project, they have become aware of this and have become actors of peace in their community. They raise awareness and resolve conflicts with their peers, school, and neighborhood.
In the west of Mali, in the Sadiola region, I met two young boys, participants in the social cohesion project, who said that violence should solve violence.
Today, I am happy to see their mentality changed.
They say with conviction that violence should not be an answer to violence and they are actors of social cohesion and peace.
I am so proud of you!
To the 3000 heroes,
Thanks for being agents of positive change in your community.
Indeed, your resilience is bearing and will continue to bear fruit.
For every adolescent, and every young person, a peaceful country
For every child, a world with no violence.
Your friend,
Daniel Ouedraogo
