Our action plan is designed to respond to the health and education needs of our group of handicapped orphans. Those who are able to express themselves are aware of the improvements to their lives that the LEO Association brings. Some have been under our care for more than 20 years. Others, sadly, have only a short life.
Having listened to Malian professionals, the LEO Association has entered into partnerships in Bamako with the Centre d’Accueil et de Placement Familial (CAPF), the Direction Nationale de la Promotion de l’Enfant et de la Famille (DNPEF), the Denkagneta Association and the Association pour Personnes à Besoins Spécifiques (APBS).
Between 2006 and 2022, LEO partnered with the NGO SANTE SUD in programmes to promote the cause of abandoned children to Malian authorities. Children are often abandoned after unwanted pregnancies. Survival now and in the future for abandoned orphans is difficult but even more so for those who are handicapped.
CENTRE D’ACCUEIL ET DE PLACEMENT FAMILIAL (CAPF)
The LEO association subsidizes the daily life of a group of disabled orphans as part of an annual tripartite partnership agreement with the Centre d’Accueil et de Placement Familial (CAPF) and its supervisory organisation the Direction Nationale de la Promotion de l’Enfant et la Famille (DNPEF).
Up until November 2017, the CAPF was located in the centre of the city but is now to be found in the neighbourhood of Niamana (25 kilometres from the city centre). This establishment is the only state organisation dedicated to abandoned children in Bamako and is under the authority of the Ministry de la Promotion de la Femme, l’Enfant et la Famille (MPFEF).
DENKAGNETA ASSOCIATION
A Malian law association, created in Bamako in 2009 by social workers and the parents of handicapped children, to promote the education of vulnerable children by creating inclusive schools and recreational outings. The DENKAGNETA ASSOCIATION coordinates the LEO endowments for educational activities and the placement of handicapped children into families under an annual partnership agreement.
ASSOCIATION FOR PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS – ASSOCIATION POUR PERSONNES A BESOINS SPECIFIQUES (APBS)
A Malian law association created in 2016 by a group of parents of handicapped children and functional rehabilitation specialists (physiotherapy, psychomotricity, speech therapy, nursing). The Association Pour Personnes à Besoins Spécifiques (APBS) has opened a day centre « VAEDH » (vivre au-delà du handicap – living beyond handicap) with the aim of working on the cognitive, psychomotor and socio-educational development of handicapped children. The day centre provides materials and equipment for 20 children on a daily basis. APBS members have established a rotation system for the care and cleanliness of the children. This innovative model for caring for children frees up their mothers to go out to work or devote their time to the rest of the family, depending on the needs of the rotation schedule. The centre also provides the mothers with training and speaking groups.
Since 2019, LEO has been subsidizing 10 boarders 5 days a week at the CAPF under the APBS/LEO annual partnership agreement.
