Milestones and Historical Timeline

1985
ORGANIZATION The Ouelessebougou-Utah Alliance is created under the umbrella of the Community Services Council to emphasize Helping people help themselves in Mali, West Africa. Utah-based expedition groups begin traveling to Mali to build wells and develop gardens

1986
ORGANIZATION Governor of Utah designates Utah as the sister community to Ouelessebougou, Mali

1988-1989
ORGANIZATION Utah-based board of directors, executive director and Malian field director in Ouelessebougou established 14 drinking wells, 10 garden fences and 21 irrigation wells constructed HEALTH {becomes the first Ouelessebougou Alliance program focus} Improvements made to the local Ouelessebougou medical clinic Utah-based Ophthalmology expedition performs eye screenings and cataract surgeries

1990-1991
HEALTH Initiation of village health programs focusing on preventative medicine Health agents and matrons identified and trained in 22 villages

1992
HEALTH Three annual expeditions established to focus on health, education and planting gardens Vaccinations distributed to 72 villages

Pharmacy established at the Ouelessebougou Alliance compound so villagers can purchase medication at a nominal cost Medical expeditions expand to include OB-GYN groups EDUCATION {becomes the second Ouelessebougou Alliance program focus} Adult Literacy program established in eight villages in Bamanankan Village oral histories compiled in Bamanankan

1993
ORGANIZATION 1,000 trees planted for reforestation efforts

1994
EDUCATION First Utah-based education expedition travels to Mali First elementary school classrooms planned and constructed in six villages 28 new villages participate in adult literacy programs

1995
ORGANIZATION Ouelessebougou Alliance registers as an independent nonprofit organization BYU Womens Research Institute begins 10-year study of the Alliances impact on villagers in the Ouelessebougou region HEALTH Measles eliminated from entire Ouelessebougou region Truck donated for emergency ambulance service in the region saving 53 lives EDUCATION Utah-Alliance School Committee established Schools furnished with bench desks ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT {becomes the third Ouelessebougou Alliance program focus} Utah-based micro-enterprise expedition travels to Mali and organizes a microcredit process, developing guidelines and training officers Five village co-ops start micro-enterprise projects

1996
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Ouelessebougou Alliance establishes and funds La Caisse Villageoise Jama Ka Wari Yiriwali Jikene, an independent savings and lending bank (The village that supports people for the collective generation of income) President of Mali donates $100 toward micro-enterprise loans 161 villagers (96 females and 65 males) become members of La Caisse and open savings accounts 2

1997
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 51 loans provided for small groups or co-ops of villagers to establish and run small businesses (selling fruit, goat milk, cosmetics, paint and clothing; opening a restaurant) Business training offered for all micro-enterprise ventures 142 loans paid back on time

1998-1999
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 30 larger loans made available for repeat borrowers

2000
ORGANIZATION New vision of ownership, sustainability and accountability is articulated New logo and motto, Together we lift each other developed HEALTH Good Health Begins at Home training manual is published in Bamanankan and given to all village health agents and matrons to help them teach proper hygiene techniques EDUCATION Intensified education focus on teacher training, math skills and new pedagogy Second-grade curriculum about Ouelessebougou is taught in select Utah elementary schools Education Action Team is established, consisting of Utah educators

2001
EDUCATION Begin collaboration with Institute for Popular Education Second-grade curriculum on Ouelessebougou is adopted by the Utah State Board of Education

2002
EDUCATION Teaching manual about Ouelessebougou distributed throughout Utah and other parts of the country Ouelessebougou Alliance pays half of village school teacher salaries

2003
EDUCATION

Four Lead Teachers selected to oversee the teaching practices of 38 village teachers. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Revenue-generating village loan program is initiated to enable villages to fully support their health and education needs for long-term sustainability

2004
HEALTH Low-cost mosquito netting provided to families to prevent malaria Materials provided for 12 villages to construct latrines and handwashing stations near schools 15 new drinking wells are constructed near elementary schools Six new villages added to the vaccination program EDUCATION/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ProLiteracy manuals are used to teach business skills in the local language

2005
HEALTH Healthy Village Workshops created to identify the most urgent health needs and develop long-term, village health plans and form village health councils Villages of Djemene and Soumaya are selected to pilot the program

2006
HEALTH Village of Tamala joins the Healthy Village Workshop program

2007
HEALTH Villages of Solo and Famana join Healthy Village Workshop program Health clinics constructed in the villages of Tamala and Djemene. Womens association forms and begins annual shea butter training in partnership with Islamic Relief to train women on the she butter-making process and learn to package, transport, market and sell their shea butter internationally

2008
ORGANIZATION Two-part assessment of 25 villages begins, including a participatory weeklong assessment and a quantitative assessment of key indicators. Study includes a village mapping activity, historical timeline, transect walk, chat with the women, interview the village chief, health agent, matron, teachers and economic development committee president as well as a survey of representative students HEALTH

Villages of Bamakoni, Fadgiobougou, NTentukoro, Dialakoro and Keleya join Healthy Village Workshop program

2009
EDUCATION Ouelessebougou Alliance partners with buildON to build three new cement classrooms in Bamakoni to accomodate rising enrollment Launch sister-school program. Eleven Utah schools are selected to partner with 11 elementary schools in Mali. Elementary and middle school students in Utah learn about their sister-school and make exchange items to send to friends in Mali

2010
EDUCATION Village of Missadiebougou joins Healthy Village Workshop program Famana and Fadiobougou make adult literacy classes a high priority and ask for solar panels to provide light for evening classes in the elementary schools. Panels are installed and villages take responsibility for managing classes and paying instructor salaries.

2011
HEALTH Six dentists and four dental hygienists travel to Ouelessebougou to perform dental care for adults and children and teach villagers about oral hygiene

2012
HEALTH 25 tons of corn purchased and distributed to 25 villages suffering from malnutrition and starvation, providing life-saving resources EDUCATION Three new elementary school classrooms and principals office completed in Djemene 1,740 students attend school in villages where no formal education opportunities previously existed 761 girls attend school in the 11 partnering villages, which is 21% higher female enrollment than the national average in Mali.