Youth Incentives in Mali, Spring 2007
Since January 2007 Youth Incentives is actively collaborating with the AMPPF: Association Malienne pour la Promotion et la Protection de la Famille. AMPPF is a large member association with six branches in the country and has a permanent staff of about 60 people and 400 active volunteers. The head office is located in Bamako which has a special building with facilities for its Youth Action Movement (YAM, or in French: MAJ, Mouvement d'Action des Jeunes).
AMPPF supports the YAM with training for young leaders and volunteers that are actively involved in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people in Mali. YAM has one national board with six members and one in every city where AMPPF has a branch. In total 42 active members are working at the organisational and coordination level and in total about 200 young people are member of YAM.
YAM organised with AMPPF an open-house ('porte ouverte') for young people living in Bamako. It was a kind of promotion for YAM/MAJ where young people of Bamako could get acquainted with the work of YAM.
Youth Incentives tries to set up a programme for young people in collaboration with YAM and AMPPF. Implementing these programmes however will depend on financial support of donor organisations such as UNFPA and Embassies. Although the building of AMPPF was financed by USAID some years ago, the financial support stopped and for AMPPF and YAM it is of great importance to get support of other donor institutions.
Youth Incentives also plays a role in trying to get partners together. Since Youth Incentives already had contact with 'Tolérance', a Malian youth organisation that is active in sexual and reproductive health and rights for young people, a meeting was organised with representatives of Tolérance, AMPPF and YAM in order to explore the possibilities of sharing experiences through discussions and visits.
Together with the executive director of AMPPF Mountage Toure, Youth Incentives is visiting partners that might be interested in the activities of AMPPF and Youth Incentives.
