Mali : Developing the mother to child relationship in prison - Asmae

Asmae - Association Soeur EmmanuelleBimonthly Newsletter No. 8 - September 2010Mali : Developing the mother to child relationship in prisonFor the first time, Asmae is supporting the daycare centre set up and managed by theMaya-Ton Association – at the Specialised Centre for Detention, Re-education andRehabilitation for Women of Bollé, the only women's prison in Mali.Cécile Schmitt-Guilloton, Asmae coordinator in Mali, tells us about this new partnership.Cécile, why did Asmae want to support this new partnership?Maya-Ton has been working since 2002 to improve detention conditions for women andminors in Mali, and also to enable the development of the young children of detainedwomen, through daycare centre and health monitoring. Early Childhood Protection andEducation being one of the priorities targeted by Asmae in Mali, the implementation of apartnership with Maya-Ton seemed pertinent to us, to support its program for thechildren of mothers incarcerated at the Bollé prison, in Bamako. In fact, the prisonpopulation is one of the most disadvantaged groups in Mali. These detained women, ofwhom one third are minors, often fall prey to abandonment of their babies, infanticide orclandestine abortions, all due to their difficult living conditions.Why are there children in the Bollé Prison?At the only women's prison in Mali, it’s common to findincarcerated women who are accompanied by their children from0 to 4 years old, or pregnant women. Regularly, babies are givenbirth during this period (for the childbirth, teams from Maya-Tonand the prison refer the mothers to the neighbourhood healthcentre). In Mali, women traditionally breastfeed their babies tothe age of 3 and it is difficult for a mother to entrust her child toanother person or an institution, especially during the first monthsof the child's life. Some mothers, isolated and without resources,have no other choice but to bring their child with them to prison.Thus each year, children are given birth or spend their first yearsin the Bollé women's prison.They were 69 in 2009 (compared to 40 in 2005) and their number is expected to increasethis year. The reason why is the urban demographic explosion in Bamako, with itscorollary problems (migrant girls exploited as maids, prostitution, early pregnancies...).

What are the consequences on children?Nutritionally, the diet of incarcerated women is very poor. Since children are not officiallyrecognized in the prison, their number is not accounted for in meal preparation. As a directconsequence, some children and babies suffer from malnutrition and become morevulnerable to diseases. Affectively, the mother to child relationship is not always wellestablished since attempted abandonment or even infanticide constitute the reason forsome women's incarceration. Thus, children often lack affection and it's necessary to workon strengthening the mother-child bonds. We also note that in Mali, and more specificallyin the prison environment, women are not used to playing with their child, being muchmore preoccupied with their daily survival. However, doing stimulation activities with theirchild can contribute to resolving some of his/her difficulties and even developmental delays.What does our support at Maya-Ton consist of?In 2010, Asmae's support consists of financing a part of the daycare programme, notablyfood, health monitoring and educational activities. Renovation work camp on the daycarecentre was organised in July with the help of 4 volunteers. The activities : construction of awall, redoing the courtyard with games and implementation of the games with the mothersand their children. Networking with the RPJEM (Réseau pour la Promotion des Jardinsd'enfants au Mali 1 ), another of Asmae partners, was even realised during the work camp toenable the Maya-Ton team to benefit from certain developed approaches.Looking ahead, we want to reinforce the educator’s skillsto diversify the stimulation activitiesproposed for the children, work on the mother-child bond in order to recreate an affectiveand maternal relationship, and enable a proper integration of the children outside of theprison. Finally, the development of this theme may in the long term allow for an exchangeof experiences among the different programs supported by Asmae around the world.The team and volonteers of the work camp, 20101 Network for the Promotion of Kindergardens in Mali

France, Divers-Cité ProgramSolidarité PLD: Friendship on the street cornerIt was named after the streets of the neighbourhood : Solidarité PLD was created in 2008at the corner of Paga, Lagny and Davout Streets of the urban area “La Tour du Pin” , in the20th arrondissement of Paris, home to almost 500 families. Originally, before the actualcreation of the association, a group of residents -especially mothers- gathered with thecommon desire to improve the cohesion of the neighbourhood and the young people'slives.They had many ideas and a mature reflection, and Asmae, in the context of the Divers-Citécommunity development program, simply helped them to flourish by mobilising their knowhow.Today, Solidarité PLD has 50 member families, organises activities for children andadults, and has succeeded in stimulating true friendships within the community. Let's lookat this successful program with Habibatou, co-president of the association, and Houria, amember of the Board of Directors, who answered our questions.How did the Solidarité PLD Association get started?Habibatou : The adolescents of the neighbourhood, especially our children, were spendinga lot of time outside of our buildings. That created tension with the neighbours andmisunderstandings between people. The mothers were afraid that their children would bestigmatised and that the Tour du Pin neighbourhood would become a ghetto. In order toresolve this problem, we formed a residents' group to find ways to re-establish the dialog.By gathering, we realised that there were other needs and desires, like preventing schoolfailure or for some residents, learning how to read and write in French.Houria : We started by the women getting together. We wanted to do something but wedidn't know how to get started. After several meetings, we wrote to the mayor whoexplained to us that we had to create an association to develop our activities. That's howwe got involved with Asmae.

What were the first activities that you put into place?Habibatou: At first, we didn't have a place to meet. Rather than waiting to find one, westarted to organise trips. Our activities program was very full: a concert by Jamel Debbouze,Accrobranches ® , a trip to Euro Disney...Houria: People started to meet, and took the time to talk. Thanks to the association, weknow each other better! The important thing for us is to live together in harmony. To doso, communication between all the residents, especially between the younger and olderresidents, or between different communities, is essential.What was Asmae's support?Habibatou : Christophe, then Diana and finally Perrine, local development agents forAsmae's Divers-Cité program, helped us write our by-laws. They also showed us how torequest grants for our activities. Finally once the location for our current office was found,they helped us to obtain it.After almost two years of existence, what are you the most proud of?Houria : We are the most proud of the opening of our office in March 2010. Thanks to thislocation, we now have a real presence in the neighbourhood and we can offer regularactivities: twice a week there are education support workshops, and beginning inSeptember we will give adult reading classes with volunteers from Asmae and twovolunteers from the association who took a training course at Asmae.Focus > Financing the PLD CommitteeThe Solidarité PLD Association receives public funding (Paris City Hall, Acsé 2 , CAF 3 , IDF 4 ,etc.) and support from the Neighbourhood Council. The office is made available by the RealEstate Department of the City of Paris. The association also organises several fundraisingevents that allow them to have their own resources. Recently, this was a meal in a localrestaurant (la Rôtisserie), where the women prepared a typical Senegalese meal.Focus > Activities for EveryoneThe Solidarité PLD Association organises workshops to foster friendship like sewing, orientaldancing and cooking classes. For children in CP or CE1 [the earliest levels of primaryschool], reading workshops are offered in partnership with the DeliDemo Association, toencourage the love of books. During school holidays, boys and girls from 7 to 17 years ofage have their activities: crêpes workshops, crafts (bead-stringing) or scrap-booking,roller blading, trips to the movies or swimming pools. For families, two busses were rentedthis summer for day trips to the Normandy beaches.2National Agency for Social Cohesion and Equal Opportunities3 Caisse d'Allocations Familiales or Family Benefits Fund4 Ile-de-France or the Greater Paris metropolitain area

IndiaStructuring for better actionThere are words like "organisational analysis", "project cycle", "strategic planning" thatSanjay uses each day in the scope of his mission for Asmae with our partner SevadhamTrust, in India.What is the connection with our mission, the child development ? In fact, Sanjay's jobdescription is found in one of our least known but nevertheless essential areas of expertiseand intervention : structural support. Since 2008, four professionals have carried outorganizational support missions in India with different partners. This work allows animprovement in the functionnement of an association at several levels: identity, governance,project management and human resources.At stake is an intervention that is more adapted to the children's needs by making the actionmore efficient and long-lasting.In the context of the partnership, our coordinators bring daily support and advice to thelocal associations where structural support comes into play.But when the needs in this area aremore specific, Asmae and the partneragree to entrust a mission to aprofessional, like Sanjay, recruited tosupport Sevadham Trust at a pivotaltime in its evolution.With the announcement of thedeparture of its two charismaticfounders, fundamental questionsarose to our partner : how to raisefunds independently from thefounders' networks, how to plan theevolution of the association and onwhich area to concentrate?Created in 1978 with a mission focused on primary health, Sevadham Trust progressivelyincreased its work with education, women's autonomy and aid to persons with HIV andleprosy. Today, Sevadham Trust, which works in the remote state of Maharashtra, hasalmost 300 employees and runs a hospital and a boarding school for children.An Approach Based on TrustTo better achieve its goals, Sevadham Trust asked Asmae for more in-depth work onstructural support. "This step was made possible because we share a built upon trust. Ourposition as a partner is not one of a simple lessor. What's essential is that we don't imposesolutions," explains Agnès, Asmae program coordinator in Maharashtra at the time themission was implemented at the end of 2009. That's how Sanjay was recruited: "His role isthat of a consultant. His added value is organising reflection. He is there to make themembers of the association take a step back," continues Agnès.

The first phase of his job was to do a diagnosis of Sevadham Trust by bringing to light itssuccesses and its areas for possible improvement."From the beginning, I worked in closecollaboration with the administrators, managers and teams in the field. I involved everyonewith meetings, workshops, training sessions, always with a participative approach," saysSanjay.To help our partner clearly formulate its identity and mission, Sanjay individually interviewed150 members and employees to learn how they perceived the association, how they wereconnected to it and how they pictured themselves in this structure.Making progress together, for the childrenThis method, in compliance with Asmae's values, is based on collaboration. We supportlocal partners so they can make the choices that they feel are best adapted to theiractivities. "Sanjay maintains a neutral and benevolent attitude so as to not impose hisvision of things, but on the contrary to help Sevadham Trust create its own strategy.Throughout his work, he strives to co-construct adapted methods with the partner,"insists Agnès.The next phase of the mission is "to facilitate the appropriation of new procedures andpolicies by the entire team", Sanjay adds. That's the only way that the transfer of skills willbe efficient, so that once the "consultant" leaves, the benefit will remain viable for thechildren.PsychosocialAsmae extends its involvement to mistreatment in LebanonFor several years, Asmae has wanted to become more involved in dealing withmistreatment in Lebanon. Our partnership experience with the Association du Foyer del'Enfant Libanais (l'AFEL) 5 allowed us to see the importance of this problem in the country.But that was just the beginning of our reflection…5 An organisation for the prevention of delinquency and abuse in Lebanon.

We couldn't do without a preliminary work that wouldenable us to define areas of pertinent work and to actefficiently. That was the objective of the "exploratorymission" lead by Catherine Daubrège in 2010 on themistreatment of children in their homes and at school, inLebanon and in the Palestinian camps.Throughout her mission, this clinical psychologist firststudied the political, socio-economic and culturalcontexts that provide conditions for the mistreatment.Then she identified the current practices ofprofessionals who deal with the cases of mistreatment,and tried to determine their skills, difficulties andneeds.The problem of mistreatment in Lebanon cannot bedetached from the past wars in the country, whichcreated emotional damage that is still sensitive,destructuring of families and widespread economicinsecurity.©Afel. Our partner, whom we supported in itssteps toward professionalization, publisheda guide on mistreatment in Lebanon in 2009Furthermore, political instability has not allowed forthe development of social policies, and the State was not able to bring a legal or socialresponse to cases of mistreatment. Lately, Lebanon has begun to take charge officially. Thegovernment has made efforts to amend the law whose terms must be more specific inorder to be fully protective.Mistreatment in Lebanon has not yet raised consciousness. The idea – which was stillprevalent in France until recently – that bring up a child well, one should beat him, is stillvery present. Physical mistreatment is therefore probably widespread, but difficult toassess.However it is starting to be seen differently and it is on this subject that the country isprogressing the most rapidly. The other forms of mistreatment (negligence, sexual abuse,psychological mistreatment) remain for the most part inaccessible.Amicable interventionDetecting mistreatment is thus a delicate first step which concerns professionals, andfor which they feel that they may not be adequately prepared.Associations are not generally specialized in the protection of mistreated children, but theyare often confronted with cases of mistreated children in the context of their socialintervention. They try to offer solutions, based on each structure’s means andcompetencies. Over the years, and in an individual way, they've developed a method fordealing with mistreatment centred on amicable intervention and the communityapproach.This mean of action is based essentially on establishing a trusting relationship with thefamily. The goal is to obtain the family's consent to implement protective measures for thechild. Because of the prominent role of the family and the lack of placement centres, thechild is generally kept within its family and support is offered in an inclusive way. This nonauthoritarianmethod reaches its limits in emergency situations and whenever the familydenies the mistreatment or refuses to cooperate.

Perspectives for the development of Asmae partnersConsidering the needs and the limits encountered by local associations, several interventiontrails have already been identified and are being studied. In accordance with our principlesand methods, we plan to collaborate with our future partner(s) on the way to reinforcecapacities and transfer competencies.One area concerns helping social workers develop know-how and supporting them in theirdaily practice. The creation of seminars on ongoing changes in the laws and thepossibilities of legal recourse also seems to respond to a need for information fromprofessionals. Networking could also be profitable for NGOs, who could pool theirexperiences and resources.Our goal is to become involved with one or two new partners in the next two years.Burkina-FasoFloods, one year after the emergencyIt was just one year ago. On September 1, 2009, Ouagadougou experienced dramaticflooding. In 12 hours, almost 300 mm of rain fell on the capital. The toll was heavy:seven dead, 25,000 homes destroyed, more than 150,000 persons displaced, or one ofevery ten residents. The city's infrastructure was damaged or paralysed.The day after the catastrophe, Asmae, theAssociation Sœur Emmanuelle, decided toopen a special support fund for theaffected populations. Thanks to yourdonations, several small sums of moneywere sent to some of our Burkinabépartners who had to repair materialdamages and help disadvantaged familiessurvive this test.©ICCVL’ASECD 6 for example, was able to supporteleven families of sponsored children,among the most affected, with foodsupplies and construction materials."The friends of Burkina showed their solidarity," reported our partner.6 Association de soutien aux enfants en circonstance difficile, or Association of Support for Children inDifficult Circimstances.

At l'ABASF/E 7 , an association supporting women and children in difficulty, the flooding leftdurable scars. The food storage building and the kitchen were flooded and since then,the stoves are relocated to a small temporary structure. The contribution sent by Asmae hasfor the moment been set aside, awaiting the time to collect enough money to pay forclearing out the ruins and reconstruction.For ICCV, Asmae's contribution was part of agreater movement of generosity for support ofthe association (members of the communities,friends of the World Bank, etc.) which enabledthe association to bring emergency aid to thevictims for an entire month. "Thanks to theactive solidarity of all, the affected personsbenefited from food, care and clothing. Theirchildren were enrolled in school. Eightpermanent houses of eighteen square meterseach were constructed for eight families whohad lost everything in the floods!" recountsSimon Nacoulma, the president de theassociation.© ICCV. Our partner brought food aid to thevictims.The amount that we sent thanks to the donors was more specifically used for thereconstruction of the wall around the daycare centre, which had been started the precedingmonth by volunteer workers. "This support came at the perfect time for the distress wasliterally at the association's door," rejoices Simon.One year later, we are happy that we have been able to mobilise, even if it's not exactlyour usual operations. And even if our contribution was modest, it allowed us to show oursolidarity and contributed to the reconstruction, so that our partners and the beneficiariescan recover from this painful episode. Thanks to everyone for your donations that haveallowed us to do that.7 Association Burkinabé Action Solidarité Femmes/Enfants or Burkinabé Association for SolidarityAction for Women and Children.Asmae – Association Sœur Emmanuelle26 bd de Strasbourg – 75 010 ParisTél : 01 44 52 11 90