and the

Adventures

in

Conquering

Malnutrition

a collaboration by Grade 4 & 5 students at the American International School of Bamako, Mali, West Africa,

mali health organizing project, and Grade 4 - 8 Students from Ecole Privée Soma Niakaté, Ecole privée N'Tjiproko, and Ecole de Privée de Sikoro Plateau.

Roman PelzerShameilah SchumannMathies DickoShima Sarah Claire Nego A. Matsinhe

Ami & The Challenges of Doom

Adventures in Conquering Malnutritiona collaboration by Grade 4 & 5 students at the American International School

of Bamako, Mali, West Africa, mali health organization project Grade 4 - 8 Students from Ecole Privée Soma

Niakaté, Ecole privée N'Tjiproko, Ecole de Privée de Sikoro Plateau

The American International School of Bamako is a small international school with a very strong sense of community, educating students ages 2 - 18 years old.

We welcome students from over 30 nationalities. We offer an American-style curriculum and our programs are designed to educate the whole child. Students

in high school have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement exams. The language of instruction is English and all students also learn French.

www.aisbmali.org

AISB Instructor: Jeff FesslerAISB Classroom Assistant: Ben Amegatsey

AISB Director: Caroline JacobyAISB French Teacher (French Translation): Ousmane Barry, Isabelle Thomazeau-

PepinAISB Grade 4 & 5 Students (Writing & Illustration)

Aida SarrAissatou DoumbiaAmadou KaneBelinda NzungizeBijan Philippart

Charity NuhuClara SaielClara SchoeppEl-shadai BarryGladd Mbaoh

Isaac TomehoJesse WilsonMaimouna HaidaraMax NewmanNil Palacios

Seyni TraoreSoraya KeitaYasmina TraoreYohann Tankoano

AISB Grade 6 - 8 Students (French Translation)

Anouk GangaSick SowMahmoud NimagaMatthijs NelenWendyam Ouedraogo

Eva PalaciosDouah DiarraChade Van de FliertDruv NankaniTristan Pelzer

Grade 4 - 8 Students from Ecole Privée Soma Niakaté, Ecole privée N'Tjiproko, Ecole de Privée de Sikoro Plateau

Instructors: Mr. Ibrahim Kanti Sissoko, Mr. Soma Lucien Niare, Mr. Diallo Gouro Kane, Mr. Diabate Drissa

Kadidiatou SissokoAwa CoulibalyAwa CoulibalyMoussa CoulibalyKoule Doucoure

Balkissa DarryFatoumata GuindoAdam N’diayeDjeneba DiakiteBeydi Traore

Ami GuindoKadidiatou KoneAdama DialloBakary Faraban KoneBougary Samassékou

Yaya DiarraBalkissa BarryAnta Guindo

Mali Health Organizing Projectwww.malihealth.org

Mali Health’s mission is to reduce maternal and child mortality in resource-poor communities in West Africa. To achieve this, Mali Health implements replicable

programs that improve access to quality primary care at low costs, while increasing the capacity of and participation in local health systems.

Mali Health Executive Director: Kris AnsinPrograms Director: Mariam Fofana Diallo

Director of Community Mobilization: Dramane DiarraMedical Advisor: Dr. Diakardia Traore

Printing of this graphic novel was made possible with generous donations from the Doumbia Family, Haidara Family, Keita Family, Philipart Family, Saiel Family,

Schoepp Family, and Total Mali.

Likael Poulet

Ami and her family live in Sikoro, a neighborhood in Bamako, Mali that is home to 80,000 people. Malnutrition is a huge problem in Sikoro as it is throughout Mali, and her parents discuss the problem.

Nearly two out of five

children in Mali suffer from

chronic malnutrition.

And one in 3 Malian

children are underweight.

That night Ami hears a strange sound as she sleeps.

What’s that noise?

CLOP! CLOp!! CLOP!!!

1

i just wish there

was something i could do.

She looks out the window and see the strangest sight ever. It is a four-headed donkey!

Hi, AMi!

Huh? Who are

you?

I’m Malisa, a magical

donkey who helps solves

problems.

Working donkeys are essential to the livelihoods of many families in Mali. Because they work so hard in very bad conditions, it is important that they are treated in a humane way. That means not overloading or

whipping them, giving them adequate food and water, and treating their injuries.

2

I need your help to

prevent malnutrition.

Ami, do you know

what malnutrition

is?

Sure! Malnutrition is a lack of

proper nutrition caused by not having enough

to eat...

Or not eating

enough of the right foods –

you have to eat a balanced

diet.Or being

unable to use the food you eat because

you are sick.

What do you mean

unable to use the food you

eat?

You mean “WE” need your

help….

1113

You use so much energy fighting infections that it keeps your body from growing.

Your body can’t absorb nutrients.

Nutrients are flushed out or used by parasites.

Your immune system is weakened for the next infection.

This will explain it:How Diarrhea and Intestinal Parasites Lead to Malnutrition

4

Malnutrition is a huge

problem, but if we all work together we

can get rid of it!

But what can i do to

help? I’m just a kid?

Kids can do a lot, Ami. But

right now I....I mean

“WE”..... have a special challenge

just for you.

5

Magical Malisa gives Ami a map and challenges her to begin a quest. It involves traveling to three different cities in Mali solving malnutrition puzzles.

6

TimbuktuSanitation challenge:

Hidden item puzzle

DjeneWater Challenge: Maze

puzzle

Dogon CountryHygiene

Challenge: Symbol puzzle.

7

If you are

successful at each

challenge, you receive a special mask.

Collect all the masks.

They are the “key”

to solving the malnutrition

problem.

I’ll do it! I want to do my part to solve

the problem of malnutrition.

Excellent! Here’s some

healthy food

for the trip.

Thanks, Malisa!

When Ami wakes up, she thinks Magic Malisa was all a dream…until she sees the map and lunch bag.

She tells her parents she’s off to Bancone Plateau, the village where her grand-parents live.

8

...but instead she hops a pirogue to Djene, the first destination on her malnutrition quest.

After a few hours she opens the lunch bag from Magic Malisa.

Inside the bag she also finds a piece of wood shaped like a banana.

Yum! I love rice and peanut sauce. And oranges

too!

Just then she sees a pod of hippos.

9

I wonder

what this wooden

banana is for? Maybe a good luck

charm?

I read that hippos

live in groups of up to 30

animals. They are the only

mammals that produce pink

milk!

Ami finally arrives in Djene and sees the Grand Mosque.

It’s beautiful! I read

that it’s the largest mud brick mosque in the whole

world. The original was built in the 13th century, but this version is from 1907. It’s one of the most famous

sites in all of Africa.

But enough sightseeing…..time to do my Water Challenge!

10

She carefully reads the water challenge directions on the back of the map.

Hmmm, in this water challenge I

must navigate through a complicated maze while answering

questions about using water safely.

I can do it!

She arrives at the designated challenge spot, and steps into the maze…

11

Can you solve the Water Challenge? Find your way through the maze. Answer water questions along the way to guide

you.

Begin

1. Keep water buckets covered. True False

2. Microorganisms in the water can cause illness and disease. True False

3. Pumped water is safer because it comes from deep in the ground. True False

4. Use water purification tablets to purify drinking water. True False

5. Use a water filter. True False

6. Mix 1 capful (15 ml) of bleach (such as Javel) in 4 liters of water to soak and sanitize fruits and vegetables for 10 to 20 minutes. Rinse well after soaking. True False

7. Use bleach water even on fruits with peels. Cutting through a dirty peel can spread bacteria through the clean fruit. True False

8. If you use knives or cutting surfaces with raw meats, fish, or chicken, clean these tools with soap and water before you use them on any other foods. True False

9. Only allow clean cups and clean hands to come in contactwith your drinking and cooking water. True False

10. A strong boil, lasting even one minute, will make your drinking and cooking water safe. True False

answers: all are true.

11. Store water in a closed container that is regularly cleaned with detergent and bleach. True False

12

13

Ami finally finishes the maze and is awarded the Water Mask by a local healer.

I’m so honored to receive this from you.

Healers have been a part of Malian culture for thousands of years. They create medicines from local plants.

Next Ami sails to Dogon Country for the next challenge.

A crocodile!

I heard they have the

strongest bite of any

animal in the world.

14

She finally arrives in Dogon Country where a mask dance is happening.

Look at that really tall mask! I

read that some can be

several meters tall.

Time for the next

challenge...

Again she reads the back of the map for instructions.

Interesting...for this

challenge I must answer

hygiene questions, then find the answers

in the form of symbols carved

on a Dogon door.

Traditionally, carved wooden Dogon doors have had many uses: as actual closures for buildings, as presents given on special occasions, and as a way to show the occupation or status of the person inside.

15

16

Can you solve the Hygiene Challenge?

Read the hygiene questions below. The answers can be found in the symbol on the carved door at the right.

1. When are 5 times you absolutely MUST wash your hands with soap and water? Find 4 symbols that answer this question.

2. Hand washing reduces the risk of getting diarrhea by .....% Find one symbol that answers this question.

3. Always use this when you wash your hands. Find one symbol that answers this question.

4. What should you do before you share a dish or cup? Find one symbol that answers this question.

5. What should you do for cleanliness, good personal appearance, and and to prevent disease? Find one symbol that answers this question.

6. Unless stored in a refrigerator, this should be cooked and eaten the same day. Find one symbol that answers this question.

answers: 1. after using the toilet, before eating, after changing a diaper, before cooking, after touching an animal. 2. 50% 3. soap 4. wash them 5. bathe 6. meat

17

Again, Ami is successful and receives the Hygiene Mask.

Two challenges

down, and one more to go. I can do this!

Back in the pirogue, she thinks about the final challenge.

I now understand

how safe water and good hygiene

can keep you healthy and keep you from being malnourished.

18

At last she arrives in fabled Timbuktu!

Timbuktu was founded in the 5th century.

Over the centuries it became an

important center for study of

Islam with 180 Koranic schools.

It was an important market

place for the trading of

books, salt, gold, cattle,

and grain.

She checks the back of her map again to read directions for her Sanitation Challenge.

This may be a

tough one! I must enter a room full of objects, and answer sanitation

questions by finding items

in the room.

19

20

Can you master the Sanitation Challenge?

1. This is the only place where you should go to the toilet…never on the ground.

2. every community needs a trash collection system or you'll see this unhealthy site.

3. Never throw trash in this place where you'll find pirogues.

4. Only throw garbage in this …not on the ground.

5. This is why latrines should always be covered.

6. This should be kept at least 20 meters from a latrine, and on higher ground.

answer: 1. Latrine 2. garbage pile 3. river 4. trash can 5. fly 6. well

21

Ami is successful once again, answering all the questions correctly. She is rewarded with the third and final mask, the Sanitation Mask.. And then someone calls her name….

Oh Ami!

Wait, who’s that? It sure doesn’t sound like Magic

Malisa.

22

wait......

I’m a magical

desert elephant,

here to take you back to

Sikoro.

Another talking magical animal! Will there be

more?

Just wait and see. Hop

on!

There are estimated to be fewer than 500 desert elephants left in Mali due to poaching. Most are in the Gourma region. In order to survive in desert conditions they have wider feet, longer legs and smaller bodies than other African bush elephants.

23

She turns around and sees a Malian desert elephant! And he speaks!

And with that Ami returns to Sikoro, soaring through the night sky on the back of the elephant.

Magic Malisa is waiting for here in SIkoro

Thanks Malisa! I

learned so much about the importance of clean water, good hygiene and proper sanitation.

Well done Ami!

24

But your quest is

not finished, Ami!

What?!

25

You must use the masks you’ve gathered on your quest, and fit each one into the special spots on the Sikoro portal. These are a set of huge wooden doors leading into the neighborhood.

Once at the portal, Ami quickly fits the Water, Hygiene and Sanitation masks into the special spots on the doors, and they creak open.

Stay on your guard,

Ami.

Ami walks through the door and sees a beautiful Sikoro. She wonders if this is a healthy and safe Sikoro, free of malnutrition. She thinks so…..until an odd sound begins.

Wait, what is that weird

sound??

26

zZ..ZZ..ZZ..ZZ

Giant germ monsters…bacteria and viruses that cause illness and disease, fly through the sky and attack people.

Oh, Ami…you

missed an important “key” to

solving the malnutrition

problem!I did? But i put in all

three masks!

Think, Ami, Think!

What’s missing?Hmmmmm, to

beat malnutrition we need to have clean

water, proper sanitation, good hygiene

and…..WAIT! We also need a HEALTHY

DIET.

That’s it! And I

know exactly where the symbol is for that!

Ami removes the wooden banana in her lunch bag and quickly puts it into the door.

How could I

forget about a healthy diet?

27

This time when she walks through the portal doors she sees a truly healthy Sikoro, free of malnutrition.

Spread the word Ami! You know the keys

to beating malnutrition.

I will,

Malisa!

28

29

Ami goes home, explaining the ways we can beat malnutrition to her parents and her friends.

And those friends tell their friends and family...

And they tell their friends.

….until everyone in Sikoro knows how to beat malnutrition. You have

to have clean water for drinking, cooking, and

bathing.

30

A healthy diet usually has a mixture of food with protein (for example, beans, peas, meat, fish or eggs), carbohydrates (such as maize, potatoes, cassava, rice and many other staple foods), vitamins (such as vegetables, fish, fruits or milk), and some fats or oils (such as cooking oil).

And eat a healthy diet.

And you have to wash your hands with soap after

visiting the toilet, before cooking, before eating,

after touching animals, and after changing a baby’s

diapers.And always go to the

toilet in a latrine, never on the ground.

31

Never forget the keys to keeping our community free from malnutrition: clean water, proper sanitation, good hygiene, and of course a balanced, healthy diet!

If we all work

together, we can beat

malnutrition!