Fadimata was a lady that I met during the week. She is a proud and incredibly resiliant and strong woman. I left her with a tear in my eye after she generously shared her story - and then thanked me for listening!
I won't share too much... I'm hopeful of publishing her story in a Salvation Army magazine coming your way, soon.
Fadimata is a mother of 7 from the fabled city of Timbuktu. She fled there in the middle of last year during the Malian war, not for fear of the militants, but fearful of the Sharia law being introduced by Islamists in the north.
When she fled, she took with her 7 children. I should add that she is a widow. She did this by herself. The eight of them walked 25 kilometers to where the Niger river intersects the Timbuktu-Bamako highway. They then joined 40 others and 'sailed' in wooden canoes for four days to reach the city of Mopti. From there they recieved assistance for the rest of the trip to Bamako where they are currently staying in a Catholic conference centre as guests of two incredible nuns I also met during the week.
I can't imagine my two children walking 25 kilometres in 40+ degree heat. I can't imagine spending four days in a wooden canoe on a massive river with crocs around us. I can't imagine doing this as a persecuted minority (Fadimata is Christian) fleeing sharia law.
I should add that all she left with is a bottle of water for her children. No food. No clothes - she wasn't able to get either until she got to Mopti.
My hero of the week is this widow from Timbuktu. Thank you Fadimata.
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