Help Medina Koli

My name is Jessica Morales and I live in Senegal, Africa, in the village of Medina Koli. On December 22nd 2018, tragedy struck when a fire burned twenty-nine huts and took the life of two-month-old Awa Traore.

That Saturday went like any other, until about 2pm. I was sitting with my host family helping prepare lunch, when my host mom frantically told me, "get up quick, there's a fire. " I am still learning the native language, and was confused as to what was going on as my mom and sister ran to fetch buckets of water. As we left our compound, there were people everywhere, rushing to the other side of our village with buckets on their heads.

Unfortunately, fire trucks are not as easily accessible as in the states, so it took hours of running back and forth to water sources to put out the fire. My village is located in the bush approximately 10 km away from a main road, meaning it takes about two hours to reach by a horse drawn cart. Wails of children and adults were heard as everything these families owned burned away.

Medina Koli is a large farming community, so the families lost all of their harvests; those of which are used to feed their families, and are their main source of income. I hope that no one ever has to go through what these families, and entire village, had to go through.

Please help these families get back on their feet in such difficult times. Thank you!