Bamako · Mali · since 2013

Humanitarian.Reconstruction.Culture.

AMAHREC-SAHEL, Mali Humanitarian Action for Reconstruction and Culture in the Sahel, is a Bamako association led by the musician Vieux Farka Touré. It supports the children, families and culture of the Sahel.

Children sitting in the sand read the books they have just received.
Banner of the 2023 “Vieux Farka Touré” school kit drive.

600pupils targeted by the 2023 school kits

Who we are

A Bamako association, led by an artist.

AMAHREC-SAHEL was declared on 4 July 2013 with the Governorate of the District of Bamako. Its president, Boureima Aly known as Vieux Touré, famous around the world as Vieux Farka Touré, is a singer and guitarist and the son of the great Ali Farka Touré.

The association works for rural self-development: support for education, health, agriculture, livestock, festivals, cultural exchanges, orphanages and emergency relief. It also keeps a permanent framework for discussion and action with public and private institutions, in Mali and abroad.

“To promote indigenous, participatory and comprehensive development through individual and collective initiatives.”

The association’s aim, as written on its registration receipt (translated from French)
  • Apolitical
  • Non-denominational
  • Non-profit
  • Open to everyone
Vieux Farka Touré with children and a carer outside an orphanage in Bamako.
Vieux Farka Touré with the children of a Bamako orphanage, July 2013.
Our vision

A society that is just and prosperous for all.

Three words, one commitment

What our name stands for.

  • Humanitarian

    Helping those in need: children in orphanages, families in hardship and people hit by crises, with emergency relief when it is needed.

  • Reconstruction

    Development that comes from within: supporting schools, health, farming and livestock so that rural communities can rebuild on their own terms.

  • Culture

    Festivals, cultural exchanges and young talent: Mali’s music and culture as a force that brings people together and gives hope.

We try to do something and help those in need who are in Mali […] and the entire Sahel region. AMAHREC SAHEL is an action for humanitarian reconstruction and culture for the Sahel.

Vieux Farka Touré, president of AMAHREC-SAHEL

Our work

In the field, from Bamako to northern Mali.

2023 edition

The “Vieux Farka Touré” school kit drive

AMAHREC-SAHEL notebooks, t-shirts and backpacks for pupils from families in need in the communes of Diré, Goundam and Niafunké, in the Timbuktu region. Thank you to everyone who donated to make this possible.

  • 600pupils targeted
  • 3communes

Theme: “Let’s rally for the schooling of the Sahel’s children, for a more inclusive education.”

Two volunteers hold the banner of the 2023 school kit drive for Diré, Goundam and Niafunké.
Stacks of AMAHREC-SAHEL notebooks.
Backpacks from the 2023 school kit drive.
  • Two children at an orphanage in Bamako, one holding a box.

    Our first action

    “Smile at me” for the ASHED orphanage

    AMAHREC sponsored the Junior Chamber International Mali initiative “Souris-moi” (“Smile at me”) for the ASHED orphanage in Badalabougou, home to about forty children aged 10 months to 17 years. Thanks to it, the children no longer sleep on the floor for lack of mattresses, nor go without food or water.

  • Children’s books and school supplies handed over at a ceremony in Mali.

    2018

    Books and school supplies

    Children’s books, notebooks and school supplies bought and handed to pupils in Mali, so that a lack of materials stops no one from learning.

  • Vieux Farka Touré hands a left-handed electric guitar to a young musician.

    2018

    A guitar for a young talent

    Vieux Farka Touré delivered a special left-handed guitar to a promising young musician: culture is part of our mission, and it starts with young people.

Our story

More than ten years beside the Sahel.

  1. 2013 July

    The association is founded

    AMAHREC-SAHEL is declared in Bamako on 4 July 2013. The same month, Vieux Farka Touré visits the children of an orphanage in Bamako.

  2. 2013 September

    Official recognition

    The Governorate of the District of Bamako issues registration receipt No. 0522/G-DB, dated 9 September 2013.

  3. 2017 May

    Ambassador for children in need

    The Association pour le Suivi des Orphelins au Sahel (ASSOS), based in Timbuktu, names Vieux Farka Touré ambassador for the children in need in its programme.

  4. 2018

    Books, supplies and music

    Children’s books and school supplies for pupils in Mali, and a left-handed guitar for a promising young musician.

  5. 2023

    School kits in the north

    The “Vieux Farka Touré” school kit drive for 600 pupils from families in need in Diré, Goundam and Niafunké.

  6. 2025 January

    Knight of the National Order of Mali

    Our president is made a Knight of the National Order of Mali, in recognition of his role as a cultural ambassador carrying Mali’s colours onto the world’s biggest stages.

What we do

Eight ways we support rural self-development.

  • Education
  • Health
  • Agriculture
  • Livestock
  • Festivals
  • Cultural exchanges
  • Orphanages
  • Emergency relief

AMAHREC-SAHEL works in partnership with public and private institutions in Mali and abroad. It is open to every person and organisation willing to contribute to its aim, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion.

Support us

Every notebook, every mattress counts.

The 2023 school kits were made possible by donations. Here is how you can help us keep going.

  • Make a donation

    Give online, securely, with PayPal or a bank card.

    Give with PayPal
  • Become a partner

    Institution, company, festival or association: let’s build an action together in Mali or the Sahel.

    Write to us
  • Join the association

    AMAHREC-SAHEL is open to anyone who wants to contribute, with their time or their skills.

    Join us

Contact

Let’s talk.