Christian Aid wanted to make a video about the link between Tereli and Burley. The video ‘Living on the line’ shows the visit of Mary and John to Tereli. Here are photographs and an account of the trip.
On February 8, 2000 John and I flew to Mali and met up with a Christian Aid team in the capital Bamako. We then travelled for two days along mainly dust tracks into a region with less and less vegetation and more and more sand. The Catholic Mission at Pel was our base and we were made most welcome by Pere Yves a Belgian White Father. The journey from Pel took over an hour across the desert and we finally arrived in Tereli, a village of small thatched mud huts, which shelters under the imposing Bandiagara cliffs.
As soon as we approached we were surrounded by dozens of children who led the way to the centre of the village where we were greeted by the Village Chief, the elders and school teachers. The welcome continued with the spectacular mask dancing. During the following three days we were able to share in the day to day activities of the village – collecting water, pounding millet, going to market, worshipping in the small Catholic Church made of mud, seeing the weaving and clay pots being made etc.
It is difficult to describe the warmth of our welcome – there is a great desire that the friendship between our villages will grow. Before we left this area John was able to visit a different village and see a well that had just been dug with funds from Christian Aid. I returned to Tereli to visit the school taking drawings and tapes and met young people keen to know more about life in Burley.
After the long journey back we spent two days in Bamako and visited the Christian Aid office. Having eaten at the Jubilee 2000 cafe in the capital, it was good to be able to talk about our involvement with the debt campaign. We were particularly pleased to be able to visit Siramory – the market gardener who came to stay in Burley in June 1999.
For both of us it was a wonderful experience – the villages along the Bandiagara cliffs are amazing – but our abiding memory is of the people – their warmth, friendship and generosity of spirit. We both felt very privileged to have been part of the ‘On the Line’ link.
Mary 2000
