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Editor's note: KSL recently accompanied a group from Utah to the country of Mali in West Africa, where they attempted to help the locals despite constant setbacks and under threat of terrorist attacks. To view our entire documentary, click hereand hereto see over an hour of online-only videos, as well as a photo album.MALI, WEST AFRICA — If this is the first time you're hearing of the country of Mali, you're not alone — it's a place most of the world has forgotten. Mali isn't just a poor country, it's one of the poorest countries in the world.
A large part of the population lives in remote villages, in places where clean water is hard to find — places where some have never even heard of modern medicine.
"Most of the time I get malaria," said Adama Dembele, a resident of Mali. "Because of the mosquitoes."
Because survival in these villages is so difficult, many head to the capital city of Bamako in search of a better life. Oftentimes, what they find is disappointment. Jobs are nearly impossible to come by.
"I'm not thinking about having a great job, a big job," Dembele said. "I just want to get something just so that I can survive. You know, just to survive. That's all."
But 20 miles outside of Bamako, you'll find the beginning of a project some Utahns are hoping will make a difference.
"Chicken farmer from Utah in Mali," said Chris Shepherd. "Unbelievable, isn't it?"
Shepherd is a long way from Utah.
He is a man who traveled more than 6,000 miles for chickens. He runs a successful chicken farm in Utah County, but he felt it was time to look beyond his own borders.
"I'm teaching them how to produce eggs efficiently and how to care for them," he said. "The staff has been wonderful here. They're eager to learn and they want to learn."
The first birds arrived back in April 2015, and the project has been growing ever since.
"I just enjoy what I'm doing here," Shepherd said. "Not only helping provide a place of employment for the people of Mali, but also a place where they can produce their own food."
But this operation goes far beyond creating jobs and producing food. To find out how, all you have to do is ask Rick Folkerson, who works with Ken Garff Automotive and oversees their community initiative program.
"Well, it's really benefitting Mali as a whole," Folkerson said. "We serve the people of Bamako with the eggs that we produce," he said.
Safe to say their "community" just got a whole lot bigger.
"The whole focus is to build a large enough group of hens that will produce enough eggs that we can build schools in Mali," Folkerson said.
These men believe education is the key to helping Mali — empowering the residents from within and at the same time, giving a couple of guys from the Mountain West a chance to hatch a little hope in a barren land.
"I still have to pinch myself when I tell people from Utah where I'm going and what I'm doing," Shepherd said.
If you'd like to help the people of Mali, please visit EmpowerMali.org, or LiftEachOther.org.
