Equip Samba's Rural Health Clinic in Mali

Adam Klein is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hi, I'm Adam Klein, an Atlanta-via-Athens, Georgia, singer/songwriter and actor. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa, from 2002- 2004. It was a transformative time in my life and I'm sure the experience continues to shape who I am and how I live in the world to this day.

One of my closest friends in Mali is my sidekick/younger brother named Samba Diallo, from the village I lived in, Dougouolo. After years of hard work, and leaving village life behind to pursue higher education and study to become a nurse practitioner, Samba is now the rural health agent for a collection of small villages about 60 kilometers south of Bamako. Over the past few years, we have supported his efforts to construct a proper health clinic facility. He has a building, some medical instruments, medications, and a bed for labor and childbirth.

Now, Samba has requested a few critical items to enhance the clinic and the health of his patients, and provide additional services to the local community: an ultrasound machine, refrigerator, AC, batteries, and a solar panel.

The cost of the items is listed below.

Ultrasound machine: 1,582,944cfa ($2,643.58)

2 batteries: 400,000cfa ($668)

Refrigerator: 400,000cfa ($668)

A/C: 350,000cfa ($584.51)

Solar panel: 90,000cfa ($150.30)

Total: $4802.24

On behalf of Samba, I am asking you to help support these expenses. You can be sure that your contribution will go a long way to improve the lives of people living a subsistence lifestyle in deep poverty. Enhanced health services mean so much beyond even better health. It means better attendance in schools and improved learning, less duress, better economic outcomes, and a thriving community. And with an ultrasound, of course, he’ll be able to better monitor pregnant mothers and provide the best possible outcomes for the birth of their children as well as catch organ and soft tissue issues in his patients.

Thanks for your generosity. Any amount that you’re able to contribute will be appreciated and go to this important cause! Samba greets you and gives his thanks in advance, as do I.

I am setting this campaign at $5,000 due to the 3% credit card fees deducted from each donation. Any amount raised beyond the goal will go toward additional assistance for his clinic.

Please continue reading for some photos and backstory:

Shortly after I arrived in the village for my Peace Corps stint, Samba showed up at the door of my two-room mud house and took it upon himself to teach me the Bambara language and show me the ways of Mande culture and life. From the get-go, he became my shadow. Walking the dusty, sandy path on the outskirts of the village in the darkness of the new night to my host family's compound for dinner, I would hear the soft rustling of weeds and footsteps behind me. He would wait outside the home and I would sense him behind me as I walked back to my place. He was relentless in his quest for friendship. As we got to know one another, I recognized a kindred spirit. He had a zest for life, a curiosity, a warm demeanor, a bright smile and an easy laugh, and the next two years were filled with special moments and even travels together. He was 12 when we first met. He lived with his grandparents and farmed their fields. His father was absent and his mother lived in a different town nearly two hours away by bush taxi.

Since then, he completed secondary and nurse practitioner school in Bamako, got married, and now has two daughters. As mentioned, he’s the rural health agent for a collection of small villages about 60 kilometers south of Bamako. He’s building his clinic and I couldn’t be prouder.

To "meet" Samba, check out this video, a trailer for my unfinished documentary about Mali and the making of my album there: