Mali

Lassina Sidibé
12 years old

Lassina is one of Cheik Oumar's apprentices. He is not directly involved with the program, although is benefiting from it as he is employed as Cheick Oumar's apprentice.

Lassina Sidibé has a twin name but he is not a twin. He is namesake of his uncle, the younger brother of his father. He was born in Côte d'Ivoire. He came with his father and his older brother and sister to Mali in September 2002, before the political crisis started. After a war began in Côte d'Ivoire, his mother rejoined them with the other children (1 son and 2 daughters).

The Workforce

Lassina now has two brothers (one older and one younger) and four sisters (one older and three younger). There are seven children in the family and his father has one wife. His brother is an apprentice solderer. The brother and the older sister (who is now married) did not go to school. He has one sister who is in the 2nd level of the primary school. One sister used to go to school but they stopped studying. The other sister is under scholarship age. Lassina didn't go to school himself but he went to the medersa (or French-Arab school), a combination of coranic (Arabic) and basic French study. He stopped studying at the 4th level when he was still in Côte d'Ivoire.

Lassina's father is a marabout and his mother sells loincloths moving from house to house. The family rent a three room flat (2 bedrooms and 1 living room) in a grand shared courtyard with other families. In Lassina's opinion this flat is sufficient for the family.

Lassina started joinery in a first workshop where there wasn't very much work. He had to change to Cheik Oumar's workshop when the family moved house as the first workshop was too far away. He has been at the second workshop for one and a half months and is very busy with lots of work.

When he earns money, he gives it to his mother. Some time he earns money from small jobs in the workshop and his boss pays him regularly.

Lassina has a similar daily routine to Cheik Oumar:

• he wakes up at 6:00 am;


• he eats breakfast, a "bouillie" (a sort of Malian porridge made up cereal granules cooked with milk) with the family;


• at lunch time, he takes his lunch at home as his family live close to the workshop;


• after work in the evening, he has dinner which, like lunch, consists of rice with sauce (changing day to day) or "tô", a sort of Malian pudding;


• then he plays with his friends;


• he goes to bed before 10:00 pm.

His favourite dish is rice with saga-saga sauce, a sauce made with sweet potato leafs. He also likes drinking Malian tea - a green tea boiled with the addition of mint leaves to get a strong black drink, served three times with the addition of water each times. Lassina drinks this at the workshop as his parents don't drink tea.

Sidibé working

His favourite passion is playing football. When he doesn't work at the workshop he plays as a guardian with his team called BARSA. He would like to become a footballer. He is not interested in TV, not even to watch football games - he likes to be the one on the pitch!

Lassina says "I like joinery as a job in addition to a footballer's job! I haven't had the opportunity to study through night school because no night school is available near the family house in my neighbourhood, but I would be interested in studying if it were possible."

Glossary Itinerant - Travelling from place to place, especially to perform work or a duty Solderer - joining metallic parts Marabout - Muslim hermit

 

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Lasina Sidibé

 

 

 

 

Lasina Sidibé

 

 

 

 

Sidibé working