Bibi’s surgery was a success and she returned home to Mali. This is when they discovered Bibi had a brain tumor and she had to undergo surgery. While she was in Istanbul she collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. Years prior she received the Malian Chevalier des Ordres and on Apshe was being honored as the Malian Mother of the Year in Istanbul, Turkey. Over the years Bibi has received many humanitarian awards. When Bibi finished her treatment her daughter arranged to have her flown back to Mali so she could resume her role at the helm of the orphanage. Fortunate for Bibi one of her daughters works for an airline and as such was able to provide Bibi with a family travel pass.

Eventually her chest pains got worse and she was flown to Tunisia where she was admitted into a hospital. With her orphanage over flowing with refugees she started developing chest pains. To eat better, to unplug the phone, to go on a spiritual retreat or to do anything that would help re-energize her physical batteries.īut she was incapable of turning a blind eye and her breakneck pace continued as the war in Mali raged on. It was a wonder if Bibi slept 2 hours each night. She has been an unstoppable force answering every desperate plea for help, hearing about sightings of babies who were being abandoned and doing spot checks in the middle of the night to make sure the recently arrived malnourished babies were receiving constant care. Click here to see a video of Bibi during better health times at the orphanage. Through it all Bibi’s efforts to help her fellow countrymen/women and children has been unwaivering. The abject poverty, dismal conditions and the tragic reality of new born babies being abandoned in hospitals and on the side of the road was more than I could bear. Nothing could have prepared me for the trip that lay before me. I visited Bibi and the babies in June of 2012. I was deeply touched by Alejandro’s story as he continues to help the orphanage to this very day.

In 1993 Bibi decided to formalize her efforts to help abandoned babies and founded a foreign non profit (NGO) called Asemali. Growing up as a child she learned from her mother to never turn a blind eye on someone in need. Bibi was born in the historic town Timbuktu. In reality Bibi’s personal home has always been a refuge for asylum seekers and orphans. The orphanage home is called Orphelinat Niaber and their registered NGO name is Asemali. It was a long trek from DC to Mali but young Alejandro managed to navigate multiple countries with 5 duffle bags filled to the hilt with donations for Bibi’s orphans. He visited Bibi’s orphanage on a school trip to Bamako, Mali a couple of years ago. I met Bibi through a kind hearted, enterprising teenager named Alejandro Ernst. I like to call Madame Maly Sangho “Mama Love” because this is what she epitomizes.

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