At Join For Water, professional commitments are often rooted in personal stories. This is certainly true for Bintou Traoré, the country coordinator for Mali. Her journey illustrates the link between personal experience, professional commitment and social change. Read her story today, 11 November, Women’s Day in Belgium.
Bintou: from fetching water to campaigning for universal access
Bintou Traoré has been the coordinator for Join For Water in Mali since 2024. But this role is more than just a job; it is closely linked to her personal story, a story rooted in reality: fetching water in rural areas.
Bintou comes from Konodimini, a village in the Ségou region, and grew up without direct access to water. Between the ages of 10 and 16, she walked back and forth 10 times every day with a 20-litre jerrycan, in the morning and in the evening before and after school, to fetch water. These painful memories have always stayed with her.
The discovery of the tap
When she arrived in Bamako to study, she was amazed to discover the tap, something she had never seen before. Even today, despite living in the city, she finds that water remains a challenge: the frequent cuts remind her that inequality persists, even in urban areas.
One of the most memorable experiences in her work was Bintou’s first visit to the Faraba plains, an area that had been abandoned for over a decade, but where women can now grow rice again thanks to Join for Water’s interventions. That day, she says, she realised her work had meaning: “The joy in these women’s eyes reminded me of my own experiences.”
Water: a right, not a luxury
Bintou has been committed to women’s empowerment and the defence of human rights for many years, systematically integrating gender and social inclusion into all projects. This is also a key element of Join For Water’s strategy. For her, work is a necessity for women, as access to income remains an essential lever for independence and dignity.
“As a woman, I am committed to empowering women and to everything related to women’s rights. For me, work is a necessity; a woman must have her own income. In everything I do, I keep this aspect in mind, and that’s not just about women, but about all people who are vulnerable, to ensure they are not excluded. My ambition for these women is that they have a small income of their own; that is the path to greater independence for women.”
Bintou Traoré embodies a new generation of female leaders, who have both feet firmly on the ground and are fully committed to a fairer world, where water is a right and not a luxury.
