About us
Our story
Tilwate Peace Network (TPN) was founded in response to the urgent need for safe, accessible education for girls in northern Mali. The word "Tilwate", meaning "to feel safe in your space" in Tamashek, reflects the core of our mission.
Our work began with the construction of a girls’ school on the outskirts of Timbuktu, created to protect students from the risks of violence they faced traveling long distances.
Though the school was later destroyed by armed groups during the 2012 conflict, the experience only strengthened our resolve.
Pursuing our commitment
Determined not to let conflict define the future of our communities, we formalized our commitment by founding TPN as a registered association in 2019.
After years of continued effort, we were officially recognized as a non-governmental organization (NGO) by the Malian government in 2024.
The crisis in Mali
Since 2012, Mali has been experiencing a multidimensional crisis fueled by armed conflict, terrorism, communal violence, and environmental degradation. This prolonged instability has significantly weakened the country's social fabric and eroded trust in state institutions, leaving communities vulnerable and underserved.
Tilwate Peace Network operates in a fragile and complex context, where it faces a wide range of interrelated challenges:
- Community-based violence: this is often triggered or exacerbated by the presence of terrorist groups and armed militias, leading to widespread human rights violations and numerous civilian casualties;
- Gender-based violence (GBV), including rape and sexual abuse perpetrated by armed actors, disproportionately affects women and girls, who are often stigmatized and denied access to justice and assistance;
- Resource-related conflicts, as climate change and environmental pressures intensify competition for land, water, and gold mining sites, often leading to violent clashes between farmers, herders, fishermen, and gold miners;
- Youth unemployment and radicalization: armed groups exploit economic vulnerability to recruit young people by offering them financial incentives and a sense of purpose. Armed groups have targeted young people in their recruitment campaigns;
- Inadequate support mechanisms for women, youth, and children who are victims of conflict, discrimination, and violence: existing reparations programs are ill-suited to their specific needs due to a lack of reliable data and limited policy dialogue.