Mali: Sponsorship scheme launched to get kids in schools

Malian children miss out on school because their parents can't afford the fees, uniforms, books and pens so the government launched a sponsorship scheme this month, recruiting businessmen and even footballers to help impoverished children get an education. Officials say the cost of putting a child through school is about 25,000 CFA (US$ 46) a year - which makes life difficult for parents in a country where around 70 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day and women have an average of around seven children each, according to the World Bank.