Their journey began on September 26 in the remote mining town of Arlit, in the north of Niger, which was recently ranked by the Save the Children charity as the worst place to be a mother on Earth. As they rattled across the desert in two ramshackle trucks, toward the Algerian town of Tamanrasset, these mothers dreamed of a better life for their children. But only 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Arlit, the first of the two vehicles broke down. The other vehicle turned back to Arlit to get a spare part after unloading its human cargo in the desert. It, too, soon broke down.

The children stayed close to their mothers, doing their best to shelter from the