Barakeden means "little house maids" in bambara, the national language of Mali. For urban Malians, this word sounds like an insult. Oumou left her village when she was 14 to come to work as a maid in Bamako. Endless days, humiliation, pittance… Like hundreds of thousands of her fellows, she endures harsh life with hope for a better life. By night, these "little maids" gather to express their resentment. Helped by some activists, some of them begin to organize themselves so as to defend their rights.

Adeline Gonin, after graduating in anthropology and sociology, got involved in the support of migrant workers housing (foyers). In 2009, she sets up a film festival, "le Festival de Cinéma des foyers" together with her non-profit organisation "Attention Chantier" (Caution, Work in progress). In 2011, after a first short film, she attends "Ateliers Varan" (Varan video workshop) where she makes Papa Ben, a portrait of a parisian rag-picker.