I really wish we could take all of you with us to Mali. You'd have a wonderful time, get a little hot and dusty, and never be quite the same. But it's a long and expensive trip, and you probably don't have much vacation time. So, here are 3 films that can take you there for just a few hours.
5 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About Mali
Two Stories to Make You Feel Hopeful
When I first started working with Mali Rising, it was months before I could get to Mali to visit our students and our schools. This was a form of torture. Luckily for me, we started the Student Spotlight feature and it gave me a taste of the great kids I now am beginning to know so well. Here are two such stories to lift your spirits just as they lift mine.
Welcome Our New Inspiration Intern
Behind the Scenes Photos from Mali Trip
Whenever we go to Mali, we come back with hundreds...thousands...of great photos. This Friday, we thought we'd share a few of the more candid shots of life in Mali that show perhaps a bit more of what life is like outside of the schoolroom. We hope you'll see some of the beauty of real life in Mali.
A Taste of Mali Here at Home
Calling All Teachers: Classroom Connections
This school year Mali Rising has piloted a new project -- Classroom Connections -- and now we're ready to take it live to teachers and students around the country. We hope you'll join us! Classroom Connections is designed to educate students in the U.S. about students and culture in Mali and provide meaningful service projects for U.S. students to build relationships with their peers in Mali.
Volunteers Help Girls Stay in School
If you were absent for almost 20 percent of middle school, how do you think you would have done in class? For girls in Mali, this is a sad reality. Without any tools to manage their periods, girls end up staying home from school. Over the course of middle school, they can miss four and half months of school. To help, a great team of volunteers in Utah make menstrual kits for girls The kits are designed to last 3 years...exactly the time it takes to finish middle school! In December, we delivered more than 100 kits to our girls, and they were excited.
Celebrating a New School for Mali!
Make the Case for Caring Essay Contest Launch
Tell your favorite high school student about Mali Rising's new Make the Case for Caring Essay Contest. This contest asks students to build a creative, persuasive argument for engagement in a country like Mali -- far from students' homes and daily concerns. National winners of this essay contest receive cash awards and recognition. This year's essay topic: Why should an average person in the United States invest in educating children in a far-off country like Mali...what is in it for us?
