In the last several decades great progress has been made in providing primary school education in Mali. However, there is a significant drop when it comes to children attending secondary school.

Although 69 percent of children are enrolled in primary school in Mali, only 34 percent are enrolled in secondary school. By creating better access to middle schools, we can have a lasting and positive impact on Mali as a whole.

Studies show this time and again. For example, with each additional year of secondary schooling, a student’s future income increases by 10-20 percent.  

But education doesn’t just benefit the individual, it benefits the students’ villages, Mali, and ultimately all of us.  For example, for every additional year of school the average citizen has, a country’s GDP growth will increase by nearly half a percent -- making the country more self-sufficient. And studies show that for each 10 percent increase in a country’s middle school enrollment, the risk of war decreases by 3 percent...making us all safer given the reality of porous borders and extremism today.  

So education, and increasingly secondary education, is key. Yet with all the good work being done to increase primary school access, there has been less focus on secondary schools.

That's where Mali Rising steps in!  We invest in middle schools (grades 7-9) that help kids take the next step on the road to self-sufficiency -- because this is what will allow the people of Mali to take control of their own lives and the future of their country.