By Sam Eliason, Communications Intern
Located in the tiny village of Mamarasso, Mali, the Mt. Logan Middle School was completed in 2013 with the help of fundraising efforts from the students of Mt. Logan Middle located in Logan, Utah.
One hundred and forty-four students attend the Mt. Logan Middle School, split between three classrooms, one for each grade. Typical of schools in Mali, Mt. Logan has a population of 62% boys and 38% girls. Mali Rising is working to create a 50:50 ratio through the implementation of their Girls’ Project, however, the project is not yet implemented at the Mt. Logan School due to its distance from our Mali Rising staff.
Getting to Mt. Logan takes a three- to four-hour ride on dirt roads from the nearest city, Sikasso, and many of these roads are inaccessible during the rainy season. Despite the distance, our staff spoke highly of Mt. Logan, saying that school leaders are very welcoming and keep the schoolyard clean and cared for.
The village of Mamarasso is located in a lush, wet area so food shortage isn’t as big of a problem as in other areas of Mali and agriculture is the major economic activity. Typical of rural Mali families, the father is the primary farmer, while the wives and daughters do the housework like cooking and collecting water and firewood. This means that girls have much more responsibility, while boys are free to play after school. These large families live communally with the grandparents taking care of the young children, telling jokes and stories. Where children are seen as a sign of wealth, each wife has around eight children, all of whom are typically close in age.
Before Mt. Logan was finished in 2013, the closest middle school was just over a six mile walk away from Mamarasso. Since Mamarasso is near the border of the Ivory Coast, some students will walk from the Ivory Coast three to six miles to attend middle school. On average, kids typically walk two to five miles to come to the school there.
School starts at eight, however, the girls have the responsibility of making breakfast, so they awake early. There is a three-hour lunch break starting at noon so that students have time to walk home for lunch. This again is a time for the girls to cook and clean, sometimes making them late to school which starts again at three and goes until five in the evening. Girls then must collect wood, while the boys are free to whatever hobbies they may have. This is where you can see why girls are prone to drop out early and how important the girls’ project is in supporting female students to continue their studies despite overwhelming responsibilities.
Not only do these students have limited time because of family responsibilities, but they also have limited light, which means they have a hard time studying after it gets dark. Although limited study time is a problem, the biggest need of the Mt. Logan School is textbooks, as is the case in many schools. On average a textbook is shared between six students at Mt. Logan, the fewest books being in science subjects. Having a limited supply of learning materials makes lessons difficult as teachers have to spend time writing up the entire lesson on the board which students then copy into their notebooks before starting the lesson. Not only do these textbooks carry content, but they are also the only source of practice and homework problems. These students don’t have technology and worksheets to supplement their learning, it’s all in the textbook, making these books crucial learning tools.
Despite these setbacks, Mt. Logan Middle School has offered a beacon of hope to those who couldn’t walk the far distance before. These students went from being hopeless for further education to having a central gathering place for students from Mamarraso and the surrounding villages to learn and grow. The government sends teachers to their school and they are able to take the graduation exam without having to travel long distances. This school has even given hope to the students of Mali’s neighboring country, the Ivory Coast! This is an example of the success we’ve seen in our schools in Mali and we hope to see more stories like this one!
What can you do to help the Mount Logan School?
Donate to the textbook fund to allow students greater access to essential learning materials.
Donate to the girls’ project so that in time it can benefit the girls of Mamarasso.
Explore other service opportunities on our website under Get Involved!
