By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Coordinator

Mr. Doumbia is one of our brave biology teachers serving at the Ross & Marilou Moser Middle School in the village of Nieguekoro. This is a very small village far from the main paved roads, so is quite remote. During my field trip to the school, I got to talk to with Mr. Doumbia and learn about his work. Let’s learn from him:

I am Mr. Doumbia, a biology teacher serving all three grades in Nieguekoro — 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. I am 32 years old and I have been teaching in this village for more than 4 years. I love my teaching job because it makes me contribute to the development of my country by sharing my knowledge with students.

I am proud of our students even though they are not all great in my subject. We are hoping to have better results this year in DEF [the national graduation exam]. I love my job because it helps me make a better future for myself and for Mali.

Before in the past, I was unemployed and didn’t have any motorcycle, no land to build and I was all the time complaining about my life giving me such a horrible situation. Thanks to the teaching job now, I can boldly overcome many of my economic problems and fairly contribute to the country development. So, I like it and like all my colleagues as friends. We are all one family in this school. I like to come together with them and discuss important topics and play games like checkers, cards, and I sometimes play soccer for fun too.

I like a lot of kinds of food but my favorite one is rice with onion sauce and chicken. My favorite season is the cold one even if I live in a village because at that time there are fewer mosquitoes and I feel much better while teaching in classrooms with less heat. This means I don’t like hot season when I get sweaty all the time especially while teaching in classrooms. Students themselves feel better during the cold season even if some of them are late sometimes because they barely wake up in the morning and go to school. They also don’t take shower every day because of cold. I am very happy with you and grateful to Mali Rising and all the donors for your supports and generosity.