By Alou Doumbia, Field Director

There are a total of 7 women teachers in the Mali rising Foundation schools, out of more than 90 total Mali Rising teachers. This reflects the larger reality of teaching in Mali, where only 14% of teachers are female and that percentage is even lower in remote, rural schools.

Among Mali Rising’s female teachers, Fatoumata Togo, Alimatou Berthé and Djeneba Niama Coulibaly are women professors who have shown particular dynamism.

Fatoumata is in charge of physics chemistry at The Trujillo Family Middle School in N’Tentou. Alimatou is in charge of natural sciences at Peter Harman Middle School in Tentoubougou and Djènèba is Principal and a lecturer in English at Little Heroes Academy in the village of Mana.

They have mastered their subjects. They are all graduates of the Institute of Teacher Training. They have been recruited by the government and assigned to our schools. They are all married and all come from the big cities but have opted to work in the villages in order to pass on their knowledge to the children of the villages. Thanks to their enthusiasm and the love they have for their job, the girls of their schools wish to become like them.

All three female teachers took part in our teacher trainings of 2016, 2017 , and 2018. The meetings during the training sessions and our teacher peer meetings  were a very special occasion for them to create friendship with each other and support each other’s work.

Some research has shown that female teachers are particularly important when it comes to keeping girls in schools and helping them succeed.

We are so grateful for the hard work of all of our teachers, and particularly pleased to have powerful women teachers who can serve as role models for female students!