By Hindaty Traore, Girls Project Coordinator

In the complicated moments of life, some people show great kindness in helping and supporting those in need. These kind and supportive people are few in our world all too often individualistic.

Mali Rising’s Strong Woman Scholarships are a legacy of love from two incredible sisters in North America. Chris Lindsay (1944-2017) and Mary Frey who believed that "if positive changes were to occur, strong women would be the catalyst". After the death of Chris Lindsay, her sister Mary Frey to create this annual award to celebrate their promise and in memory of her sister.

Thanks to their generous grant from the two strong women, this year five girls were very happy and grateful to learn that they have been chosen as a beneficiary.

Samadjè Diarra is one of the beneficiaries. She is 17 years old and is at the Ouéléssebougou health school, with a specialty in nursing and midwifery. She intends to become a pediatrician after graduation. She is currently interning at the CSCOM Ouéléssebougou where she does a lot of practice such as injections, infusions, wound dressing, distribution of food to poorly nutritional children, which motivated her dream to become a pediatrician.

After the internship, she would like to look for work with her diploma either in Ouéléssebougou or in villages in need. She is one step away from the goal. She would never have imagined to be there where she is today because her parents could not afford to pay so much for her study. She wants to make her parents proud, the two sisters who believed and supported her and also honor the memory of the late Chris Lindsay.

By awarding her the Strong Woman Scholarship, the sisters had given her hope and courage, and reduced her financial burden, which allows her to put more emphasis on the most important aspect of school, learning. The generosity of these two incredible women inspired her to help others and give back to her community. Samadje hopes that one day she will be able to help students achieve their goals just as they did for her.

Note: These scholarships are granted under our Inspiration Scholars Project with a specific focus on girls who participate in our Girls Project.