By Adama Kone, Teacher & Health Project Coordinator
Mr. Touré is a Math teacher at Judge Memorial Middle School of Sankama. He is 34 years old and, according to him, married to a beautiful wife. Mr. Touré does not live with his wife in Sankama where he teaches because it is a small and remote village. He misses his wife incredibly while teaching in village. He gets to see his wife about every two months when he visits her in Bamako, the capital city of Mali, which is about 100 km from the village where he teaches.
Mr. Touré having some fun teaching his students about safe ways to greet each other during the pandemic.
Mr. Touré has a lot on his plate because he is teaching both math and chemistry at Judge Memorial Middle School of Sankama. For the last three years, he has taught these subjects to students in all three grades (7, 8, 9). However, he enjoys working with all his colleagues and students very much. According to his principal, he is very motivated and helpful to students.
Mr. Touré has been very concerned about student health in his school since the outbreak of COVID-19. Because of his concern, he volunteered to coach the Mali Rising Health Club at Judge Memorial Middle so that his school stays safe. He thinks that kids are the future of the country and we should watch over them so they grow up safely with good knowledge and the ability to serve and improve the country.
He enjoys coaching the Health Club, especially when it comes to training them on practicing the prevention measures for COVID-19. Mr. Touré helps the students in the Health Club practice fun, cool ways of greeting without handshakes and makes sure they wash their hands with soap before entering classrooms or going back home on breaks.
Mr. Touré likes to help students do their homework and teach them new things. Every day, he reminds students to wash their hands with soap and stresses the importance of this activity. He also watch over students and make sure they greet each other without shaking hands. He and the Health Club having been doing amazing things encouraging students to comply with different measures so that the whole school is safe.
Mr. Touré’s mantra that he shares repeatedly with his students? “You can NOT come to school while you are sick. So safety first!”
Sometimes Mr. Touré’s Health Club students go from classroom to classroom telling other students about the importance of greeting with their elbow or feet, or just bowing down instead. His students enjoy practicing these greetings and make themselves happy when they are in school.
Mr. Touré understands COVID-19 is really in Mali, contrary to some people. He is thankful to God that there are no cases in Sankama where he lives. He is also confident that his school will be safe thanks to Mali Rising’s help and their own determination to get keep students safe with the prevention measures.
Over the last few years, we’ve worked with Mr. Touré in several ways and found him always eager to find new ideas for helping his students. For example, Mr. Touré was also at one of Mali Rising Foundation’s teacher trainings where he learned a lot about how to teach math, chemistry and physics. He is so grateful to Mali Rising for their generosity.
In his spare time, Mr. Touré enjoys doing strength exercises or running on the village public soccer field. His favorite dish is spaghetti with chicken, which he often asks his wife to cook…when he finally gets to see her!
