The US- and Mali-based staff spent two weeks in January together in the field in Mali. Our incredibly limited access to the internet did not allow us to post our blog updates from the field, so we are sharing them now from the zippy wi-fi of the U.S. Join us on the blog for the next few weeks for a daily update on the trip!

By Merritt Frey, Executive Director

Day four of our trip was a relatively short one, because we had to head north from the little town of Ouelessebougou back to the capitol, Bamako, to pick up a fellow traveler arriving at 2:30 pm. Still, we managed to get a lot done for Mali Rising with an early start and a lot of driving.

Meeting the Mayor

First, we met with the Mayor of Ouelessebougou and one of his deputies. Both gentlemen were very helpful and productive. Mayors in Mali — like mayors in the United States — tend to be close to the needs in their community and perhaps more practically minded than their more national counterparts. In this meeting, we were specifically discussing over-crowding in one of our schools, Leon W. Pete Harman Middle School in the Ouelessebougou “suburb” of Tentoubougou. This school hosts more than 600 students! Even with its six (as opposed to 3) classrooms, this results in classrooms that are not conducive to learning.

In our meeting we identified two potential sites for new schools which would help relieve the over-crowding at the Harman School while providing easier (and safer) school access for a large group of students. The mayor stated he would be willing to provide the community match funds, which is great news! We hope to finalize the site for this build in the next few months and build as soon as possible…stay tuned.

Mana

The village of Mana is just north of Ouelessebougou and is home to our Little Heroes I Academy. This school has our only female principal and we always enjoy visiting with her. We had a lively discussion about the challenges of the teacher strikes in Mali and the principal stressed the problem of providing decent housing to teachers in the little village. We were also able to deliver textbooks to the school thanks to our donors at the 2019 Soiree. These were incredibly welcome as Little Heroes I has one of our worst textbook to student ratios. Lastly, the principal provided a tasty meal of roasted goat and onions. I haven’t eaten red meat since 1983, but when the principal actually lifted the meat to my lips I had to give in or appear rude….I must admit it was pretty darn tasty!

Off to Bamako

We left Mana and headed up to Bamako for our airport rendezvous with board member Courtney. It is nerve-wracking to wait for guests to arrive because it can take them hours to work their way through immigration, customs, and baggage claim. This time we were truly worried as Courtney’s bags were literally the last bags on the conveyor belt! However, we swooped her up and got her back to our little hotel with its shady trees and comfortable patio. Despite 24 hours of travel Courtney was lively and we were reunited with Tim for a relaxing evening in preparation for a busy couple of days.