By Hindaty Traore, Girls Project Manager

A child valued for her tenacity and her progress develops a more positive attitude towards herself. Valuing students, whoever they are, strengthens their self-confidence, allows them to feel more secure, and more capable. It can promote their academic perseverance as well as their well-being.

During the start of this 2020-2021 school year, school kits were distributed to the top 15 girl students in the five partner schools (Diorila, N'tentou, Sebela, Tamala and Zambougou) where the Girls Project is active. These girls received the kits as a reward for their good school work, which motivates all the girls to work hard in class!

Below is a the story from one of our best girls at the Denik Middle School in Zambougou. She is the top of her class — beating out both boys and girls for the honor.

“My name is Lala Samaké, I am 15 years old. I am in 8th grade. I like all the subjects because it is thanks to all these subjects that I am the top of my class.

I live with my parents in a village three kilometers from Zambougou. I walk for an hour between my house and my school. I want to become a firefighter so that I can save lives, because a man's life is very important. I would like to do this job in Zambougou because there are a lot of road accidents there. A road crosses between our school and the village, it endangers the lives of the students.

I learn a lot of things with the Girls Project. For example, during the Reading Sessions I learned the difference between accents on letters, which gave me problems despite being the first of the class.

Today I just received a set of school supplies from the Project. I can only be happy and grateful as this is the very first time that I have been encouraged with gifts because of my studies. It is a pride to receive gifts thanks to studies. This gesture will help me a lot because I needed the geometry materials and that was part of the gifts. The other girls looked at me longingly, the teachers were proud of me and that is huge for me. My best friend wants to surpass me next time but I too won't let it happen (laughs). I will redouble my efforts to stay the best and receive the gifts for next year.”

Small things like the gift of these school supplies makes a big difference for our girls. Motivating someone in the school setting is about giving students the desire to know and to learn. Motivation is a real driving force for the student, because it allows her to say to herself when she is learning "I am happy with myself" or "I am proud of myself".

The more a teenager feels that those around her (parents, relatives, teachers) believe in her, the more likely she is to succeed. We at Mali Rising believe in our girls…and we make sure they know it!