By Alou Doumbia, Construction Manager

Over the last four-plus years, Mali Rising’s Inspiration Scholarship project has changed the lives of 57 young people, including 39 young women. This project grants education scholarships to our outstanding 9th grade graduates to allow them to continue their studies.

This assistance strengthens the efforts that parents make to enable their children to continue their studies when they leave their villages. Parents in Mali – just like everywhere around the world – want the best future possible for their kids. Almost every parent will understand the pain of not being able to give your child everything…and that’s where our Inspiration Scholar donors can step in to help out just a bit!

The scholarship provides each student with a stipend for the school year, in addition to tuition fees where required. All of the foundation’s partners – parents, teachers, and village leaders – appreciate this project because, according to the parents of students, it helps reduce wasting the promise of young people due to poverty.

Why is it so costly for families to continue a child’s education after 9th grade? When a child moves up after the 9th grade, they have to continue their studies in a town far from their home village because high schools and trade schools are relatively rare in Mali.

The problems students face when they are forced to leave home are multiple and often complex. Through our surveys and interviews, students tell us about costs related to extra tutors, cloths, transportation to school, and food. In addition, many students simply suffer from a change in diet, which disrupts students. When leaving their village, a child is used to eating more meals than they receives in town. Some students’ mothers send dry couscous to their children to try to help, but it is hard for a young person alone.

In addition, when a student comes to town to study, what little clothes or shoes they have can get damaged, and they don't know how to replace or mend them. Often this problem remains unresolved for several weeks or even months. If the student has our scholarship stipend, they can quickly mend their old shoe or sew their torn pants without having to travel to their parents in the village…missing school.

With just this little extra support though, our Inspiration Scholars thrive. Inspiration Scholars may head to high school or to trade or vocational program. For example, to date 16 girls have enrolled in one-year nursing assistant or matron health program. Seven other girls have tackled (and succeeded in!) the more challenging three-year full nursing program.

This year we also had the chance to enroll a girl in a sewing school for four years. She preferred this program as a way to start her own business right after her studies. Currently our Inspiration Scholars Project is also supporting 19 students who continue their studies in high schools and 15 other students continue in vocational training centers.

Thank you to all our Inspiration Scholar donors!