By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Coordinator
We are overjoyed that the new middle school for the children of Banko — Christiana Norris Middle School — is now open in Mali and serving kids. Alas, for now we cannot do the typical ceremonial opening with the Norris Family, who generously sponsored the school. Instead, our staff brought a video from the Norris Family to share with the students and interviewed students, staff, and parents about the new school. Over the next week, we are sharing stories and interviews from that trip. Today, we introduce you to the newest principal at our newest school, Mr. Diallo.
Mr. Diallo is happy in his new role as principal at Christiana Norris Middle School of Banko.
Banko is a small village about 160 kilometers south of Mali’s capital city, Bamako. To reach Banko, you must turn off the main highway and bump slowly down a dusty road for about 45 minutes or more…depending on how the rains have impacted the road. The village used to have only a primary school, so if students wanted to continue their education after graduating from primary school they had to leave home or walk for miles.
All that changed this school year! The village was granted a brand new middle school thanks to the Norris family. Mali Rising staff recently visited the finished school and got to talk with students, parents and teachers. Teachers in Banko are very excited to serve in the Christiana Norris Middle School.
During our visit, I got to talk with the new principal for the brand new school. The principal is Mr. Mahamadou Diallo. He is thirty-four years old and the father of two children. Mr. Diallo as a principal is new to the village of Banko, but he has been a principal at another school for about five years. In fact, Mr. Diallo started his teaching career years ago far north (about 260 kilometers!) of Bamako. In addition to being principal, Mr. Diallo teaches French in all the three grades in Christiana Norris Middle School of Banko.
In this new position at Banko, Mr. Diallo has three other teachers that he enjoys working with very much. He is very dedicated and has great relationships with his teachers. Mr. Diallo is very excited to be working in Banko because he likes the village and is eager to help kids in Banko succeed in their school. The new principal in Christiana Norris Middle School thinks that students’ parents are very interested in their kids’ education because they come over and ask him about how their kids are doing in school all the time. The school committee that helps him run the school is also excited to work with him so that kids have better education in Banko. Mr. Diallo and parents are grateful to the donors of the school forever because they think the school will change the children’ lives in Banko.
Mr. Diallo has currently has 46 students in his brand new school in Banko, and that number will grow as surrounding villages here about the new, nearby school. He likes his job given that he has love for children and enjoy working with them so much! He thinks that his job allows him to support his family too. So, he enjoys it very much. Mr. Diallo loves his wife and his children very much. He enjoys being around them and reading books sometimes for fun. His favorite food is spaghetti with chicken or meat.
