by Hindaty Traore, Girls Project Manager

Mali Rising’s Girls Project works intensively in eight of our 25 partner villages. However, I visit each of our other schools to meet with the girls there at least once each year – my hope is to help and inspire them at least a little and help them stay in school.

With this in mind, in May I visited our schools in the villages of Tanima and Seguessona. On my return from visiting our girls in Tanima, I met a young woman called Dokoro Sissoko. She is 19 years old. She did her middle school education at Mali Rising’s Little Heroes II Academy of Tanima.

When I first saw Dokoro, she was walking by the side of the road while turning around to see if anyone was coming behind her, hoping to ask travelers to take her to her school. Dokoro signaled me on the motorbike to ask me to pick her up. I stopped when I saw that she was a student.

We chatted along the drive. She let me know that she had some difficulties during the three years spent in middle school. Her parents could not afford the school fees for the year so she was often made to leave class. Even food was a problem for her because her parents live in extreme poverty.

But Dokoro perserved and passed the graduation exam at the end of middle school. She is currently at a private high school called Kekounta Sisooko in to village of Kokoun. Kokoun is 9 km from Tanima – a long trip each day. Dokoro walks her 9 km in three hours to get to school every day. She hitchhikes but it is now very rare that people take her because they are afraid of the growing insecurity in Mali. According to Dokoro, she herself is often afraid that some people will take her and then rape her.

Dokoro then told me about a challenge she already encountered on her way to high school -- she was bitten by a snake! As a result, she spent two days in the hospital. But that didn't deter her from continuing to go to school. She is the oldest in the family, which is why she wants to succeed quickly and help her parents by getting a good job.

Dokoro knows she is courageous to walk this distance to study well and to get her parents out of this difficulty. Her wish was to go to a health school, but unfortunately her parents do not have the means. Her father is a mason in Bamako but according to her, he does not have a lot of trade. Her mother sells items in the market, but makes very little. This is why she was forced to go to high school, because at least the high school tuition is paid by the government.

Dokoro recognized me and thanked me because she remembered my meeting with the girls in Tanima last school year to tell them about the menstrual cycle and also the importance of school. Dokoro says this discussion helped inspire her to redouble her efforts to pass the national graduation exam….which she did. After her studies, her dream is to bring a project to Tanima that will continue to educate students, even boys.

My chance meeting with Dokoro inspired me as much as I hope my meetings inspire my girls. I know that in all of our remote villages there are young women just like Dokoro who are smart, passionate about education, and willing to work hard. This meeting along the road was a great reminder of why I do what I do – and why Mali Rising is so important!