By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Coordinator

There are many challenges facing Malian students. In addition to an on-going teacher shortage, water issues, a lack of teaching tools, and overcrowded classrooms, many students miss school due to avoidable illness. Through our Health Project, we are working to reduce that particular problem for our students!

Many factors cause students in Mali to fall ill regularly. One of the main causes is very basic hygiene issues. Very few students know how to wash hands properly after using the bathroom or before they eat. This matter is related to their behaviors in families even outside of school. Students do not know much about the importance of cleaning hands with soap. Many sicknesses are related to dirty hands, including diarrhea, colds, and stomachaches.

Over the last few years, we have implemented a Health Project to help educate students about how to best protect themselves. Obviously, last year primarily focused on Covid-19 protection. It the coming school year, Mali Rising’s staff is very excited to continue this work.

Our theme for the 21/22 school year is Clean Hands = Good Learning. We will educate students from at least ten partner villages during the next school year by providing them with hand washing trainings. Our Malian staff will help the kids from these villages so they can not only stay healthy and study hard but also teach this great behavior change to all their families and villages.

Behavior change is one of the hardest things to create in a Malian society, especially with older people. That is why teaching kids how to wash hands properly is so important and is a long-term investment in the future.  This behavior change will help our kids stay safe today, but will also help the whole community in the future as the students grow up and teach their own families.