By Merritt Frey, Executive Director

One of the most exciting things we do at Mali Rising is to partner with a village to open a new school. Last week, the newest Mali Rising school opened its doors on the first day of a new school year and we celebrated with the children and parents of Tentoubougou!

The new school — the Harman Family Middle School — was built thanks to an anonymous donor, the Pete and Arline Harman Trust Fund, and Jackie Trujillo in partnership with Build a School in Africa. We built this school in part to relieve over-crowding at one of our near-by schools, which is home to more than 600 students!

The need for the Harman Family Middle School was made abundantly clear when it opened its doors on October 3. Early reports show nearly 200 students enrolled in the new school and eagerly began their education in safe, bright new classrooms. Thirteen teachers have been assigned to the school and are already helping the students learn and grow.

We’ll report more on the new school over the next few months, but for now please enjoy the videos and photos from the first week of school! Thank you to everyone who made this new school — and life-changing education — available for the kids of Tentoubougou!