By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Manager

With schools in Mali opening in Mali this month, many principals are busy setting up old and new students in classrooms.

At the brand-new Harman Family Middle School, Drissa Coulibaly is the new principal. I met with him just one week into his leadership of the new school.

Mr. Coulibaly has about two hundred students in total for his three classrooms (7, 8, 9th grades). The school is also home to thirteen teachers, including the principal himself. All of the staff are excited to work together in the new school, and they were very thankful to Mali Rising donors for their tremendous generosity. “This generosity and our new school will surely change lives in Mali,” said Mr. Coulibaly who spoke on behalf of all the school staff to me. 

When I visited the school, I did not show up empty handed, but instead brought a Little Library to loan to the school for the full semester. These Little Libraries are full of story books and other fun reading materials students can borrow. Mr. Coulibaly said, “I’ve never had a chance to benefit from this type of project before and I am very happy to share this good news with students and teachers at Harman Family Middle School.” He was sure that his students would use these story books to inspire their reading then improve their reading skills and understanding.

Although Mr. Coulibaly had a chance to have the mini library for his students to use, he still mentioned that there is much more to do for Harman Family Middle School because the school is in need of more textbooks for students and teaching materials for teachers. Despite these needs, he and his teacher will remain hopeful and do their best to help students have good results. Mr. Coulibaly ended or visit by saying, “Thank you, Mali Rising, thank you, Mali Rising!”