by Ousmane Coulibaly, Operations Coordinator
This year, I am helping to pilot a new Mali Rising project – Alumni Networks. The goal of these networks is to foster connections between our schools’ graduates and the students attending their schools now. I recently met with Alumni Network members at our school in Sequessona – Jade & Gabe Mellor Middle School and asked them to share their thoughts about the Alumni Network experience so far.
Some of the graduates of Jade & Gabe Mellor Middle School are still studying at vocational training centers and universities, while others have completed their studies and have even started working. The idea of creating the Alumni Network was very much appreciated by the participants and they were very happy about it. For example, Ms. Salimata Togola, a former student of Seguessona, obtained her BT in secretarial studies and is currently selling at a store in the big market of Ouelessebougou.
According to Ms. Togola: “The creation of the alumni network in Seguessona is a very good idea. I liked it very much, and I am ready to participate in order to help our younger brothers and sisters who are in the middle school. Thanks to today's meeting, I met many of my former classmates and other alumni that I had never seen even, although we all studied at the same school. The creation of this network will allow us to get to know each other and to develop relationships with our younger brothers and sisters who are still here at school. We are going to coordinate actions in order to encourage them to study hard and avoid skipping classes.”
Like Ms. Togola, a former student named Mr. Souleymane Kone had similar ideas about the importance of setting up the network. Mr. Kone is a building technician. He has a BT Diploma in building design and is currently working in a construction company in Bamako.
Mr. Kone said, “The creation of the network will allow us to be in permanent contact with our younger brothers and sisters. We are going to organize meetings with them to talk about the importance of education. We are going to encourage them to study so that they don't drop out of school.”
The implementation of the Alumni Network project in the schools will help the children a lot, as it will allow their elders to share their life experiences with the student. This will allow the children to be more courageous and focus on their studies. The Alumni Networks are also planning various projects to help keep the schools clean and well-maintained, such as resurfacing chalkboards or regularly cleaning the schoolyards. In the end, everyone wins – the alumni feel good about helping and enjoy being connected with their peers while our students learn from their elders and benefit in the classroom.
