By Hindaty Traore, Girls’ Project Coordinator

In January, we brought three women from different careers to talk with Girls’ Project girls about their educational and professional backgrounds and the importance of a girl's education. The speakers included a policewoman, an electrician and a firefighter. The visit of three women allowed the girls to to motivate themselves, to be courageous and to know the different functions that women can exercise. The speakers not only talked about their time in school, but also their journey to finding work as a woman. The women stressed the journey to show the girls that magic didn't get them where they are today!

The story of the firefighter gave all the girls goosebumps because she had problems at a time in her life that marked her a lot. Her name is Adjaratou Kanté. She is 25 years old. She has been a firefighter since 2007. She completed her middle school education at Mali Rising Foundation’s Leon W Pete Harman Middle School in Tentoubougou.

Adjaratou failed the graduation exam several times. This caused her to drop out of school. She stayed in the village doing nothing with her life. According to her, people called her names. Then she went to one of her aunts in the big city but unfortunately it didn't go well for her there. She returned to the village. As soon as someone in her family would talk to her about going back to school, she would just avoid the person so as not to hear the word school.

After several attempts from her relatives to get her to go back to school and feeling the contempt of people who judged her for not graduating, she ended up trying the exam again. This time she was able to pass it!

After graduating, she started volunteering at a radio station as a host. But even being a good animator required a certain level of study. One of the members of this radio channel offered her a chance to enter the firefighter entrance competition. She found the idea ridiculous because for her, to have this kind of contest you have to be rich or have connections. The gentleman from the radio her application for the competition himself and forced her to present herself.

Fortunately Adjaratou passed the competition and was invited to train to be a firefighter! Today she can say that she succeeded thanks to the people of good will who pushed her to be who she is today. She thinks this is the same thing Mali Rising’s Girls Project is doing with girls in our schools today. So she encouraged more girls to fight to be independent because she has everything she wants today -- money, insurance and above all the respect of people because they know that she does good things with her life now.

"Today you see me with this firefighter's outfit and it's a job and it's thanks to education. When you want to do a good job, you have to be educated and brave. Remember, when you get money you must help your mother because mums have suffered too much for us. When you get pregnant in our villages, the fathers say it's because of the mum. They drive out the mum and the daughter at the same time. But one day you will succeed, you are the child of everyone and it is your mom who will be the first person to be happy,” Adjaratou told the girls.

Adjaratou  continued, “When I got my first salary, I gave it to my mom. She cried tears of joy because she didn't know that I was going to be the person I am today. I am proud that my mother felt that way and it is always thanks to education. Our job is to help people in need. I am not only paid a good salary, but I also save lives. I am proud to help the girls belonging to the schools built by Mali Rising because I myself was made in one of their schools. I thank all the donors of Mali Rising Foundation because thanks to you our lives are changing.”

One of our current students at the school, Eunice Goita, told me she wants to become a firefighter because she really liked this job of helping people in need and saving lives. She is 16 years old and doing the 9th grade. She already failed the graduation exam last year but she is resuming this year. Seeing Adjaratou speak made her even more motivated to be a firefighter one day.

Eunice says her story is like that of Adjaratou the firefighter because her mother suffered a lot for her and her siblings. Her wish is to make her mother happy and proud of her. She will also help her father to get his blessings and show people that a girl can study well and help her parents just like a boy. Eunice believes this will encourage other parents to enroll their daughters in school and help them succeed.

Eunice said, “I really enjoyed getting to know the other two professions, policeman and electrician. Thanks to that I knew that a girl could be an electrician. I thank Girls’ Project enormously for allowing us to meet its three brave women”.

Bringing these strong women speakers allowed our girls to learn a lot about the three professions. By the end of the meeting, all the girls wanted to become a policewoman, electrician, or firefighter!