by Hindaty Traore, Girls’ Project Manager
In Kainsiga in the rural commune of N’Gouraba in Mali, we are building a middle school for a village which really, really needs one! The village has had a primary school since 1998. The school is well attended and the kids love to learn. However, things get tough once a Kainsiga child finishes sixth grade.
The nearest middle schools are walks of 4 kilometers or 6 kilometers away. This means children as young as 11 or 12 have to spend several hours a day walking to and from school or move away to live in a village far from their family. As a result, close to 90% of the children drop out of school after the 6th grade.
But thanks to Mali Rising donors, this year the parents are very happy and relieved because now their children can stay safe at home and make just a short walk to their new school. I spoke with several parents about what this means to them.
Mama Mariko is a parent of students in Kainsiga. She has two children (a boy and a girl) who attended secondary school in the village of Diono located 4 km from Kainsiga. She had her daughter stay with one of her friends in Diono and the boy went off to school by bike every day. When he left for school, Mama sent a little money to cover her children's small needs at recess. According to Mama Mariko, she makes every effort so that her children can have a future different from hers, that is to say better. Her eldest son abandoned his studies because of the long distance he traveled every day — at that time the nearest middle school was 8 kilometers away! He was very tired which is why he left his studies. She doesn't want this to happen again with her other children.
“This new school which will be opened here will bring a big positive change in the educational conditions of our children. We parents are now relieved because most of our children lost the chance to continue their studies after the 6th year of study. Our children generally lacked a host family when they had to go to secondary school to study in other villages,” Mama explained. “The opening of our school here is a huge joy for us and for the students in particular. I want my child to study a lot to have knowledge and become a leader of this country. I want my daughter to be a nurse and my son a soldier. Because our village needs more nurses and Mali needs more soldiers to fight terrorism.”
Mama Mariko has big dreams for her children’s futures…just like parents everywhere. Now, a new middle school in her village will make those dreams just a little bit more possible for Mama and her children.
It isn’t just Mama who is relieved and excited. Bourama Bagayogo, the village chief, said: “The opening of this school here will remove a lot of difficulties in the education of our children. I advise children to take up studies with courage because it is easy for them now to join school so they must study well to succeed. As a parent and village leader, we will put all our efforts into maintaining this school well and facilitating its proper functioning. We thank the donors enormously because they are contributing to the development of our village.” .
As you can see, the new school will bring joy and happiness to many in the village…not just the students!
