By Hindaty Traore, Girls’ Project Manager

Over this summer break, Mali Rising Foundation was busy building two new schools that will help more than 300 children change their lives through education. I helped coordinate construction of one of the schools in the village of Kainsiga.

During my visits to check up on construction, I often got to chat with future students and their parents. One child I spoke with was 13-year-old Aboubacar.

“I'm will start 7th grade in the new school!” Aboubacar told me. “Last year I was enrolled at the Diono School about 3 kilometers away because there was no second cycle (middle school) here. I am very excited to be enrolled this year at our new school which has just been built by Mali Rising.”

When I asked Aboubacar why he was excited, he had a quick answer. “Last year, I always woke up early in the morning. My mother prepared rice for us as a midday meal. I took my bike to go to school very often without having breakfast. I did this so as not to be late. My older brothers and sisters who studied in this difficult condition all failed because it was painful. I come here all the time to see the construction site because I still can’t believe that we are going to study here and make our dreams come true.”

 I found it wasn’t just the kids who were excited — the parents were maybe even more pleased to watch the school rise from the ground.

One parent, Zoumana Bagayoko told me: “I call on students to redouble their efforts because if someone helps them, they must prove to that person that they can do better thanks to this help. As parents, we will ensure that our work does not interfere with school programs. We are going to educate them to constantly go to school and above all to learn their lessons.”

Soon, we will all celebrate the openings of these new schools together. Thank you to all the Mali Rising supporters who made this possible for the children of Kainsiga!