By Hindaty Traore, Girls’ Project Manager
As the school year comes to an end in Mali, I’ve been talking with a lot of the girls who are part of the Girls’ Project. Their stories are so compelling that I want to share some of them with Mali Rising’s supporters. Today, I wanted to share the words of Fanta, a student at Judge Memorial Middle School in the little village of Sankama:
Fanta looks like a young woman you could trust to put out fires and save lives….and that’s exactly her plan!
“My name is Fanta Doumbia. I am 15 years old. I am in the 7th grade at Judge Memorial Middle School. I come from Chiokoro, which is 9km away from Sankama. I walk to school each day.
Thanks to the school I can read my name and those of others. I know how to handle a telephone because I troubleshoot people's telephones in my village. For example, if a person can't make calls with their phone, I go to the phone settings and follow all the instructions. These instructions are in French and you must understand French to follow them.
I've had difficulties before. Two years ago my mother fell ill. My sister was in Bamako as a housekeeper. I was alone to take care of my mother. I prepared the meals, swept the yard, washed my little brothers and sisters, heated the water, and at the same time took care of my mother.
I went to school once or twice a week when I could, but some times I went months without going to school. I didn't understand anything about the lessons when I did get to go. I called my sister to explain to her that I could no longer go to school and that I was going to drop out for good. She told me not to drop out of school and that she will go back to the village to help me with our mother. My sister very much regrets dropping out of school and she doesn't want the same thing to happen to me. That's how I went back to school.
After my studies I would like to become a firefighter, because I love how they help people by saving lives. I learned about the role of a firefighter when the Girls’ Project brought a female firefighter to our meeting to talk about her work.
I'm a hero because I took care of my mother on my own and I was able to go back to school. When I will be a firefighter, I will always be grateful to my sister who encouraged and helped me a lot, I thank my teachers and the Girls’ Project also for your advice and encouragement.”
We love Fanto’s determination! If you’d like to read another great recent story from a Girls’ Project participant — check this out.
