By Hindaty Traore, Girls’ Project Manager

Can a party change lives? Yes! Since the beginning of the Girls’ Project, we have arranged to celebrate girls’ education at the end of each school year. The goal is to bring the entire village together – girls, boys, parents, elders, etc. – to acknowledge the power of girls’ education and to celebrate the success of their girls.

These feasts are also the ideal opportunity (because everyone is happy) to convince parents to support their daughter and other girls who are not in school to return to school. It is also a great time to encourage the participation of parents by inviting them to become more involved in their daughter's education. In short, these annual feast celebrations are a tool to increase awareness of the importance of girls’ education.

These feasts really do inspire parents to rethink their stance on their daughter’s education. One example is the story of Awa D., an 11-year-old girl who was in grade 6 at Ben Dixon Elementary School in Manabougou.

Awa is a very intelligent girl who wanted to be a teacher. However, she suddenly found herself a servant in a big city (Bamako) that she did not know. She was far too young to do this work and to be so far from her family, but her mother wanted her to contribute to the family expenses.

But thanks to the intervention of the Girls’ Project at the village’s feast, Awa will rejoin her family and continue her studies! It all started when I was chatting with Awa’s father, Madou.

“I would really like my daughter to study and complete her studies but my wife is against it. I love my wife so much that I am afraid to oppose these decisions,” Awa’s father told me. It is very rare to see in our villages a woman who makes such a decision and her husband cannot oppose it!

So, I decided to see if I could help. I decided it was necessary to broach the subject with Awa’s mother at the feast….without the wife knowing that her husband had told us.

“I sent Awa to Bamako so that she can work as a servant to help me contribute to the family expenses and also prepare her wedding trousseau now,” explained Awa’s mom, Rokia. “But today I regret it myself because I saw the other mothers happy and proud of their daughters because they were congratulated and awarded medals thanks to their work at school in front of everyone. I really wish my daughter was one of the best girls in school. I really envy other mothers. But I will bring my daughter back to Manabougou here so that she can continue her studies and encourage her so that she receives the prize in front of everyone”

I was very relieved with Rokia’s decision. This will allow Awa to be able to realize her dreams of becoming a teacher and helping her family without having to do hard work. (Update: I am glad to report that 15 days after the party Awa returned to Manabougou while waiting for new the school year.)

This is just one example of how the feast celebrations can inspire the community to think differently about education for their girls. And honestly, the feasts are just plain fun! From the first notes of the sound system an atmosphere is created: between dances and songs, the joy of the students, especially the girls, is infectious. Everyone gives in to the crazy desire to dance! The girls as well as the boys all take part in the party. There are imitations of artists, the recitation of poems, the giving of prizes to the girls, and the presentation of medals in front of everyone.

Thus, the girls and “spectators” treated themselves to a grandiose finale to a busy school year! After the show, the evening could continues around a good dish of fatty rice offered by the Girls’ Project. The feasts are a fun way to do some serious work on changing minds and attitudes about girls’ education!