We have great news for some of Mali Rising’s smallest students at Ben Dixon Elementary — their school has been adopted for the 24/25 school year! Thanks to the Dixon family, the students there will have the support they need to make this one of the best school years ever
Life-Changing Parties? Sign Us Up!
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. Check out how one feast changed Awa’s life forever by getting her back to school…
A Shiny Repaired School
By Fatoumata Kone, Operations Coordinator
Mali Rising has been in the business of building schools for 20 years, so some of those schools are getting quite old. This means that sometimes the school buildings need a little love to make sure they stay safe places for children. This year I coordinated that love for Ben Dixon Elementary School, built in 2010.
Ben Dixon Elementary is located in the little village of Manabougou. The village is about an hour down a dusty, red dirt road on the way to another of our schools. It is one of only two elementary schools in our network, home to hundreds of small children in 1st through 6th grade
The school was in real need of repairs to its classrooms and its principal office. Generally, the village is responsible for maintenance, but for big repairs we step in when the cost goes beyond what the village can afford. In these cases, we donate 80% of the cost and the village brings 20% of the cost to the table. Through this partnership, we repaired cracked walls and crumbling corners, removed ceiling tiles that were providing a home to bats (and their guano!), and replastered and painted the classrooms.
The repairs were carried out during the Easter break, so as not to disrupt the children's lessons. The contractor repaired the school in a week, with impeccable workmanship. When the children returned from their break, they were delighted to find their school much cleaner and prettier. The pupils told me that they were very happy with their classrooms and that the bats don't bother them anymore.
The management committee, the principal and the teachers were all delighted with the repairs. The principal said that before the repairs, if it started raining they were afraid to have the students inside but now their safety is guaranteed. Now, the students will be able to study in the best possible conditions.
This is an example of one of the things that makes Mali Rising different — our long-term commitment to our partnerships. We work with villages to make sure each school has what it needs to help students succeed….for decades. We look forward to at least 14 more years working with the students at Ben Dixon Elementary School!
Judge, Pediatrician, & More: Girls Dream Big
Reading Opens Doors for Girls
Mali Rising’s Girls’ Project is focused on helping girls get into school and succeed there. One key to success in school? Reading abilities! That’s where our Great Girls Read sessions come into play. Great Girls Read reading sessions are designed to help the girls improve their reading skills and find real pleasure in reading.
Celebrating Girls' Education in the Villages
It’s a hard slog for a girl in Mali to get through the school year. That’s why at the end of each year the Girls’ Project celebrates girls’ achievements with our girls and their entire villages! These Feasts (as we call them) are fun, but also are a great way to engage parents and the whole community in a discussion about the importance of girls’ education. Read on…
Great Girls Read Gives a Huge Lift
In Mali, all too often we find that students who diligently attend school still cannot read. Based on my own personal observations, I would estimate that around 80% of middle school students are not able to read a sentence correctly in French and 85% of elementary students are not able read aloud a simple sentence like “My school is pretty.”
Through the Girls’ Project’s Great Girls Read campaign, I am focused on changing this dynamic for our girls. I am particularly passionate about focusing on reading with our elementary school girls, because if they can learn reading young it will set them way ahead in middle school!
One Boy's Thoughts On Girls' Education
Most of my work focuses on helping Mali Rising’s teachers, but I always enjoy it when I get a chance to be part of the Girls’ Project. My role is to host discussions about girls’ education with boys in our Girls’ Project villages. My goal is to inspire the boys to be allies to their sisters and female classmates and speak out to support their education. At a recent meeting, I found a young man — Sirbiry Doumbia — who was already an avid supporter of girls’ education. Here’s what he told me….
New Villages for a New Year of the Girls' project
Mali Rising’s Girls’ Project strives to get more girls into school and help them succeed and thrive once they are there. In the past six years, we’ve helped girls in eight different villages get into school and stay there. This summer, we are selecting five new villages for intensive work via the Project. We are excited to announce those new villages today.
