I love to read, and I think that love and skill is what carried me through my education and into a career. Reading opens doors (and worlds!) like almost no other skill can. That’s why we launched Great Girls Read, and why I’m so happy to report on its results in the 23/24 school year. Spoiler alert: the results were wonderful!
Judge, Pediatrician, & More: Girls Dream Big
Volunteer Spotlight: Girls Project Volunteer Fatoumata!
Keeping Girls Safe During the Pandemic
Mali was one of the last West African countries to have confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The country recently confirmed their first cases in late March. Since that time, the government has taken measures to limit the spread of the pandemic, including the closing of schools, meetings of more than 50 people, curfew from 8 p.m., etc. Despite this difficult moment that Mali is going through, we continue to work from home because we care a lot about our partner villages. In such a situation, it is necessary to think of alternatives.
Our Girls Imagine Their Futures...With & Without School
During our twice-monthly Girls Groups meetings, we work with our girls to develop skills they need to thrive in school and in life. A common theme is the power of education to help girls achieve their dreams. In November, I lead the girls in an reflection exercise, focused on making girls aware of the disadvantages of not going to school, and the benefits of their education. Explore how one young woman — Halimatou — imagined her possible futures.
Tenimba Finds Her Power as a Girl Leader
As you may remember, our Girls Project entered a new phase this year. We have taken on 5 additional villages with the project, and we are transitioning the 3 original pilot villages into more and more local leadership. As part of that local leadership, this year we trained six Girl Leaders to take on leading the Project in their home villages. Meet one of those Girl Leaders — Tenimba — here.
Making the Girls Project Sustainable...Meet our Girl Leaders!
We love our Girls Project, which strives to recruit more girls into school and retain them there so they have the skills to build the lives they dream off. The Project has been very successful in its initial three pilot villages. We worked in those villages in pilot mode for three years, but are now working with those villages to have them take on the Project in a sustainable way (this will allow us take the Project to five new villages!). As part of that sustainability strategy, we are developing Girl Leaders for each of the pilot villages. These young women are now high school students, but they will be working in the villages to run the Girls Groups and other Project elements. We think they will also serve as great role models for sticking with school.
Mali Rising's Female Teachers Making a Difference
There are a total of 7 women teachers in the Mali rising Foundation schools, out of more than 90 total Mali Rising teachers. This reflects the larger reality of teaching in Mali, where only 14% of teachers are female and that percentage is even lower in remote, rural schools…
My Name is Siraba
My name is Siraba. I am in grade 9 at Beneko's Cliff and Nita Bailey Middle School….When I started middle school two years ago it was also the beginning of the Girls Project. Thanks to the different activities of the Girl Project, such as monthly meetings on different themes, the menstrual cycle, the meeting with women of different skills (women nurses, engineers), the women's football competition, advice and talks, etc., I started to set goals. Little by little, I started to love school.
Shy Girls in the Educational Context: Better Understanding for Action
For so many girls, trouble with shyness begins with family education and continues in school. Girls in Mali, especially in small, rural villages, continue to be unfairly discriminated against because of their sex. They are deprived of school simply because they are born girls. According to the parents in the villages their schooling is of no importance because their destiny is to be married young and to take care of household chores and children. During Mali Rising's teacher training for capacity building in December, a day was devoted solely to gender, with a theme of "Shyness of girls and gender equity in school settings.”
