Teachers and principals really set the tone for a school. That’s one of the reasons I love working with our teachers and principals — good leadership in the classrooms and the school overall means the kids can really learn and grow in our schools. That’s why I’m sad when we sometimes have to say goodbye to good principals, like principal Make Ezai Mounkoro of Sue Chung Chiu Middle School.We will miss Mr. Mounkoro and his steady leadership. But, when his replacement arrives in the village this fall we will be just as ready to help the new principal as we were to support Mr. Mounkoro. Anything for our students!
Textbooks: Tools We Take for Granted
As one of my former professors —Pr Ibrahim Sagayar — said: “A teacher or a student without a textbook is like a soldier on the battlefield without a weapon”. Yet all too often in Mali, teachers and students are not armed with textbooks. I recently discussed this problem with two of our partner principals — the principal of Sue Chung Chiu Middle School of Simidji, Mr. Essai Mikoro and the principal of Little Heroes Academy I Middle School of Mana, Mlle. Djenebou Niama Coulibaly.
One Girl Leader Steps Into Her Power
As part of our Girls Project, after three years of work in a village, we train local Girl Leaders to take over leadership of the Project. This allows us to offer leadership training and real-world experience to some amazing young women and to make the Project more sustainable by making the leadership more local. Girl Leaders serve for one year, and we offer them three multi-day trainings throughout their year of service. In this blog post, Hindaty tells the story of one Girl Leader as she attended her second training with us.
Travelogue: Day 7 -- A Trip to the Market, and to Two schools
Day 7 of traveling was a very full Friday indeed. In the morning, we visited the Sue Taylor Middle School of Diorila, which is about one and a half hours down a bumpy dirt road. We returned to Ouelessebougou for lunch and a trip to the big Friday market, before zipping down the road to visit our Sue Chung Chiu Middle School in Simidiji.
Mothers' Loan Fund Means Sustainable Girls' Education
Who really runs a mayor's office? Someday maybe Boumadyè.
Boumadyè is and 18-year-old graduate of Mali Rising’s Sue Chung Chiu Middle School in the little village of Simidji. She used her Inspiration Scholarship to move to the capitol city of Bamako to pursue a secretarial degree at a vocational school. Why? Because she covets an influential role in the mayor’s office…
Simidjila's Girls vs. Beneko's Birds: Girls Soccer!
We love gritty girls. Gritty, you say? Yes! Grit, leadership skills, teamwork abilities, and self-confidence are critical traits for strong kids. These traits are especially important for girls in Mali, who must overcome many obstacles to get the education they deserve. Thanks to our donors, we support the development of all these traits through participation with our new girls' soccer teams. Check out this blog post for news and photos from the first-ever, inter-school Mali Rising soccer match!
April is Alumni Month At Mali Rising!
April is Alumni Month here at Mali Rising. Each week in April, we feature a story from one of our graduates. With 14 years of work behind us, our graduates are now doing out great things out in the world. Whether they're using their education in college or a job, or to be more savvy in the market or to keep their children healthy, we're proud of our alumni. This week we feature Abdou. Abdou Doumbia just might be Mali Rising’s first alumnus philosopher. Truly.
Checking In On Our Girls In Mali
When I talk with anyone about our work, the project that people most connect with is our Girls Project. Men and women, people from the U.S. or people from Mali, younger or older -- everyone gets excited about making sure girls get an equal education. So I try to be sure to do a periodic update on our girls progress under the Girls Project. I know you're rooting for our girls, so here's the latest news from our Girls Project Coordinator, Hindaty.
