One of my favorite parts of my job is coordinating a newish project for Mali Rising Foundation — our Alumni Networks. These networks bring together graduates from our schools and support them as the work to help their school and inspire current students to stay in school and study hard. This was my first year with the Alumni Networks, and I had a great wrap up discussion with one participant — Pratric Samake, who graduated from Denik Middle School in Zambougou.
Scholarship Student Makes Agriculture a Career
By Fatoumata Kone, Operations Coordinator
Students may sometimes question why they should stick with school…why do they need math or science ? We work hard to help our students connect their education to their dreams for the future…whatever those dreams are ! I want to share the story of one of our graduates – and Inspiration Schoalrship reciepient – who has a passion for agriculture and livestock farming.
Here is his story in his own words :
“ My name is Chieck Oumar Samake and I'm from a village called Zambougou. I graduated from Mali Rising’s Denik Middle School in Zambougou. After graduation, I enrolled at the Djitoumou Agro-pastoral school in Ouélessebougou and I'm in my 4th year. I was lucky enough to benefit from a Mali Rising Inspiration Scholarship to fund these studies.
Chiiek literally overseeing his young chickens at his internship during this, his last year of an agricultural program as a Mali Rising Inspiration Scholar.
Before graduating, I had some difficulties. At the time Zambougou didn't have a middle school, so I went to [the bigger town of] Ouélessebougou to continue my studies. Unfortuntaely I couldn't find accommodation and I didn't have the financial means, nor did my parents, to continue my studies.
Then Mali Rising Foundation built Denik Middle School in Zambougou, so I went back to Zambougou to do middle school. After graduation, I got the scholarship from Mali Rising too ! This scholarship helped me a lot, and with this money I was able to study in the best possible conditions.
The agro-pastoral school was my dream since I was in middle school. I've always been passionate about livestock and agriculture in general, and I love this profession.
At school we do both theory and practic. We practiced raising broiler chickens three times in our school and we succeeded. This was our first experience.
Right now I'm doing an internship on a big farm in Kita, where I'm raising laying chickens. Every morning I wake up very early to take care of the hens, then I give them food and water. I also monitor their vaccinations from day 1 to day 29. From day 1 I give them a live vaccine, after day 5 I give them an injectable vaccine, and from days 7, 14, 17 and 29 I give them a live vaccine which I put in the water and give them to drink. Laying hens live 18 months, but around 4 months they start laying eggs. Raising laying hens is a profitable business for farmers. Eggs produced by laying hens are in great demand on the local and regional markets.
When I go to visit my village, I'm the one who injects their animals - cows, sheep and chickens. After my studies, I'd like to become a great livestock breeder in Mali, and if I succeed, I'll build a big farm in my village, build roads and renovate the soccer pitch.”
We are so proud of Chieck’s hard work in school and feel confident he will achieve his vision for the future. Livestock farming is a key driver of sustainable agricultural development, contributing to food security, nutrition, poverty reduction and economic growth. In this way Chieck’s dream will improve his life but also improve life for so many Malians !
Tenetie Lights Up a New Career
Alumni Networks for Mali Rising Schools
One key issue in any international development project is sustainability — how do you make sure a project is something a local community wants and is willing and able to support. Over the last 16 years of our work, the partner villages we work with have really driven our work and kept every school we’ve built with them functioning. But there is always room for improvement, and that’s where the new Alumni Networks come in!
Become a Monthly Sustainer
Graduated Girls Serve as Inspiring Ambassadors
A group of girl graduates from our Denik Middle School recently returned to their home village to inspire girls currently attending the school to study hard, all under the guise of a friendly soccer match. Meet two of the inspiring graduates who attended and inspired our Girls’ Project participants to study hard and dream big.
A Little Reward Goes a Long Way
Encouraging and recognizing good work done is an effective way to develop a taste for learning. Indeed, reward is an extrinsic motivator that prompts the student to improve certain behaviors, providing conditions that facilitate their motivation and learning.
It is in this context that the Girls’ Project gave gifts to 15 most outstanding girl students from last school year in the five villages of Girls’ Project -- Zambougou, Sebela, Dorila, Tamala and N'Tentou. This was done both to reward the girls for their hard work and to create competition among all the girls to study hard.
Getting the Second Chance We All Deserve
Girls Explore the Lives of Career Women
As part of exposing our Girls Project girls to the diverse career opportunities an education girl can dream of, we recently interviewed some career women in their workplace and videoed the interviews. In the past, we brought these career women to the villages to meet the girls directly but because of the pandemic we took a questionnaire from the girls to the career women.
Mothers Taking Action for Their Daughters
In most rural villages in Mali, women play a fairly important role in taking charge of children's school fees. But to save money, many men prefer to enroll only boys in school and prefer girls stay at home with their mother. Yet who pays the students' tuition fees? In the majority of our schools, women pay school fees. To raise funds for the fees, women may cut firewood, pick shea nuts to make shea butter, grow vegetables in gardens to sell at the market, or grow. These hard-working mothers can do amazing things for thier kids…with just a tiny bit of help!
