It has been 17 years since Mali Rising Foundation built our very first school — The Trujillo Family Middle School was in N'Tentou Kouroulamini. Today its graduates are out in the world and dreaming big. Let’s meet one of those alumni — Mamadou.
What a Difference a School Makes
At Mali Rising, our Girls’ Project does a lot to get girls into school and help them succeed there – from tutoring to soccer matches to school fee subsidies. However, sometimes we are reminded that even the basic act of building a school literally opens doors to girls in search of an education. I was reminded of this recently during a discussion with a mother of one of our students.
You're Invited! Free, Online Tour of Mali School + Celebration
Usually each fall we gather with you -- our great supporters -- to celebrate the successes you made possible and kick off a new school year. This year we can't gather physically, but we still want to celebrate with you! Join us Sunday, November 14 for an online, free gathering celebrating the end of our Gift of Education Giving Challenge.
My First Visit to a Mali Rising School
In late October, I had my first chance to visit a Mali Rising partner school. As a brand new staff person, I was so excited to finally see first-hand what we do and meet the great teachers and kids we work with. For my first trip, I went to the village of Sebela, which is home to Tim Gibson Middle School.
When Doing it Yourself Feels Good
When Mali Rising builds a new school, student desks are part of the equipment provided to the school. This is an obvious need – it is hard to make the most of a classroom if you do not have anywhere to sit! However, solving one problem can sometimes create other challenges. We have a new campaign underway to keep school desks in good shape, and I’d like to tell you about that campaign today.
A New School Brings Hope to N'Goko
By Alou Doumbia, Construction Manager
For residents of small, remote villages in Mali the dream of having a school for village children is often just that – a dream. Before the construction of Mali Rising’s 24th school in the village of N’Goko, the parents of the village were desperate. According to Issa Sogodogo, president of the youth committee of N’Goko, several organizations have tried to build a school in N’Goko without success.
The village is divided into two districts in the south and the north. The primary school was built in the southern district thanks to the contribution of the entire population. To bring understanding to the village, the residents decided to locate their new middle school on land lying right in the middle of the two districts. When the space was chosen to build this new school, the village chief instructed the school committee to seek partners to help the village build its school.
For more than 7 years, the village searched for a partner without success. Whenever a partner decided to support them, some problem would arise and the project would be abandoned. The whole village has contributed money for several years from cotton cultivation to finance the village share. But some people were so discouraged that they demanded reimbursement of their contribution shares. Yet the village chief did not give up.
When the village chief of N’Goko contacted us to ask for support for the construction of a middle school, the population was not sure that Mali Rising was motivated to do so. In addition to the long distance staff had to travel to visit the village, the coronavirus pandemic delayed construction by nearly a year.
Despite all these difficulties, the village chief was keen on his project because he was committed to the vision of education for the village children. So although the people of N’Goko believed that it was not possible to build this school, we worked hard to come up with ways to build safely even during the pandemic. When the first stone was laid, the mayor of the region sent his deputy to assist them. From that auspicious start, the work team of five young masons carried out the work with courage.
The populations of neighboring villages passing through N’Goko were surprised to see construction finally underway! Even the people of the village who requested reimbursement of their dues regretted their doubt. The mayor often visited the site and was very happy now to see construction complete.
Before this school was built, many students were sent far away to continue their education. Other children were simply forced to drop out. For example, there is a village tailor who told us that he was unable to continue his studies in the big town of Kadiolo, which is why he apprenticed as a tailor to come back and open his sewing workshop in his village.
Construction is now finished in N’Goko, and the school just awaits the arrival of its teachers. As I inspected the school at the end of the construction, a few happy children came to sit in the classrooms to say thank you and that they hope to come and continue their studies in these lovely buildings.
Working Together for a New School in Banko
By Merritt Frey, Executive Director, with Alou Doumbia, Construction Manager
We are overjoyed that the new middle school for the children of Banko — Christiana Norris Middle School — is now open in Mali and serving kids. Alas, for now we cannot do the typical ceremonial opening with the Norris Family, who generously sponsored the school. Instead, our staff brought a video from the Norris Family to share with the students and interviewed students, staff, and parents about the new school. Over this week, I’ll be sharing stories and interviews from that trip. Today we hear from the president of Banko’s primary school committee [we will hear from the middle school president later], a group of parents and elders who manage the school.
My name is Oumar Doumbia, president of the primary school’s school committees in the village of Banko school. We now have two school management committees thanks to the opening of Christiana Norris Middle School here.
As part of my presidential duties, the village chief and I have been to neighboring villages asking them to send their students to the new middle school. Sending students from other villages to our new middle school will make it easier for children to be educated, because so many of our neighboring villages suffer the same problem we used to suffer – schools too far from home for our students to attend. There were many students out of school or unable to continue their studies due to lack of food and the regular breakdown of their bikes on the trip to school. Because of the distance the children traveled, students from some families actually left our village, and many did not return.
The CAP of Bougouni [the local unit of the Ministry of Education] and the town hall supported us. City hall officials came to meet us to identify our concerns and the challenges we faced in opening a school. Once we had a school, the officials helped advocate for teachers to be assigned to our school. The CAP approved this request and sent us two teachers. This meant the village and the school committee also had to recruit two other teachers, which has been successfully completed.
I especially salute you and the Americans who helped us achieve our goal of building a middle school in Banko. I want this partnership to continue so that this school project progresses. As many children as possible in Banko must be able to access higher education. The parents of the students and we are all at the same level of joy in this project because the additional expenses for the children to reach school, the cost of food, the repair of the bikes, the energy and the journey time are all reduced. I salute the Norris family’s effort to make the school possible.
I ask students to take their studies seriously. I call on parents of students to make sure students attend school regularly. Parents must do everything they can to ensure that children can do well in school because happiness comes. We are very happy that our school is functional because we did not know that it could be done – but now we know everything is possible when we work together!
There's Nothing Like Watching A New School Rise
There are a lot of satisfying parts of this job, but few as pleasing as seeing a whole new school rise from the red soil of a small Mali village. Each year, Mali Rising builds just one or two schools (because we want to be sure we are also providing the support ALL of our schools need to deliver a quality education) and each one is as much of a joy to us as it is to the local village.
A School for N'Goko
Always Learning: Building Our Schools Better
All children have the right to an education, but some children around the world still do not receive an education due to the poverty of their parents and their countries. The Malian government is unable to correct this lack, leaving millions of children without access to an education. One of the reasons I love working for Mali Rising Foundation is that we are doing our part to make a difference on this enormous problem. Since 2004, we have worked to provide children with access to safe conditions for learning. Although we have a long record of accomplishment of good school construction, we are always learning and adapting. This year, we made some quite large changes to our own construction model.
