One of the biggest challenges facing students in Mali is the fact that school is not taught in their mother tongue language. Instead, schools use French for instruction and often leave students behind if they aren’t able to pick up French quickly in primary school. This year, we piloted the French Language Intervention Project (FLIP), designed to help 7th graders brush up their French skills as they enter middle school. I want to share the story of one of our students who participated in the FLIP pilot: Dramane D.
Turning a Sewing Machine Into a Bright Future
This fall, Awa L. Toure received an Inspiration Scholarship from the Mali Rising Foundation. These scholarships are designed to help our most outstanding students continue their education and build independent, bright futures for themselves. Awa is already on the road to her dream future at tailor school!
The Dreams of Oumou
Oumou Sidibé is one of our Girls Project students in Kolimba. She is 16 years old and lives in Kolimba with her parents. She is in the 9th grade in Nièta Kalanso Middle School. Oumou repeated the 6th grade because of an illness, but despite this setback she did not drop out of school. Oumou loves school because she would like to have a job and to be able to earn a living. This would allow her to help her parents and her village. Read more….
Serious Soumaila Has a Plan for His Village & His Future
My name is Soumaila Doumbia. I am 17 years old. I am in the 8th grade at Christiana Norris Middle School in Banko. I live in Banko with my parents. My father is a preacher (seer). He teaches me a bit about what he does but it's my school studies that I love. My mother sells pancakes at the market. Last year for 7th grade, I traveled to a school in a village called Touban. Touban is 11 km from Banko. I made this trip by bike in 90 minutes with other boys from my village who attended the same school. I was often late and the bike often broke.
