inside peeks

History & Culture of One Mali Ethnic Group: the Soninké

In Mali, your ethnic group is a point of pride and connection. In our schools, we see students from a wide range of ethnic groups learning side-by-side – embracing their own history and culture while also enjoying the diversity of Mali. Today, I want to share the history of my ethnic group and a little of its culture, because I come from a very large Soninké family from Mali in the Kayes region.

Gratitude Is the Best Feeling

By Merritt Frey, Executive Director

Here in the United States, those who celebrate Thanksgiving are hopefully taking time out from turkey and football to contemplate gratitude. Here at Mali Rising, we are reminded nearly every day of how much we have to be grateful for and how that spirit can move around the world. Here are just a few of the reasons we are filled with thanks:

  • We are grateful for our donors, who make all of the work we do possible. We are particularly grateful for their generosity during our recent Gift of Education Giving Challenge, which will allow our schools to thrive this school year.

  • We are thankful for our volunteers, who help us do a lot with a little! Without the help of volunteers, or tiny staff could never tackle the important projects that help our students learn and feel supported.

  • We are full of respect for our teachers and principal, who work so hard to turn a building into a real school. They make the investments from our donors and volunteers turn into a real education.

  • We are grateful for our staff in Mali, who brave rough roads on a motorcycle and dusty meetings under mango trees to make sure our kids have what they need to learn.

  • We send our admiration to our students’ parents, who often have to decide between having some much needed help in the fields to bring in the crops or sending their child to school, and so often find a way to get their child to school.

  • And we send our largest appreciation to our students, who do the hard work in their classrooms everyday of turning a simple building and some textbooks into a better future for themselves and for all of us around the world.

We are so grateful that we can all come together — from a donor in Canada to a volunteer in the U.S. to a student in Mali — to build a better future for all of us. Thank you for all you do!

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.

Help Us Welcome Ousmane to the Mali Rising Team

We are more than excited to welcome a new member to the Mali Rising team — Ousmane Coulibaly. As of October 1, Ousmane is our Operations Coordinator. This means he is in charge of keeping everything running on time and efficiently, from the Mali office’s budget to our delivery of Inspiration Scholarships. Get to know Ousmane…