When it rains, it pours. This old saying is especially true in Mali, and it presents a special challenge to children walking to school. It is common for many kids in rural areas in Mali to walk several miles to school and some children may walk four to five miles each way. The time and energy required each day is one of the most common reasons students drop out of school, especially when it comes to girls. This is why building schools is a core part of our education work — by bringing the school closer to the kids, we can make a big difference! This is never more true than during the rainy season. In the picture below, you see the road to one of the Mali Rising partner villages, Nieguekoro, which is home to Ross and Marilou Moser Middle School. This scene is typical during the rainy season.
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.
Teachers MAKE the School at Christiana Norris Middle School
Mali middle schools are typically home to an average of four teachers, although our schools range from 3 to 11! Because there are 8 core subjects in Mali’s national curriculum, teachers must cover multiple subjects. For example, the French teacher is usually required to teach history and/or geography as well. Often the English teacher will teach art or another subject. At Christiana Norris Middle School, there are currently four teachers, including the principal.
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.
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!
A New School for Sanata to Help Her Achieve Her Dreams!
A New Principal for a New School
During a recent visit to our new school in Banko, I got to talk with the new principal for the brand new school. The principal is Mr. Mahamadou Diallo. He is thirty-four years old and the father of two children. Mr. Diallo as a principal is new to the village of Banko, but he has been a principal at another school for about five years. In fact, Mr. Diallo started his teaching career years ago far north (about 260 kilometers!) of Bamako. In addition to being principal, Mr. Diallo teaches French in all the three grades in Christiana Norris Middle School of Banko.
Celebrating a New School for the Children of Banko!
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 the next week, I’ll be sharing stories and interviews from that trip. The first interview story today is from a young man, Bakary, who was able to return home to his family now that the village has a school for him!
