We are all in this together

COVID-19 was slow to be confirmed in Mali. However, Mali reported their first 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 25, and cases continue to be confirmed. We are heartbroken and worried for everyone in Mali.

Like you, we are all figuring out the best ways to move through this new reality. Our first concern is for our students, their families, and our dedicated Malian staff. Although we took early steps to make sure we limited the risk of spreading the virus into our partner villages, we are thinking fast on our feet about how we can still best serve our students and villages over what may be a long haul.

As you might imagine, online learning is not an option in rural Malian villages! The government closed schools for several months, so we had to get creative….fast. On this page, we will keep you up-to-date on what we are doing and how you can help. Examples of the work we have underway already include:

• Distributing health lessons to our villages via local radio stations.

• Sharing educational messages with parents via radio to encourage them to keep their girls out of early marriage during this crisis so they can return to school later.

• Using an existing WhatsApp group of our teachers to get health messages into villages.

• Distributing new hand-washing stations and educational messages to villages.

If you would like to help our students through this pandemic, please consider donating to our Coronavirus Campaign to support health lessons, hand-washing stations, and more.

Latest news on COVID-19 work