Younissa Samake is one of our very earliest graduates. Way back in 2007, he graduated from Frances W. Burton Middle School in the village of Tamala – the third school we ever built.

Looking back on those days, Younissa remembers his favorite subjects were history, geography, and French. His passion for learning kept him in school. “After high school, I went to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. When I graduated, I took the Entrance Examination at the Master Training Institute (to train to be a teacher).”

Today, Younissa is a 28-year-old teacher. He teaches French in a private school. He credits his education at Frances W. Burton Middle School with setting him on the path to his career, “My education helps me a lot in my work, as I teach French. I learned French at school. I am passionate about my work.”

But he says education has meant more than just a job. “While other people of my age in the village ignoring all these things, I can do math, read and write. If I had not gone to school, I was going to be an illiterate; I was not going to be informed about the news of life…”

Younissa now dreams of becoming a government teacher in the public school system, serving schools like Mali Rising’s schools. Mali suffers from an extreme teacher shortage, so young minds like Younissa’s are truly needed. Every future teacher Mali Rising schools graduate is a huge investment in Mali’s future!

Want to help build a school to change lives like Younissa's? Consider joining the Builders' Society or getting involved with our next school.

2018