By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Coordinator

Sebela is a small but prosperous village outside of Bamako and it is home to Tim Gibson Middle School. Just like anywhere in Mali, the people of Sebela have been very concerned about their children’s future because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the outbreak of the virus in Mali in mid-March, the school has been closed.  Many students were worried about the school year and were almost hopeless. Recently, the government decided to reopen school only for students in the 9th grade, so that these students can prepare for their graduation exams this summer. The schools re-opened on June 2.

Mamadou Sidibe is one of those students who are thrilled to be back in school for a few months. He thinks it is late in the year, but students need to learn all the time no matter when. So better late than never! Mamadou is determined to hit his goal for the year, which is to pass his DEF (national exam).

Mamadou is a 9th grader at Tim Gibson Middle School and he is 16 years old. He has two younger brothers and one older brother and sister.  Mamadou’s father is a great farmer. Mamadou is very proud of his father because his father has always been able to support them with crops all year long -- even though his family is big.  Mamadou’s mom is a housewife. She helps her husband with many things like working on the farm, gardening, and selling vegetables.

Mamadou enjoys being with his classmates – including both the boys and girls, because they tease each other and make their school a good place to go to for all of them. Mamadou loves rap songs even though he does not want to be a rap singer. He listens to songs on radio and phone sometimes and enjoys this for fun. Mamadou likes all his teachers and parents and is excited to go back to school after so long on break. In school, he thinks natural science and math are very tricky. But he also thinks he should not give up because they are difficult but keep trying hard until he makes it. 

Although he forgot his face mask today, Mamadou has been trying his best not to catch the Covid-19. His father has been warning them about how bad the Covid-19 is, and they also learned many things about it on radio and TV.

Mamadou loves school because he has a dream that he wants to make true! We all must have dreams, he said! His dream is to become a police officer in the future. Mamadou thinks that studying hard until he graduates from high school will allow him to hit his goal. His favorite job in life is to be a police officer. He wants to make this possible because it is all about protecting people and their possessions and he would feel happy to do that. Knowing he will have to work hard to make it possible, Mamadou said never thought of dropping out because the only way to get there is working by hard. Mamadou thinks that being a police officer will also allow him to take good care and support his family and friends. With a good job, he could build a beautiful house for his family and buy a beautiful car. He is excited to be able to get back to school despite the COVID-19 so he can work on making his dream true! This is why he appreciated the government decision to reopen 9th grade.

Mamadou Sidibe remembers Mr. Tim Gibson from his trips to Sebela. He sends his greetings to the sponsor of the school. He is grateful to Mali Rising Foundation for the school and everything.