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.
