Meet 2 Students from Sebela, Home to Our Next School

Some of you may have heard that we are fundraising for our 21st school in the small, tidy village of Sebela in southern Mali. While I was in Mali in December, I visited Sebela and met many parents and children. I got to spend the most time with two great kids -- Lassine and Kadia -- so I'm featuring those two here today.

Catching Up With Mali Rising's Girls Project

It has been a while since we caught you up with our newest project -- the Girls Project. The wait isn't because of lack of action -- our intrepid Girls Project Coordinator Hindaty has been very busy. Read on for a full update on last quarter's fun...

Can't Travel to Mali? Three Films That Take You There

I really wish we could take all of you with us to Mali. You'd have a wonderful time, get a little hot and dusty, and never be quite the same. But it's a long and expensive trip, and you probably don't have much vacation time. So, here are 3 films that can take you there for just a few hours.

5 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About Mali

Mali is an amazing country, full of color and life. However, those of us in western countries tend to know very little about Mali. When I started this job, I could amaze people with the simple fact that Timbuktu is located in Mali.  Here are five other things you probably didn't know about Mali...

Two Stories to Make You Feel Hopeful

When I first started working with Mali Rising, it was months before I could get to Mali to visit our students and our schools. This was a form of torture. Luckily for me, we started the Student Spotlight feature and it gave me a taste of the great kids I now am beginning to know so well. Here are two such stories to lift your spirits just as they lift mine.

Calling All Teachers: Classroom Connections

This school year Mali Rising has piloted a new project -- Classroom Connections -- and now we're ready to take it live to teachers and students around the country. We hope you'll join us! Classroom Connections is designed to educate students in the U.S. about students and culture in Mali and provide meaningful service projects for U.S. students to build relationships with their peers in Mali.

Volunteers Help Girls Stay in School

If you were absent for almost 20 percent of middle school, how do you think you would have done in class? For girls in Mali, this is a sad reality. Without any tools to manage their periods, girls end up staying home from school. Over the course of middle school, they can miss four and half months of school. To help, a great team of volunteers in Utah make menstrual kits for girls The kits are designed to last 3 years...exactly the time it takes to finish middle school! In December, we delivered more than 100 kits to our girls, and they were excited.