great people

Help Us Welcome Ousmane to the Mali Rising Team

We are more than excited to welcome a new member to the Mali Rising team — Ousmane Coulibaly. As of October 1, Ousmane is our Operations Coordinator. This means he is in charge of keeping everything running on time and efficiently, from the Mali office’s budget to our delivery of Inspiration Scholarships. Get to know Ousmane…

Meet a New Board Member: AJ Davis

We are truly pleased to welcome a new member to our Board of Directors, AJ Davis. She joins our dedicated band of board members in guiding the organization and serving as ambassadors for our work. I sent AJ a few questions to help everyone get to know her just a little bit. Please read on to hear what AJ had to share.

Recommitting to Service on this MLK Day? Learn About Volunteering at Mali Rising

Today is MLK Day in the United States — one of our most inspirational holidays. This is a day to step up in service to others in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr.. I’d like to encourage you to consider carrying this spirit forward beyond today by volunteering for Mali Rising — and we have a great way for you to learn how.

Get to know Adama, Teacher Project Coordinator

Our staff in Mali do all the hard and interesting work that our supporters make possible. They work hard — traveling rough roads, dealing with the heat, and breathing in the dust of Mali’s countryside. But they do it with grace and with a sense of purpose that comes from knowing they are helping kids just like themselves have a chance at an education. We want you to get to know these great people a bit better, so we took a recent chance to interview Adama Kone, our Teacher Project Coordinator. Please enjoy this video blog to learn more about his work with our teachers, what he's doing to fight COVID-19, and how popular Frisbee is in Mali (hint: not very).

Take a Walk. Build a School. Change a Life!

If you are like me, you may have found yourself taking a lot of walks recently. With all the news around the pandemic, where it is safe to do so it is wonderful to get outside and clear your head with a walk around the neighborhood. But what if that walk could clear your head AND build a school? With Miles for Mali, it can!

Adama, Inspiration Scholar & Future Member of Parliament

One of our most popular projects for donors is the Inspiration Scholar Project. Inspiration Scholarships sponsored by donors allow our most outstanding graduates to go on to high school or vocational training such as nursing, farming, or construction. Here’s a first person story from one of our current Inspiration Scholars, Adama Sangaré…

Video Chat with Adama: Health, Teachers, & More!

Join us via video link for a chat with our wonderful Teachers’ Project Coordinator, Adama Kone. Adama coordinates our Health Project (as well as the Teachers’ Project) so he will share the latest on what we’re doing in Mali about COVID-19. This will be an interactive talk about the work and how your support makes a difference in Mali. We will talk about our work with teachers, but also the creative ways Adama is working on COVID-19 in this fast-changing situation. We will also feature a few ways you can get more involved as a volunteer. We’ll devote plenty of time to answering your questions too — feel free to ask about Mali culture, programming, or anything you are curious about.

Volunteer Spotlight: Youth Ambassador Adjo!

Our Youth Ambassador project is a great way for high school students to help Mali Rising’s youth while gaining leadership skills and fostering an international understanding. I recently interviewed one of our Youth Ambassadors, Adjo, by email. She is a dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer and was excited to share her experience with you.