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).
Walking Barefoot to Be Part of the Girls Project
In the Girls Project, we host Girls Group meetings twice a month with our girls. The meetings are very beneficial and fulfilling for the girls. It is a way for the girls to learn many things different from what they are used to learning in class, for example the girls discuss their menstrual cycle, hear talks from career women, or develop their leadership skills. The girls love these meetings! As an example, here is a story from one of our Girls Project participants about the lengths she will go to attend the Girls Group meetings…
More Than Impatient To Go Back To School!
Meet Katie, Mali Rising's Summer Research Intern
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
Oh that question! What do you want to be when you grow up? Every kid has fielded this question dozens of times, right? (For me: Olympic equestrian team member, veterinarian.) But it is an interesting question when we are investing in education as a tool to allow people to build the lives they want…what lives do they actually want to build? As part of the year end evaluation of the Girls Project, we asked our girls just that.
Your Donations In Action! What a Hand Washing Station Means to a Village
By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Coordinator
The coronavirus is a disaster for the entire world, including Mali. Mali Rising is working hard to help students and students’ parents stay healthy in our partner villages. We are trying to make the villagers more aware of measures of prevention in order to be safe during the virus. We are also providing them tools like hand washing stations, educational flyers, and health lessons.
Recently I talked with a member of the school committee at Ross and Marilou Moser Middle School in Nieguekoro. His name is Modibo Doumbia. Mr. Doumbia is 43 years old and has 6 kids.
Modibo Doumbia shared with us what his village has been doing to prevent the virus. He told us they are very concerned about the coronavirus outbreak in Mali when we asked him about the village’s health.
I asked him a few questions:
Adama: What do you think about the Covid-19, Modibo?
Modibo: We have heard about the COVID-19 killing many people in many other countries and many people believe it is true even though some still do not here in Nieguekoro. Most people in my village are very sad and worried about it too, especially because the number of infected people is incredibly increasing every day in Mali. Because of the virus here, many people in Nieguekoro have changed behaviors in terms of hygiene. They use soap and water very often now and encourage their children to do as well. I can tell you that I have been avoiding crowds and I have been using soap and water myself. I also encourage many other families to respect these measures in order that we are all stay safe during this virus. I truly believe that the virus is a reality and it is very deadly! I know that in Mali many people died from the COVID-19 too. Here in Nieguekoro some people think they should see those dead bodies, so they can believe it. But that is not possible because the virus is very contagious and very hard to be treated. So, I personally think the dead bodies need to be hidden which can really prevent it from spreading so bad.
Adama: How do you think you will use the Mali Rising Foundation hand washing stations?
Modibo: I am very happy to have the two hand washing stations from Mali Rising Foundation. They will be used in a proper way by the whole village and I am sure they will be helpful because there were none here before except those who have smaller ones in their families. I am very thankful to Mali Rising for this donation!
Adama: What do you think of school being cancelled during this outbreak of Covid-19?
The situation is pitiful because we do not know what to do about it! School is shut down and the children need help. The only thing we tell them is not to forget their textbooks and a few lessons they have seen before the outbreak. But the kids do not seem motivated anymore because they have not gone to school for longtime. At least we want them to stay safe over the outbreak of COVID-19. We hope this crisis will end soon and our children can go back to school and teachers as well.
Thank you to all our donors who sponsored hand washing stations and the Health Project! You make this work possible. You too can support this work!
Mr. Doumbia inspects one of the new hand washing stations donated by Mali Rising supporters.
Hand Washing Stations: Simple Tools For a Complex Fight
Two Free, Virtual Events Coming in May!
Mariam, A Mali Rising Science Teacher
Mariam Dembelé is one of our brave female teachers in the middle school of Sue Chung Chiu Middle School in the village of Simidji. Thanks to our teacher sponsor donors, Mariam took part in our December 2019 teacher training. It was her first time at a training. Mariam is a science teacher and she enjoys her work so much! She has 4 years of teaching experience. At 23 years old, she is the mother of 2 children. Mariam loves her job because she loves children even though she thinks they are turbulent sometimes. Working as a teacher also allows her to support her family and come across with new people very often. Get to know Mariam more…
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.
