The Little Heroes Academy I Middle School of Mana has more than one hundred students. The school has many challenges to address. One of the main challenges is how to keep kids healthy and be able to attend school. Mali Rising is doing our small part to help with that challenge, by providing hygiene education classes. One student, Aminata, really took the lesson to heart!
First-Ever Career Day a Success!
Sticking with school is really hard for many students in Mali — they face pressure to drop out to help support their families, to take care of siblings, or even to get married. That’s why Mali Rising tries to provide inspiring opportunities for students to see why their education matters and how it can change their lives. This month, we piloted a new idea to inspire students to stay in school — a Career Day.
School Number 26 is Underway!
The News From Mali
Strong Woman Scholarships Give Girls Hope
Children living in extreme poverty face many obstacles to their education, but girls in this situation face even more hurdles because they are victims of inequalities and suffer discrimination throughout their educational journey. Mali Rising helps girls get over those hurdles using many strategies, including Inspiration Scholarships for our outstanding graduates. This year, eight girls from current Girls’ Project villages benefited from a scholarship. Read about two of those girls’ stories…
Healthy Kids Are Good Students
In order to succeed in school, you need to be in the classroom. And in order to be in the classroom, you need to be healthy. That’s where Mali Rising’s regular handwashing trainings come in — helping students stay healthy and in school learning. Read about one of our recent trainings and how poop jokes play in to it…
History & Culture of One Mali Ethnic Group: the Soninké
In Mali, your ethnic group is a point of pride and connection. In our schools, we see students from a wide range of ethnic groups learning side-by-side – embracing their own history and culture while also enjoying the diversity of Mali. Today, I want to share the history of my ethnic group and a little of its culture, because I come from a very large Soninké family from Mali in the Kayes region.
Kadia's Scholarship Keeps Her Fed & Shod
Mali Rising’s Inspiration Scholars sponsors are changing lives. By donating a modest scholarship, these donors help our most outstanding middle school graduates go on to vocation school or high school. The scholarships help the specific recipients of course, but the gift ripples out even farther. Other students are inspired to study hard in the hopes of a future scholarship. Parents see their earlier investment in education paying off and enroll young siblings. And Scholars return to their home villages with skills and an income that helps their whole family. We recently caught up with one Inspiration Scholar, Kadia Traore.
Studying Agriculture To Drive Food Self-Sufficiency
Being a student in Mali is a tough job. Because so much of the population lives in extreme poverty, young people are under serious pressure to drop out of school to help their families survive by going to work. Even if the family can spare a child to school, there are often no extra resources to help with tuition or other costs associated with education. This creates a cycle where even smart, motivated youth cannot live up to their potential — there are just no resources to help them get ahead. That’s where Mali Rising’s Inspiration Scholar supporters come in. By underwriting a modest scholarship, these donors help our most outstanding middle school graduates go on to vocation school or high school. We recently caught up with one Inspiration Scholar, Barou Kone.
A Child Should Be In School; Not In A Mine
In recent decades in Mali, the increasing rate of global warming has caused continuous climatic change characterized by drastic reduction in rainfall. Before, farming was the dominant way to make a living but this unexpected situation (poor rainfall) has hugely impacted on rural farmers’ incomes. Uncertainties, famine and extreme poverty have reached many families in southern Mali. Some people have lost hope. In order to deal with drought issue and meet their household’s needs, many local farmers migrate to the artisanal gold mines. Artisanal mining has become an alternative way of survival strategies for local farmers. Some parents encourage their children to give up schools and join them in mine and work in order to contribute to household finances
