By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Coordinator
Kadidia Diawara is one of our female French teachers working at Jade and Gabe Mellor Middle School in Seguesona.
She is 34 years old as a mother of 3 children. Kadidia is a French teacher and she has 10 years’ experience in teaching. Diawara first taught in a village called Tinkelé before she got transferred to Jade and Gabe Mellor Middle School in 2018.
Mrs. Diawara is a very talented teacher and admired appreciated by her colleagues and students thanks to her kindness, courage, and generosity. She says she feels very lucky to be a teacher in Jade and Gabe Mellor Middle School because she was to attend a Mali Rising teacher training in 2019. According to her, this training has been one of the most fruitful things in her career so far.
Back in the days when she could enjoy working in the classroom, Mrs. Diawara was hard at work at the chalkboard to drill her students on French skills.
Kadidia likes her job very much and is very dedicated when it comes to helping others. She said: “Teaching is what I live on in my whole life and allows me to support my relatives and families. It will not make me super rich, but I will not starve anyway. I also chose this job because it means a lot to me like contributing to the development to my nation through educating children different ways.”
She went on to tell us how much she misses her students and co-workers during the COVID-19 crisis while school is closed. Mises Diawara mentioned that she usually would chat with her students during short breaks at school and even over weekends. So, she misses chatting with them and other teachers at her school. She is so looking forward to getting back to school and seeing all of them again. During this crisis, she started preparing her lessons for next school year to have more time in the future, and reading books to improve her skills.
During this COVID-19 crisis, Kadidia makes sure her whole family is safe using hand-washing stations at her house, putting on mask and staying home as often as possible. “The COVID-19 is an obstacle now, but I hope we will bounce back soon,” she said.
Kadidia enjoys walking some distances sometimes as while playing sports. She likes people who are honest and open and does not like hypocrisy. Her favorite food is called cous-cous with milk which is rare in Mali except in the Sonike people’s area, her ethnic group.
Thank you to all the generous Mali Rising donors who make training and support for teachers like Kadidia possible!
