Ben Dixon Elementary School

Judge, Pediatrician, & More: Girls Dream Big

Sometimes, a little role modeling can go a long way! That’s why as part of our Girls’ Project we bring successful career women to talk with our participants each year. This year, five powerful women inspired our girls with dreams of futures where they can make a difference.

Reading Opens Doors for Girls

Mali Rising’s Girls’ Project is focused on helping girls get into school and succeed there. One key to success in school? Reading abilities! That’s where our Great Girls Read sessions come into play. Great Girls Read reading sessions are designed to help the girls improve their reading skills and find real pleasure in reading.

Celebrating Girls' Education in the Villages

It’s a hard slog for a girl in Mali to get through the school year. That’s why at the end of each year the Girls’ Project celebrates girls’ achievements with our girls and their entire villages! These Feasts (as we call them) are fun, but also are a great way to engage parents and the whole community in a discussion about the importance of girls’ education. Read on…

Great Girls Read Gives a Huge Lift

In Mali, all too often we find that students who diligently attend school still cannot read. Based on my own personal observations, I would estimate that around 80% of middle school students are not able to read a sentence correctly in French and 85% of elementary students are not able read aloud a simple sentence like “My school is pretty.”

Through the Girls’ Project’s Great Girls Read campaign, I am focused on changing this dynamic for our girls. I am particularly passionate about focusing on reading with our elementary school girls, because if they can learn reading young it will set them way ahead in middle school!

One Boy's Thoughts On Girls' Education

Most of my work focuses on helping Mali Rising’s teachers, but I always enjoy it when I get a chance to be part of the Girls’ Project. My role is to host discussions about girls’ education with boys in our Girls’ Project villages. My goal is to inspire the boys to be allies to their sisters and female classmates and speak out to support their education. At a recent meeting, I found a young man — Sirbiry Doumbia — who was already an avid supporter of girls’ education. Here’s what he told me….

New Villages for a New Year of the Girls' project

Mali Rising’s Girls’ Project strives to get more girls into school and help them succeed and thrive once they are there. In the past six years, we’ve helped girls in eight different villages get into school and stay there. This summer, we are selecting five new villages for intensive work via the Project. We are excited to announce those new villages today.