As part of my job at Mali Rising, I have the pleasure of helping to identify, select, and track our Inspiration Scholars. These young people are especially outstanding Mali Rising graduates who receive scholarships to continue their education. I just love hearing their stories when I check in on their progress so I wanted to share one such story with our supporters. This is what Awa told me in her own words:
Mamadou Wants an Educated Wife :)
In Mali, only 1 in three girls will be able to finish middle school. Many pressures drive girls away from school – from child marriage to economic needs to out-dated beliefs about a woman’s rôle. Our Girls’ Project works to address the range of pressures on girls but my small part is to work with boys throughout the school year to help them understand how they can help change things – how they can speak up for their sisters and female classmates.
Friendship Fosters Academic Success
Everyone can agree: sometimes it is your friends who get you through the touch stuff….and middle school is REALLY tough stuff. Two girls in the Girls’ Project demonstrate this truth perfectly! Fatoumata and Tenin have been inseparable friends since primary school. Today, both girls are 13 years old and attend the 8th grade in Little Heroes Academy I school in Mana.
Judge, Pediatrician, & More: Girls Dream Big
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.
Mandio Gets Determined
Sue Taylor Middle School in Diorila is one of our schools where the girls had a lot of difficulty overcoming obstacles to their education. But there are girls who still stand up and overcome those obstacles. Seventeen-year-old Mandio D. is one of the girls from Girls’ Project who decided to be agents of change in their community.
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…
Chatting Around a Dish With the Girls' Project Girls
As part of the Girls’ Project work, each spring we organize a session on eating and cooking healthy, local foods. This session includes preparation of a group meal with the girls. But the session is not only about food – cooking and eating together gives us a great, informal way to talk and share. While we wait for the meal to cook, we share stories around the table. Each girl tells a story that marked her, and shares her dreams and her goals. This is a very important activity that allows girls to confide and share their experiences.
Discussing Gender Violence: Boys & Girls
As we work to help girls succeed in school, we know a good relationship between girls and boys is very important for the success of girls. In Mali, school-based violence is a large-scale problem with harmful consequences for girls, but also for society as a whole. The violence suffered by girls affects their learning, their physical and mental health, their personality and their future. That’s why February’s theme for the Girls’ Project meetings was Stopping School-based Violence.
Girls Compete for Top Reader Honors!
A key, new part of our Girls’ Project focuses on helping participating girls learn to read – and to love reading! This campaign -- Great Girls Read – works with girls all school year long to help them improve their reading skills and find joy in reading fun and engaging short pieces designed just for them. As the school year ends, the girls competed in a reading contest and crowned their top readers!
