By Ousmane Coulibaly, Operations Coordinator

Our students study hard because they want to build a better life for themselves and for their families. But all too often, we find that students have no idea what career options an education makes available to them or how they can pursue those careers. That’s where our new Career Adventures Project comes in. This project provides year-long career advice for students in our schools, including a Career Day to allow students to really explore careers in-depth.

On January 21, I worked with the staff of Little Heroes Academy II in Tanima to host a career day. We invited 5 speakers — including a journalist, a hairdresser, a doctor, a hospitality manager, and a police officer.— to to talk with the students about their career and the processes they followed to get that career. During their interactions with the children, the speakers encouraged and motivated the students to work hard. After each presentation, the children asked many questions and were very excited about what they had learned.

After the Career Day, I spoke with two eigth graders, Mary Guindo and Sekou Ba Traore, about their experience.

Mary Guindo told me: “The organization of the career day at Tanima was very helpful. I really enjoyed it because it will help me a lot in the future. The speakers did a great job of explaining the importance of education in life, and they also informed us about the benefits of work. Their stories will guide us in planning our future careers.”

Sekou Ba Traore expressed similar ideas: "Thanks to this career day, I personally understood a lot of things that I didn't know before. They explained to us clearly what we should do after the DEF. For example, the policeman explained to us how to become a police after DEF. He explained the whole process to us. He also explained to us how to become a soldier or a gendarme and I have understood it well. I really liked this career day and it was a success”.

We’re glad the students enjoyed the day and hope to continue to help students make the connection between their hard work in the classroom and a better future that awaits!