Blog
Many of our schools are now old enough that they have graduated hundreds, or even thousands, of students. So, recently we began organizing school Alumni Networks with a goal of helping the graduates help their schools grow and thrive. We have found that the alumni are more than eager to help! This month, we helped one Alumni Network address a big problem — malaria.
Earlier this month, I shared the story of one of our students who participated in the FLIP pilot. Today I would like to share the story of a second participant — Sata T. Here is what he had to say about the FLIP pilot in his own words: “My name is Sata and I am in 7th grade. I am 14 years old. I am one of the 40 students who participated in FLIP special classes at Jade & Gabe Mellor Middle School….
By Ousmane Coulibaly, Operations Coordinator
On a Friday this November, the Alumni Network of Seguessona’s Jade & Gabe Mellor Middle School organized a maintenance day at their school. This network is made up of young men and women who graduated from the school. While some of them are already working in companies and organizations, others are still in high school and in vocational schools and universities.
With the support of Mali Rising Foundation, more than thirty former highly motivated students, h came to school with brooms, wheelbarrows rakes, soap and other small materials. In addition, some former student volunteers rented a wheelbarrow, bought buckets, and also rented a three-wheeled motorcycle as support equipment during the cleanup day. Some volunteer students from 7th, 8th and 9th grades also came to join the elders to help them clean up the school.
Proud and happy Alumni Network volunteers take a break from making their school shine!
They were well organized in different groups. While the girls and women swept with brooms, the men carried the trash away with wheelbarrows. Together they managed to sweep the whole schoolyard, the inside of the classrooms and they also cleaned all the latrines.
They then chased away all the birds that were in the principal's office. The principal's office was in bad shape because of the birds' nests and poop. The Principal of the school, Mr. Bakary Koné, was also present and was very satisfied with the work done by the alumni.
Principal Koné said, "I am very happy and satisfied with this work. These young people cleaned the school very well today. They also washed my office, and all the latrines. Otherwise, the latrines in the school were unusable. Nobody liked to use them because of the waste. But now all the latrines are operational. Also, they managed to chase away all the birds and clean their poop.”
This Alumni Network is one of two Networks Mali Rising has launched this year to test the idea. Our hope is that the alumni groups can grow and take concrete actions such as inspiring students to stay in school or maintaining their school in the future for themselves. If these first two Networks are successful, we hope to grow the idea to other schools.
This year, I am helping to pilot a new Mali Rising project – Alumni Networks. The goal of these networks is to foster connections between our schools’ graduates and the students attending their schools now. I recently met with Alumni Network members at our school in Sequessona – Jade & Gabe Mellor Middle School and asked them to share their thoughts about the Alumni Network experience so far.
One key issue in any international development project is sustainability — how do you make sure a project is something a local community wants and is willing and able to support. Over the last 16 years of our work, the partner villages we work with have really driven our work and kept every school we’ve built with them functioning. But there is always room for improvement, and that’s where the new Alumni Networks come in!
In Mali, as in many African countries, the problem of youth employability is acute. After completing their vocational trainings and university studies, young people face employment problems. To cope with this challenge, many young people try to find alternative employment to make ends meet. But no matter where life takes you, education is a great tool to have ready.
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.
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