Blog
Just like young people here in the U.S., Mali Rising students have big dreams for their future. I recently met a Mali Rising alumni – Moussa Doumbia -- with a very specific dream and he is well on his way to making it real. He is reaching for the stars, with a vision of becoming a diplomat in Mali’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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.
As part of exposing our Girls Project girls to the diverse career opportunities an education girl can dream of, we recently interviewed some career women in their workplace and videoed the interviews. In the past, we brought these career women to the villages to meet the girls directly but because of the pandemic we took a questionnaire from the girls to the career women.
Oh that question! What do you want to be when you grow up? Every kid has fielded this question dozens of times, right? (For me: Olympic equestrian team member, veterinarian.) But it is an interesting question when we are investing in education as a tool to allow people to build the lives they want…what lives do they actually want to build? As part of the year end evaluation of the Girls Project, we asked our girls just that.
It is such an annoying grownup question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" But it is an important question for young people as they enter middle and high school. The question is on my mind because one of many questions we ask girls participating in our Girls Project at the beginning of each school year and again at the end of the year.
At this time of year there is just so much going on at Mali Rising schools that it is hard to keep everyone up to date on all the news. Year-end exams and summer are rushing at our students, just like they are here in the United States. But I wanted to share just a little peek at something powerful girls involved with our Girls Project have been up to -- meeting with career women in Mali to explore options for their future.
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