village life — Blog — Mali Rising Foundation

village life

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A Mother-Daughter Debate

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Educating a child involves more than the dedication of that child – it takes everyone’s help. This is way the Girls’ Project works hard to engage the parents – and especially the mothers of our girls – in the drive to educate girls. This year, I’ve had several meetings with female leaders in our partner villages to solicit their help in organizing mothers’ support for girls’ education in the villages. This month, we brought the mothers and their daughters together to discuss girls’ education.

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The Beauty of Mali: People, Music, History, & More

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With so much bad news coming out of Mali these days, I thought it would be helpful to explore some brighter spots of news, history, and more from Mali. This is an eclectic tasting platter of some things I hope will take you beyond the depressing headlines to learn just a little more about a beautiful place and people. So for a little Friday fun, check out this small collection of videos…

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Village Life: Where Old Men Gather

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Mali is home to many traditions, especially in rural areas. Some of the traditions are disappearing in bigger towns but they live on in villages. Visiting a village in Mali allows people from other countries to learn many of these traditions, but even Malians who have lived in big towns for long time may be reminded of many traditions. For example, it is very common to see large, rustic public benches in villages while visiting.

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Covid-19, Mali, and Mali Rising

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As we wrote about a week or so ago, COVID-19 was slow to be confirmed in Mali. However, Mali reported their first 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19 last Wednesday, and today (Monday) the WHO places the total number of confirmed cases at 18. We are heartbroken and worried for everyone in Mali. Like you, we are all figuring out the best ways to move through this new reality. Our first concern is for our students, their families, and our dedicated Malian staff. Although we took early steps to make sure we limited the risk of spreading the virus into our partner villages, we are thinking fast on our feet about how we can still best serve our students and villages over the long haul. As you might imagine, online learning is not an option in rural Malian villages! The government closed schools for 3 weeks, and we expect it to be longer by the time all is said and done, so we need to get creative….fast.

Weaving a Life in Mali

In Mali there are a wide variety of craft activities that many people live on in Mali and makes the country proud. These jobs seem to be disappearing in Mali because of modernization. I would like to talk to you about a traditional activity that still exists in Mali, especially in certain remote places in the country. The craft I am thinking of is weaving. Some Malians think it is very useful and many make a good living thanks to this profession.

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Outtakes From Travels in Mali

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Our trips to Mali are packed full of beautiful, excited students. So our photos tend to feature those great kids. Great kids, and loving shots of the Mali Rising school buildings. But we know so of the most interesting things are the little peeks at life in Mali. So, we’re sharing a few of our favorite non-kid, non-school (mostly) photos from the trip here…

School Donors Make Mothers Happy

Here at Mali Rising we often feature the students who benefit from our supporters’ generosity. Of course, many other benefit from a new school and the education it brings. So in this post we share some thoughts from a mother in the village where we are currently building our 23rd school, Kafara. Here are excerpts of what Sali had to say about the arrival of a new school for her children…