I don’t know about you, but more and more these days I’m looking for ways to be of service and feel connected to the larger world. With more time at home and alone, maybe it has made me value our interconnectedness a bit more….or maybe after a year at home I just need something DIFFERENT to do with my evenings! Do you feel that way?
Help! Virtual Volunteers Needed for 2 Special Projects
By Merritt Frey, Executive Director
Well, the good news is that we have been totally overwhelmed with responses to our new Volunteer Campaigns. The bad news? We need some help to manage the influx!
We are looking for two people willing to tackle some support help for our Read to Mali and Notes of Encouragement Campaigns. Each role can be done from anywhere in the U.S. as long as you have a good internet connection and will average about 1 to 3 hours a week.
For the Read to Mali support volunteer, we will ask that you review short (5 to 15 minute) videos from our volunteers to make sure they are kid-friendly and of good quality. You do not have to judge the volunteers’ work — we just need someone to check each video to make sure nothing untoward goes on and that the audio/video quality will work in our classrooms (you do not have to be a video tech — we are just wanting to be sure one can hear the volunteer, etc.). Specs and support will be provided.
For the Notes of Encouragement Campaign, the support volunteer will review notes submitted by volunteers — again making sure that there is nothing untoward in the notes (sometimes young volunteers might think it is funny to add an “exciting” word or two) and that no contact information is shared. The notes will all be scanned into pdf files, so they will be easy to review. Again, specs and support will be provided.
We are hoping whoever steps forward can take on their role for at least a two or three months staring in mid-April. Interested? Email me today please! And thank you…
Great Girls Read Makes Learning Fun...With Cake
Get Involved to Help Our Students (Online) This Thursday!
Want to help our students? Why, thank you! We have a fun, easy way you can volunteer to help our kids by sending them encouragement during this tough year. On April 8, you can come learn how to do it at our online April Volunteer Evening. At this online event, we will get you started with our Notes of Encouragement Volunteer Campaign. Notes are just short messages to encourage our students as they work hard in school.
One Science Teacher Hones His Skills
Teachers in Mali come together, have long tea-drinking sessions, and go to visit other villages as a group, but it is rare that they come together to learn from each other. Because we believe teachers are key to success for our students AND that teachers can really help each other, Mali Rising Foundation hosts Teacher Peer Meetings where we bring teacher together to learn from each other. In late March, we hosted a teacher peer meeting in the big town of Ouelessebougou. This meeting brought together five science teachers who were all thrilled to participate. Mr. Souleymane Koné was one of the participants. Mr. Koné is a science teacher in the village of Fadiobougou, which is home to the Entrepreneur Organization Learn for life Academy.
April Volunteer Evening: Join the Notes of Encouragement Campaign!
Looking for something fun but meaningful to do as a volunteer? We have the easiest-entry project ever for you — write notes of encouragement to our students in Mali! On April 8, you can come learn all about it at our online April Volunteer Evening.
Thank You to Judge Memorial Students!
Kadidatou Returns to School After a New Baby
Usually in Mali, once a girl gets married or becomes pregnant, her education ends. (This is a big problem, because 15% of girls are married by 15 and 50% are married by 18.) A pregnant girl who goes to school risks being teased by other students and being accused of being a bad influence. Yet every year, thousands of girls get pregnant in Mali when they should be learning history, algebra and life skills at school. Adolescent girls who have teenage pregnancies face many social and financial barriers that hinder their pursuit of formal education. Kadidiatou is a married 18 year old and is in the 9th grade at Mali Rising’s Frances W. Burton Middle School in Tamala. When we discovered that she was pregnant, we doubled our awareness campaign with her and of her husband's family until her delivery.
Another Way to Help: Flashcards!
Lunchtime in a Mali School
Mali is a country that prioritizes education, despite the many challenges we face with poverty, unrest, and of course the pandemic. One of the biggest challenges for the authorities (and for Mali Rising!) is keeping kids in school until they graduate from middle school. With multiple gold mining areas calling to kids with get-rich-quick dreams, the rural exodus of kids to work and get money, and the long distances walking or biking to get to school every day, many children drop out before they graduate. With the aim of helping stop drop outs, the Mali government has been thinking about many strategies like school lunch program, parent’s involvement, etc. In previous years, many of those strategies did not work very well. However, two years ago, we started noticing a strategy that seemed promising. The government was creating school lunch programs in some rural schools.
