Blog — Mali Rising Foundation

get to know Mali

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Lunchtime in a Mali School

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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.

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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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Even Flood Waters Can't Stop Our Girls Project

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Because of the school closings with COVID-19, this year’s reopening of schools coincides with the rainy season. Usually, schools in Mali are closed from June through September so that most children do not have to navigate floodwaters and mud to get to school. As with everything else, 2020 has been quite different with students called back to school in the midst of the rains.

Mali Kids Go Door-to-Door Too, But Not for Halloween!

Tradition means a lot to the Malian people! We deeply love our traditions, and many things are passed on from generation to generation such as long greetings, handshakes, and blessings. One of these traditional things that children learn very early is giving and receiving blessings during two annual feasts, Tabaski and Ramadan. Tabaski was just celebrated a the end of July, and even in the time of COVID-19, our traditions continued.

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A Coup in Mali and What it Means for Students

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You may have heard some concerning news out of Mali this week. Earlier in the week, Mali’s military took the nation’s President and other officials into custody. Within hours, the President resigned and turned power over to the military. The situation is still evolving rapidly, with players from around the region and world weighing in on Mali’s future. Military leaders have vowed to hold new elections soon.

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Impact of Coronavirus on Living Conditions in Our Partner Villages

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Just like everyone around the world, we have been working hard to understand the impact of COVID-19 on our lives and our work. All of the Mali staff or Mali Rising have been gathering information weekly from our 23 partner villages. We also recently reviewed the results of a national survey carried out in June 2020 by the Malian government in collaboration with the World Bank. I wanted to share what we understand from the national survey and discuss how that information may affect our future work.