Help Send 900 Girls to School in Ouelessebougou!

Fatoumata is a joyful 2nd grader from the rural village of Djemene. Fatoumata has two sisters and she loves to read in Bambara. Because of her school's partnership with the Alliance, she can receive a formal education right in her own village. Her school is 16 miles outside of the town of Ouelessebougou. It has the Alliance's largest student body serving the children of Djemene and some neighboring villages. 254 students attended school in 2017 - 2018.

When the Alliance's education program started in the mid 1990's, girls like Fatoumata rarely attended school. It was traditional for them to stay home and help their mothers. Many families felt it was unnecessary for a girl to receive an education when it was expected for them to marry young and bear children. Even when girls did attend school, many dropped out when they began menstruating. 

For 25 years, the Alliance has worked with the schools, Education Councils and village leadership to educate the parents on the importance of girls attending and completing primary school. There has been much progress since 1993. Attitudes are changing and more girls are attending the Alliance's 12 village schools. But poverty is still one of the biggest barriers to a girl's education, especially in rural areas like Ouelessebougou. It is still forcing girls in to sacrifice their right to education and hope for a better life. 

The Alliance is committed to securing access to a basic education for girls in rural Ouelessebougou. In addition to enlisting the support of village leaders and parents, the Alliance provides quality classrooms, supplies and teachers for an optimal learning environment. Separate school latrines and handwashing buckets increase health and safety; sustainable feminine hygiene kits and education allow girls to stay in school when menustrating. Evening literacy workshops for individuals ages 14 and older provide teens and young mothers the opportunity to continue their education.

By supporting the Alliance's education programs, you are investing in girls in Ouelessebougou. Your donation provides life-changing opportunities for hundreds of girls, which will not only bless their lives today but also help future generations to come. Thank you for empowering girls like Fatoumata!

Last month, the Ouelessebougou Alliance held its annual charitable gala auction. This event was our annual fundraiser where a large portion of program funding was raised. At the auction, money was procured for vaccinations, mosquito netting, health agent training, health matron training, economic development, feminine hygiene kits, garden wells, potable water wells and several other projects. While these invaluable projects represent the very heart of the Ouelessebougou Alliance's mission statement, perhaps the most valuable funds raised were for teacher training, classroom construction, school supplies, bench desks and other costs associated with school attendance and maintenance.

Many of our programs change lives, yet one focuses uniquely on sustainable and generational change that can never be taken away: education. Ensuring village health and prosperity is indispensable. However, education gives our villagers the chance to gain something that can never be taken away from them, and can change not only their own lives, but their familys' lives and the lives of future generations as well.

At times, international development can seem daunting. Village improvements and positive changes can seem like a small drop in a very large bucket. However, for the children of Ouelessebougou, money spent on education is never wasted; and improvements and positive changes constitute the difference between a life of growth and flourishment and a life without literacy or hope for economic advancement. For all that you have done for this project, I cannot thank you enough. Perhaps one day the village children will be able to personally tell you what your donations have meant to them.

Iniche! 

It's a simple formula, one that has been repackaged and redelivered countless times. Individuals from all backgrounds, classes, schools of thought and religious or political persuasions have emphasized the importance of education throughout history.

W.E.B. Du Bois called education the "development of power and ideal". Maria Montessori called early childhood education the "key to the betterment of society".Victor Hugo said that "he who opens a school door, closes a prison". Malcolm X recognized education as the "passport to the future" and also somewhat controversially uttered that "without education, you are not going anywhere in this world".  Michelle Obama emphasized education as important to develop both the "ability to learn", but more importantly, "confidence". 

While education has been almost universally recognized as important, the importance of female education is a more recent development. The United Nations Development Program ranks Mali number 176 out of 187 listed countries in its Education Index. While this may sound discouraging and lead some to believe that we're having minimal impact, the data demonstrates that each year the country has significantly improved.

This is largely due to the inclusion of girls in school, which crucially imparts the confidence referenced earlier to a new generation of rural Malian youth. The Alliance has roughly 50 percent female enrollment in its elementary schools, which is approximately 20 percent higher than the national average. Statistics such as these are particularly important in communitarian societies like Mali, where macro-level efforts gather far more momentum than individual ones. As the African proverb states, "if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." 

This is why the Alliance takes a collaborative approach, and has recently partnered with local schools in the Salt Lake area to ensure that more girls are educated in Mali. We've partnered with Brookwood Elementary, Highland High, Viewmont Elementary, Redeemer Lutheran School and are currently initiating a partnership with the Salt Lake Arts Academy. We have worked in partnership with local schools and villagers to educate nearly 1,000 girls this school year, and we truly believe that we can continue to go farther, together.

Judy Hut, our Executive Director, recently got back from her trip to Ouelessebougou, accompanied by members of our board and Alliance volunteers. During the trip, members of the expedition were able to officially "break ground" on the new Neneko School. 

It was an all-day affair. The mayor was present, as was a member of the Malian Senate, hundreds of villagers and our board chair, Paul Olson, who had the honor of cutting the ribbon to officially commemorate the new school. Many villagers and kids were excited about the school. Parents were optimistic for the brightened futures of their kids, and the children were excited because they no longer had to walk so far to go to class at a nearby village. This means that they now have more time to help around the house and do their homework. Their chances of dropping out have also significantly lessened.

One thing became clear to all who were a part of the Ouelessebougou Alliance's expedition: education is important in Ouelessebougou. There are many children who have a great desire to learn. The residents of the villages are hungry to learn; they are ambitious and their average age is school-aged, meaning that we are changing the education demographics in Mali. This will not happen overnight, but it certainly could not happen without your support.

What most stood out to those who went on the trip was the participation of girls in the Alliance schools as opposed to other schools in Mali. The Neneko School has an approximate 20% higher enrollment rate of girls when compared with the national average. This is not just a statistic. This is evident on the face of every girl in Neneko who knows that their future is brighter because of your donation. Thank you for giving to sustainability. Thank you for giving to education. Thank you for believing in the children of Ouelessebougou.

Iniche! 

August and September are back-to-school months in many places around the world. Ouelessebougou is no different, and although the Alliance has always focused on education as a primary component for sustainable change, this year we are emphasizing education even more than in the past. That is because we recognize education as the single most powerful method for sustainable and generational change. 

Approximately 2/3 of adults in Mali are illiterate. This substantially lowers family earning power and an individual's ability to earn a decent salary to support themselves. Additionally, proper education increases the prospects for proper self-care, both physically and mentally, drastically decreasing health disparities. In other words, education wholistically betters an individual and their society, fostering both improved health and economic development.

Education truly is key and, as has been emphasized in past reports, schools associated with the Ouelessebougou Alliance have a 45% enrollment rate among girls, which is 20% higher than the national average in Mali. We can continue to partner with young Malians to make their country better for themselves and for future generations. 

However, this would not be possible without your continued support. Your donations make so much of a difference! You have the power to be the change agent in an area where young people are eager to learn and establish self-sufficiency. You've already been so helpful, and for that we say, Iniche!