Help Send 900 Girls to School in Ouelessebougou!

Mali continues to be one of the poorest countries in the world and for young girls this makes it difficult to hope for an education.  Girls face social, cultural and economic hardship when it comes to fighting for an education, thus young girls continue to sit on the sidelines when it comes to schooling.  Even if girls attend school most drop out by the age of 11 or 12 and in the rural villages most young girls are married by the age of 14.  Young girls in Mali fight acute malnutrition and poverty and are too often illiterate.  Mali ranks as one of the highes coutries in the world as just not having proper access or quality of education for girls.

Girls are often kept home to help their mothers with younger children, or jobs around the home.  Girls are often sent away to Bamako to work for wealthier families, as domestic servants, to help earn money to buy food for their families.  Girls are often shamed and not provided the proper environment to receive an education once they begin their periods.  In rurual Mali, once a young girl has started her period she cannot be educated in the same classroom as a girl who has not started menstruating.  This leads to girls dropping out of school and to girls feeling shamed.  Most girls do not have the financial resources to begin school or even continue it past a primary education.  Further, if a parent has to choose between a son or daughter to receive an education in almost every situation the parent will choose the son.

Ouelessebougou Alliance continues to operate 12 schools in our 25 partnered villages.  Educating girls is a primary goal in these schools.  Last year 43% of our students attendig our village schools were girls.  The Alliance has Education Councils in all our villages working to educate parents about the importance of making sure their girls receive an education.  When girls in Mali are educated they are more likely to educate their children, they are more likely to gain employment and/or own and operate a small business, thus, the economy is directly affected and villages thrive due to educated women.

Help the Alliance continue to educate girls in the rural villages of Mali, West Africa.  Ten dollars will educate a girl for an entire year in one of the Alliace's partnered villages.  When a girl has access to a proper and quality education entire communities begin to thrive.