Helping children go back to school in Mali

The school in the Timbuktu region of Mali had been closed for more than four years, and many children in the village have never been enrolled in school. In northern Mali, many teachers fled as a consequence of the armed conflict in the region between 2012-2015. The nearest open school is situated four kilometers from Safiatou's village, and many parents would not let their children walk all the way, out of fear of dangers they might encounter on the way.

Instead of going to school, Safiatou stayed at home with her mother, helping her with basic chores at the house, and spent the rest of the day playing with other children who, just like her, could not go to school.
 

 
Today, Mali faces an increasingly alarming education crisis. As a result of diffused insecurity, the presence of armed groups and a lack of available teachers, more than 750 schools across the country are closed, 270 of which have been closed for more than two consecutive years. As a result of this, more than 225,000 children are unable to attend school.

For Safiatou, the situation changed in 2017, when, with funding from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), we opened a centre for accelerated learning in her village.
 

 
With a new learning centre in their village and no fear of dangers on the way, many parents in the village, including Safiatou’s, have been eager to send their children to school. Eight months into the classes, the village’s community is very happy with the project, and hope that children from nearby villages could also benefit from it.

"Since the centre has opened, I am no longer worried for my daughter," says Safiatou’s father. "When she leaves in the morning, I know where she is going and I know she will be safe. The school kit she has received and the food she is given at school also help me a great deal with my family’s savings." Safiatou is now ready to take on the formal school, and she dreams of becoming a teacher when she graduates.
 

 
Through our cooperation with ECHO, NRC has put in place thirty accelerated learning centres in the regions of Mopti and Timbuktu. As of May 2018, 755 children, of which 363 girls, have attended classes and are now ready to integrate into the formal school system in October, when schools will be reopening. In 2018, we will continue our efforts to help children return to school, providing accelerated education programmes, rehabilitating classrooms and giving children and teachers a school and the necessary teaching kits.