As of 2019, only 47% of children complete primary school. Let that number sink in. That means that less than half of the population is receiving their basic human rights afforded by the Convention on the Right of the Child, as ratified by Mali in 1990. Despite how low this percentage is and seems, through joint efforts of the government, international organizations like, UNICEF, and nonprofits like us, the education rate in Mali has actually been steadily increasing for the past decade. This progress is imperative, but it’s still not enough. The reasons children aren’t in school spans from socioeconomic repercussions, gender and other types of discrimination, child marriage or labor, distance/accessibility of the schools, among other reasons.

While the lack of children receiving an education is a huge problem, it’s not the only one, the system is flawed, even for the small percent of children attending school. Those lucky enough to attend school, are often plagued with a lack of qualified teachers, necessary materials, or a suitable learning environment, which contributes to the fact that the vast majority of 5th graders in Mali do not possess basic reading and math skills. Although those enrolled in school are already at an advantage to those who can’t attend, fixing the retention rate will not solve all education related issues, so we will continue to push for long-term change, while giving our vulnerable children the kind of education we wish to see everywhere in Mali.

Reasons Children Don’t Attend School:

Although there are many complicated issues at play, the simplest understanding of what’s gone wrong is that when such a large portion of the population doesn’t receive education and/or is illiterate, there becomes a cycle of poverty that is almost unbreakable. Adults can’t provide for their kids because they are uneducated, but their kids can’t receive education because their parents can’t provide for them, and without intervention, when those children grow up, the cycle is likely to repeat.

Prior to joining us, this was the reality that many of our children faced. Unfortunately, when some of their parents fell on hard times and couldn’t support their family, many of our children were forced to withdraw from school in order to beg on the city streets. Sadly, the reality our children escaped is the reality millions of children in Mali experience every day.

Only 44% of children are full time students, why?

⅕ children in Mali live in extreme poverty
Families can’t afford school books and uniforms
Children fall into child labor which requires them to dropout
There are no schools nearby (over 1100 schools were closed in January 2020)

Although poverty is an all-consuming issue that can contribute to everything, there are additional factors that can keep children out of the classroom as well.

Factors:

Health issues stemming from things such as malnutrition & lack of vaccinations
Gender inequality keeping girls out of school by abuse or child marriage

The issues keeping children out of the classroom are challenging and varied, but in order to create lasting change, the underlying factors must be addressed, which is why ACFA takes a holistic approach by providing education, healthy nutrition, a home, healthcare, extracurricular learning, and sports to the ACFA children that will develop skills for their future.

Additionally, in the current crisis of COVID-19, most schools in Mali do not have the capacity for online/distance learning, which leaves all children stranded without education, for the time being. We, however, are lucky that we can continue to provide ACFA’s older children with lessons from their teachers and tutors at home, even without the ability to have online learning.

Gender Inequality in Education:

Unfortunately, like we see all over the world, gender inequality is very present in the education system in Mali. This is shown through both how girls are treated while in school, and increased female dropout rates.

Child marriage is one of those things viewed as unequivocally wrong in the West, but is commonplace in many places in Africa, especially in poor families. As of 2018, the child marriage rate in Mali was 53.7%, and is mostly underage girls marrying older men. The reasons for child marriage vary, however, the end result is that young girls are forced to drop out of school, which contributes to the grim statistic that ⅔ young girls can’t properly read or write.

However, even if girls get past all of those obstacles, they still have to face discrimination in the school system. One particularly concerning example of this is that only one in five schools have usable, separate bathrooms, which is particularly detrimental to teenage girls who are menstruating because it often means they can’t attend school for the week. Additionally, 89% of girls undergo Female Genital Mutilation, a traumatizing procedure often faced before the age of five, which can hinder their development.

As a result of these compounding issues, the dropout rate and literacy rate are consistently worse for girls, with only 73.8% of girls enrolled in primary education, whereas 85.8% of boys are.

We now have 9 girls as part of the ACFA family of 18 children. The older girls at ACFA are doing very well at school, with one of the girls being first in her class. Pictured here is Awa, a 15 year old student of ours who is excelling in her studies, and has big plans for her future!

How the Education Rate Affects Mali’s Ability to Progress:

Both the early dropout rate of more than 50%, meaning over 2 million children are not in school, and the literacy rate for 15-24 year old’s of less than 50% hinder Mali’s ability to make progress. Poverty is a cycle, and without properly educating the youth, they cannot grow up to lead the community towards a better future of economic prosperity, equality, and education for all. Literacy can help improve an individual's job prospects and help lift may out of poverty by furthering the economy in Mali. As of 2019, Mali was ranked 184 out of 189 on the 2019 Human Development index, and fixing the education system, dropout rate, and literacy rate could go a long way to improving this number.

How ACFA Contributes:

There is a lot of work to be done, and unfortunately the government often doesn’t have the resources to fix all of the issues at hand, especially not immediately, and that is where nonprofits like ACFA come in. The work we do is absolutely vital to our children, and the people they will impact throughout their lives. We seek to address every aspect of the issue, including gender inequality, healthcare, and poverty. We do this by providing not only education for our children, but a home, healthcare, nutritional food, extracurricular activities, vocational training, and more. Alassane is one of our children who benefits from this approach and he is excelling in academics and sports and wants to help lift others out of poverty when he’s older.

We recognize the need for systemic changes, but we also recognize that vulnerable children can’t wait for the system to change, they need help now. This is why our approach is multifaceted; not only do we help get vulnerable children out of a bad situation, and provide them with the tools needed to learn and succeed immediately, but with the creation of the Zorokoro Children’s Complex, we will have the capacity to help children and adults in the surrounding villages become more educated and self-sustaining for generations to come. The Zorokoro Children’s Complex will be able to house 100 vulnerable children in its dormitory, and the rest of the Children’s Complex will directly support 250 children and 1000 adults from the surrounding villages. All of these individuals will have access to the rest of the Children’s Complex - a school that will provide education for grades K-9 and will also provide vocational training and night classes for adults, as well as a library and computer lab to further support literacy and technology skills.

The first three classrooms at the Zorokoro Children’s Complex will be ready to open in October, and will serve Pre-Kindergarten through 3rd grade which will target the needs of our newest children. However, we still need additional funding to complete the rest of the school, the library and computer lab as well as a healthcare clinic, and a sports complex. Over time, once these facilities are fully operational, people will begin to benefit from these facilities, and they will be able to bring their knowledge to their community and others, which will hopefully create a domino effect of positive change.

We have ambitious plans, and continue to push towards seeing them realized, but we can’t do it without your help. Every child deserves an education. Every child deserves a childhood. Can we count on you to help us achieve our goals, and give vulnerable children the chance they deserve in life?