Social Issue

Ecos de Mali works on comprehensive projects to provide basic infrastructure to the town of Kanso. The girls and boys of the town did not have access to education due to the lack of an accessible school. For this reason, Ecos de Mali with the support of Netri Foundation, in 2018, built the Kanso school, which has six classrooms, divided over two buildings.

The 2019-2020 academic year has represented the first cycle of teaching for the school, attended by 134 primary school students, between 8 and 14 years old.

Currently, the school has the following infrastructure:

• 2 buildings with 3 classrooms each
• 4 latrine blocks consisting of 3 latrines each
• 2 blocks of 3 houses each for teachers
• 1 library equipped with a TV to facilitate learning French
• 1 warehouse to house canteen food
• 1 regulation size soccer field and 2 foosball tables

Furthermore, as a public school, the Kanso school follows the national curriculum and  receives support from the Malian Ministry of Education to fund a portion of the teachers’ salaries.

Taking into account the quality of the teaching provided in the new Kanso school, considered the best in the area, the Regional CAP Directorate asked Ecos de Mali for an extension of its support to put the second cycle of education into operation.

Our Response

The goal of the project is to build the infrastructure and services necessary for the expansion of the Kanso school, and promote the second cycle of education through a high school, and incorporate new students.

Most of the high schools in the area operate in obsolete buildings, with very poor condition and huge overcrowding (from 120 to 140 students per class). With the extension of the Kanso school, many pupils from other schools are expected to move to the new center supported by Ecos de Mali.

The investment will lead to :

• the construction of 1 building with 3 classrooms
• the construction of 1 block of 3 houses for new teachers
• the acquisition of the necessary furniture and school material.
• the electrification of one classroom with solar panels, in order to have computers for the students’ training.

Expected Social Impact

The school extension has led to an increase in the capacity to integrate 100 new students. It is estimated that the project as a whole will benefit between 260 and 280 students between 6 and 16 year old.