Social Issue

Public schools, particularly in the more rural areas of Mali, where Kanso is located, are totally under-resourced, both in terms of infrastructure and teachers. The landscape and the poor state of the roads make it difficult for children to get to school.

Our Response

Ecos de Mali is working holistically to provide basic infrastructure to the village of Kanso. The school that has been built, with the collaboration of the Netri Foundation, now offers quality education and daily meals for more than 180 children in primary and secondary school.

The regional education authorities consider the Kanso school to be the best in the area, with the result that it receives students from other villages, some of whom, due to the distance, must stay overnight in Kanso. To this effect, they have organised a residence for them.

To complement the primary and secondary facilities built between 2018 and 2020, this new donation from Netri will finance the construction of the kindergarten. The aim of this initiative is to facilitate the future school integration of the “little ones” of Kanso, through learning while playing.

Expected Social Impact

Children in Mali typically start school at the age of six. This is the first year of the first cycle. Education in Mali is compulsory in French, a language typically not used in many rural areas, making it practically a foreign language for many children. The fact that the children will have the opportunity to receive two or three years of pre-school exposure will be a great advantage for their future academic performance.

From a health point of view, children will receive a glass of milk at the beginning of the day and are entitled to a meal in the canteen, which is expected to improve their level of nutrition.

The children’s attendance at a preschool also has an important benefit for their mothers, who now will have childcare options available, lightening their daily workload.