Speeches Shim
Konokassi and Niébébougou are villages located in Niono, Ségou Region. Because of insecurity and threats of physical harm and even death to teachers, schools in these areas were closed on October 1st, 2018, which is the official start date of the school year in Mali. Thus students and teachers stayed at home.
Fanta Sogoré has been trading fresh and smoked fish for over 30 years now. Since the age of 15, she has traveled 100 kilometers each week to the town of Selingué to purchase products from local fishermen. Sogoré then sell these products in a community in the nation’s capital of Bamako where over a thousand households live.
Poverty, early marriage and pregnancy – these are just a few of the barriers that girls face in Mali when if comes to getting an education. But in places like the Niono area of Ségou region, leaders in the community are taking an active stand against the socio-cultural factors that frequently keep girls out of school.
Mali is a colorful and diverse country, rich in culture, ethnicities, languages and artistry. Within this tapestry, widespread poverty persists with 49 percent of Malians living below the extreme poverty line. The median age of Mali’s population is 16.2 years – making it the third youngest in the world. Agriculture is the chief means of employment for Mali’s highly dispersed, predominantly rural population. However, 65 percent of the total land area is as desert or semidesert as economic activity is mainly confined to areas along the Niger River. The country’s location and dependence on agriculture make Mali particularly vulnerable to climate shocks and changes.
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