Women's Literacy and Skills Building in Sikoroni, Mali

Vital Stats

Bridget M

Peabody, MA

  • people helped150
  • People Doing It 20

The Problem

We work in the community of Sikoroni, which is a peri-urban slum outside of Mali's capital city. The disparities between this neighborhood and Bamako are startling: few homes have running water, education beyond a few years is a luxury, and the inequalities between men and women are even larger. We believe that without the ability to read or write, woman cannot advocate for themselves or their communities. Our program aims to lessen the immobility of women and to empower these important community members to take action for themselves and for their neighbors.

Plan of Action

Initially we determined a central and accessible location, found an able instructor and began advertising the program to the community. The program was popular and woman have learned how to produce complex fabrics, how to balance their finances, and leave the program feeling empowered to help provide for their families. Our program has been in operation for three years now and has produced almost 300 graduates from our program. We have taken the successes and setbacks we have experienced into account each cycle, in order to improve our program to the best quality possible.
Go
Discrimination
Education
Physical and Mental Health
Homelessness and Poverty

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