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As part of SI Centenary celebrations, (re)discover every month a project from the last ten years, carried out by SIE Unions and clubs.

Soroptimists from Bamako Espoir in Mali joined forces with the four Swiss Clubs – Schwyz, Burgdorf, Langenthal, and Bad Ragaz – to build a school for girls in the village of Foura, Mali. The school now includes three classrooms, an administration building, and three restrooms – but that’s not all!  In order to meet some of the other essential needs of the village of Foura, a well was dug to provide clean drinking water for the entire village and solar panels were installed to ensure the village has a sustainable and clean source of electricity!

 

 

The members of the Club of Bamako Espoir and the three Swiss Clubs had identified a clear need: before their project was implemented, the children of Foura had to walk 8 m twice a day to the nearest school. This was often a dangerous undertaking, especially for girls. But this is all a thing of the past now!

 

 

Moreover, the source of clean drinking water is reducing rates of filariasis, a parasitic disease that affects the elderly; the solar panels are allowing children to study by electric light rather than by kerosene lamps, and local women are now taking evening literacy classes at the school!

 

Author

Bintou Koïta,

for SIE Programme Team 2019-2021