On April 14, 2025 a representative from our organization, Abou Coulibaly, traveled to Dintiola to participate in the opening ceremony of the newest primary school. He was warmly welcomed by the local village. Below are pictures of the ceremony where the keys are handed over to the village chief. Several types of dances were performed during the ceremony, including the Minanka mask dance, the Koredouga, the Bara and the Niogo.

A local television station covered the festivities. Stay tuned for the video. We’ll post it after we have subtitles added, since the video is completely in the local language, Bambara.

We are thrilled to announce the opening of the new elementary school classrooms in the town of M’Pessoba, Mali. This community of 12,000 people already had 6 classrooms, but some of them were in poor condition and the school was overcrowded, putting a strain on teachers.

Thanks to the support of the Australian Ripple Fund, construction started in November 2024. As always, we work in partnership with the community, which keeps construction costs low. In addition to the 111 girls and 109 boys in the village, the school also hosts children from smaller villages in the area. M’Pessoba has around 250 households ready to accommodate all the students who will come from other localities.

When our representative in Mali, Abou Coulibaly, visited M’pesoba in April 2025, the classrooms were filled with children who are benefiting from a beautiful new learning environment!

There has been great progress to the primary school in Dintiola over the past month. As you can see the construction is well underway and will be nearing completion soon.

Before long this structure will be home to many eager to learn children!

These are the eager students who will benefit from your generosity. They are in clear need of a safe place to learn. The new school will include three classrooms, one office/book storage room and a set of two latrines. At least 97 children (60 boys and 37 girls) will be enrolled at this school. The Village of Tionso is also willing to share the school with surrounding villages in need. If the infrastructure is built, the local board of education will be able to provide teachers to educate these students. Please consider helping as any donation goes a long way for this community!

Good news from our collaborators in Mali! Construction has begun on the new primary school in the village of Dintiola. This will be our 34th school! According to our volunteer Abou Coulibaly:

The project in Dintiola is off to a good start. Much of the procurement is completed, the team has started making the cinder blocks.

During the last week of October, our volunteer Abou Coulibaly visited the village of M’Pessoba to kick off the construction of a new elementary school. Here, Abou is meeting with members of the community and the vice-mayor.

The plan for M’Pessoba is to build 3 classrooms, an office/storeroom for the teachers, and two blocks of latrines. We estimate that the new school will enroll 220 children — 111 girls and 109 boys.

Currently, the children attend schools that are either overcrowded or far away from their village. As a result, the classrooms serve “double shifts” and children only attend for half the day. Other children have to walk several miles and cross a busy road, which puts them at risk of accidents. The new school will alleviate the overcrowding and provide a safe environment for learning.

Thanks to a number of generous donations over the last few months, we reached our fundraising goal for the new school in Diassidian, Mali.

Last year, we made the unusual decision to begin construction of a new school, knowing that we did not have enough funds to finish it. The community wanted to begin construction before the rainy season began, when the dirt roads turn into mud and transporting supplies becomes difficult.

This year’s rainy season was particularly intense across West Africa, and caused widespread flooding, the worse seen in decades. Each of Mali’s 20 regions was affected to some extent, and the government reported 30 deaths and the loss of hundreds of houses, latrines, and wells. In many areas, school buildings have been used as shelters. As a result of the flooding, the start of the school year was delayed from Oct.1 to Nov. 4. 

This fall, the children of Diassidian will be able to start the school year off in bright, airy new classrooms.

Please join us in celebrating the completion of our 33rd school. We have already started planning for school #34 in M’Pessoba, Mali. Thank you again to all of our incredible donors who make this important work possible.

It is with deep sadness that we share the news that Build a School in Africa Director Judy Lorimer passed away in June.

Judy was a dear friend and we will miss her tremendously. Judy was with Build a School in Africa since its earliest days, first as a mentor to high school students raising money for charity in 2002, then making the organization “official,” and serving as director for over 20 years. Judy visited Mali many times over the years, and, as a former teacher herself, loved visiting the villages and meeting the teachers and schoolchildren. You can read Judy’s obituary at legacy.com.

Here is a touching remembrance from a friend and fellow African dancer, reprinted with permission:

The organization’s Board met on July 15, 2023, and asked Matthew Heberger, volunteer and long-time webmaster, to serve as acting director. Our priority is to finish building the school that is under construction in Diassidian, Mali, and to ensure that all funds the organization has received are used for their intended purpose — building schools in deserving communities in West Africa. If you have any questions or concerns, please be in touch at matt@buildaschoolinafrica.org.

Last month, we began construction of our 32^nd school in the village of Diassidian, Mali (pronounced Jah-see-janh). We usually don’t start construction until we have all the funds needed, but our project managers Abou and Madou wanted to get the construction materials purchased and delivered before the rainy season begins and the dirt roads turn into axle-deep mud. So far, we have spent $12,000, but we still need another $4,000 USD to finish the school.

We need your help! Please consider making a donation to help finish building the new elementary school building in Diassidian.

Donate Now!

All of our schools are a partnership with the local community, where we provide building materials like steel and cement, and pay the tradesman. In turn, the village provides sand and gravel and contributes labor.

The team is working fast to get as much done as possible with the funds on hand. They have already accomplished a great deal!

Great news! A donation by a group of high school students in Massachusetts puts us close to being able to build our 32nd school (!).

The Africa Club at Lincoln-Sudbury High School recently sent us $2,100. Last year, the club raised most of the funding for a new elementary school at Zangabougou, Mali.

That puts us within $3,000 of our next 2-room school. An additional $11,000 for would build a block of 3 classrooms. The next community on our waiting list is the village of Diassidian. We’d love for you to help us make that possible! Click Contribute to find out how easy it is.

Remember that, in addition to the funding we provide, communities make significant contributions to building schools, by providing sand, gravel, and labor. The new buildings often replace old mud-brick schoolrooms that are dark and dusty and require constant maintenance.