Thank you to the handful of donors who have given $900 in the last week. That puts us closer to our goal. We need another $1,600 to be able to pay the metalworkers who build the roof and affix the windows and doors, and for the skilled laborers who do all the painting and finishing.

Our volunteer in Mali, Abou, tells us that he has never seen a village that is so motivated to build a school. The village chief visits the site almost every day to check on the progress. We would love to finish this project before the first day of school, on October 1.

Please consider making a donation, large or small. Thank you!

We’re $2,500 away from changing lives!

In the village of Koro N’Tossoni, Mali, children are waiting for their new school to be completed. We broke ground two weeks ago, and construction is proceeding well. Unfortunately, due to inflation and exchange rates, we need to raise another $2,500 to complete the construction before the school year starts in October.

The fact that costs went up so fast caught us by surprise. In March 2025, we built a new primary school in Tionso for $21,000. Now, in August 2025, the cost is now $25,136. One reason is inflation, The cost of building materials has gone up, particularly for cement and steel. Another reason is exchange rates. Six months ago, we got 620 West African francs to the dollar, and now we are getting around 540 F. 

At the beginning of August, we disbursed $22,700 to purchase materials and pay for transportation and for skilled laborers. The community has already mobilized to collect sand, gravel, and stones. Dozens of young people who have showed up to help transport supplies, build the foundation, and mix concrete. Our volunteers say this is one of the most motivated villages they have ever seen.

If you have ever considered making a donation, now is the perfect time! Click here to donate online, or visit our Contribute page for our address if you prefer to send a check.

All the funds will go towards transportation of materials to the village and to paying the masons, metalworkers, and painters. 

On behalf of all of us at Build a School in Africa, thank you! 

We’re very excited to share this video highlighting an April 2025 visit to two schools we’ve recently helped to build in Mali, West Africa.

The first visit is for the grand opening of the new primary school in the village of Dintiola. Next, our delegation, led by Abou Coulibaly, visited the new primary school classrooms in the town of M’Pessoba.

The video concludes with a visit to Tionso, where we kicked off construction of a new primary school in May 2025. This will be the 35th school we’ve helped to build!

A huge thanks to Andal Média (find them on Facebook), a web TV producer in Mali, for allowing us to share this video, and to ‪Coleman Donaldson at An Ka Taa for the fantastic subtitles in Bambara, English, and French.

To learn more about our projects, and how you can help us build our next school, visit our Contribute page.

Construction of the new elementary school in the village of Tionso is well underway. Workers recently took a week’s vacation for a major holiday. In West Africa, they call it Tabaski, but most of the Muslim world calls it Eid al-Adha. This week, the work resumed and things are moving ahead nicely.

Thanks to the principal of the school in Tionso, Monsieur Cissouma, for sending these great photos! These photos are a great illustration of the community mobilizing to help build the school. This is one of the ways that we build new schools quickly and inexpensively. Young people in the village transport materials like sand and gravel, and provide plenty of labor.

The new three-room schoolhouse will replace an existing mud brick building that was in poor condition. As a part of every school project, we also fund the construction of a storeroom/teacher’s office and a block of latrines for boys and girls. The school enrolls 440 children, so these new classrooms will help ease overcrowding. The bright, airy new classrooms also help the village to recruit and retain teachers.

We can only build schools with your help! Visit our Contribute page to learn more.

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.