Thank you to everyone who stopped by to visit the Build a School in Africa booth at the Solano Stroll in Albany and Berkeley, California on Sunday. We were happy to share our story, and made a lot of new friends and supporters. Welcome to the Build a School family! If you haven’t already, consider subscribing to our about-quarterly newsletter.

And, you were generous with your cash and credit cards! We raised over $700, with donations ranging in size from 50¢ to $75. Many people donated $1 or $2 to get one of our exclusive bookmarks, made by our volunteers from authentic African fabric. We’ve got a few left, so if you’d like one, get in touch.

We also have two Build a School in Africa t-shirts left from the event, both in size small. One of them can be yours for a donation of $50 or more. Drop us a line if this tempts you. A huge thanks to our friend Brooke for spending her whole Saturday making these and for the cool design.

We especially want to thank our incredible volunteers who helped staff the booth, make t-shirts and slideshows, and helped to spread the word. Special thanks to Jen for the awesome slideshow, to Christiaan for asking and answering trivia questions for seven hours straight), to Gabriel and Sebastiaan for the fun Lego activity that brought in lots of kids, and to Michelle for keeping everyone’s spirits high.

Representatives from Build a School in Africa joined local leaders, parents, and children at a ceremony marking the opening of the new primary school classrooms in N’Tarla, a village in Mali, West Africa. We helped the village add 3 new classrooms, a teacher’s office, and a block of girls’ and boys’ latrines.

The festive occasion was accompanied by music, singing, and dancing, and speeches by local dignitaries. Build a School in Africa’s Abou Coulibaly was on hand, and gave remarks about the importance of education.

Every one of our schools is a partnership, and N’Tarla was no exception. The local community contributed all the raw materials and a lot of manual labor. The new school will go a long way to easing the overcrowding and encourage more families to keep their children in school.

There are many more deserving communities in Mali that would like to partner with us to build new schoolrooms. Please consider making a donation to help us build our next school!

Off-grid solar systems are booming across Africa — and for good reason. They’re reliable in sunny climates, safe (no kerosene fires or diesel fumes), and provide free energy once installed. Solar theft is real, so our systems are portable so they can be locked up safely inside schools at night.

We’ve already installed solar at Zandiela (2019) and Tionso (2025). The impact has been immediate and profound. It makes it possible to use the school for evening tutoring sessions, community meetings, and adult literacy classes. Schools have even been used as shelters during emergencies, like the flooding that hit Mali in 2024..

Now we’re ready to bring this transformation to more schools. Each $600 system includes solar panels, a large battery, fixtures, bulbs, wiring, and converters. In short, everything a village needs to turn darkness into opportunity.

This Giving Tuesday, be part of Africa’s solar revolution. Donate $600 to power education and community.

Here are some photos are from our first solar installation in Zandiela in 2019:

In Mali, at the end of 9th grade, students take the DEF, for Diplôme d’Études Fondamentales.This mandatory 9th grade exam that determines if they can continue their education. At our village schools, teachers are expected to do extra tutoring with students to help them prepare. But most villages are not connected to the electrical grid, so the only light comes from dim kerosene lanterns.

Solar lighting changes everything. Students can study together in well-lit classrooms, guided by teachers, preparing properly for exams that will shape their futures. The portable panels charge during Mali’s sunny days, providing reliable, FREE light every evening.

This Giving Tuesday, give the gift of educational opportunity. Just $600 installs complete solar lighting at one school.

When severe flooding destroyed homes across rural Mali in 2024, concrete school buildings became emergency shelters. Village councils hold critical meetings there. Women’s cooperatives gather to discuss micro-lending and business ventures. Adults attend literacy classes after working the fields all day.

But without light, these vital community hubs go dark at sunset.

For $600, you can equip a school with a complete solar system—panels, battery, wiring, and bulbs—that serves hundreds. Free energy from Mali’s abundant sunshine means reliable, safe light without expensive kerosene or diesel. It’s a one-time investment that pays dividends for years.

This Giving Tuesday, illuminate an entire community for $600. Your donation installs solar power where it’s needed most.

Over the last 20 years, we’ve built 36 village schools in Mali, West Africa. This fall, we’re inviting you to help us do something a little different.

When the sun sets in rural Mali, most students’ education stops. No electricity means no studying after dark — just when they need it most to prepare for the high-stakes DEF exam that determines their entire academic future.

But for $600, we can change that.

A complete solar lighting system transforms a school from a daytime-only building into an evening study center where students gather under a teacher’s supervision, catching up on lessons and preparing for exams that will open doors to secondary education. In villages with no electrical grid, these solar panels don’t just provide light—they literally create brighter futures.

This Giving Tuesday, power a student’s dreams for just $600. Donate now to help us install a new solar lighting system in a Malian village school.

It was a scene of great joy in the village of Tionso as people came together to celebrate the opening of their new middle school. Thanks to our incredible donors for financing the construction, and to the villagers who came together to provide materials, labor, and hospitality for the visiting construction crew.

A huge thanks to Andal Média for allowing us to repost this video. And thanks to Salifou Bengaly for transcribing the video and providing the French translation.

The donor of this school offered the following as a dedication:

I’d like for the school to be named “Reddere” in honor of my father, Carlos Corniffe.

Reddere is Latin for “to give back,” which perfectly captures who my father was. He devoted his life to serving others and uplifting his community, leaving a lasting impact on countless lives. He led our local Boy Scouts troop, opening doors for inner-city African American kids who, before meeting him, had never experienced life outside of Detroit. He committed himself to prison ministry, visiting inmates monthly to lead Bible studies and offer encouragement. He also helped run an annual “Mommy and Me” camp near Chicago, where incarcerated mothers were given the rare chance to spend a week camping with their children.

Beyond these efforts, he was a dedicated member of his church, where much of his community service was rooted. Through all of this, my father embodied the spirit of giving—quietly, consistently, and with deep compassion. Naming the school Reddere ensures his legacy of service, mentorship, and love continues to inspire future generations.

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.