We’re excited to share some wonderful news from the field — construction has officially begun on our 37th school, this time in the community of N’Tarla.

This milestone was made possible by a generous donation from a donor whose belief in education and opportunity is now taking shape in a very tangible way. Because of this meaningful gift, what was once a vision is quickly becoming a reality.

Work began earlier this month, and the energy on the ground has been nothing short of inspiring. The N’Tarla community has shown tremendous enthusiasm and ownership from day one. In fact, the photos say it all — a large group of young men turned out to help begin construction, demonstrating a powerful commitment to building a better future for their children.

When a community rallies together like this, it reinforces why we do this work. Schools are more than buildings; they are centers of hope, opportunity, and long-term transformation. Seeing local residents invest their time and effort into this project reminds us that true impact happens when communities lead the way.

We look forward to sharing progress updates as construction continues.

There was a true sense of celebration in Koro N’Tossoni on February 7th as the community gathered to mark the completion and official opening of their brand-new primary school.

The opening ceremony brought together an inspiring cross-section of local leadership and community members. Deputy Mayors, chiefs from neighboring villages, and other local officials were in attendance, reflecting the importance of this milestone not only for Koro N’Tossoni, but for the wider region as well.

The event was filled with pride, gratitude, and hope for the future. Community members came together to celebrate what this new school represents: opportunity, growth, and a brighter path forward for their children.

The ceremony began with a vibrant performance by the traditional music group M’Polon. Their music set a joyful tone for the day, honoring local culture while celebrating progress.

Following the performance, speeches were delivered by the village chief and the mayor. The ceremony concluded with the formal handover of the school keys. Our team member, Abou, proudly presented the keys to the First Deputy Mayor. In turn, the Deputy Mayor handed them to the village chief, officially transferring ownership of the school to the community.

This gesture marked more than the completion of a construction project — it represented partnership, trust, and the community’s responsibility to care for and sustain this new space for learning.

As students prepare to fill its classrooms, this new school opens the door to knowledge, opportunity, and a stronger future for the entire community.

All of the materials were delivered to the site of the new primary school in Tionso and construction has begun. The pictures below show some of the materials required to build the school and the initial steps to constructing the foundation.

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!

Our 26th school is now complete! We recently completed construction of a 3-room middle school for grades 7, 8, and 9 in Mancourani B, a neighborhood in Sikasso, Mali’s second largest city. This is our first school in an urban setting; the majority of our schools have been built in small rural communities.

Dear Build a School in Africa supporters,

In 2002, Kyla McKenna, a senior at the Bromfield School in Harvard, Massachusetts, founded Build a School in Africa as her senior Humanities project, and asked me to mentor her efforts. Our goal was to raise enough money to help build one school in Mali, West Africa. We raised almost $10,000 the first year of the program, with other students taking over in succeeding years. We built our first school in 2005, and just kept going! We are now proud to announce that our 23rd school, a three room primary school in Zandiela, is almost finished, and we are planning to break ground for the 24th school in Zangabougou, funded largely by Lincoln- Sudbury High School’s “Schools for Africa” club, in January 2020.

In January of 2019, we started off the year by building two new classrooms in Tabacoro, financed primarily by a California tech company, to replace two mud brick classrooms that collapsed during heavy rains in August of 2018. Students there now have two sturdy concrete block classrooms, a substantial improvement over the dark and disintegrating mud brick rooms that fell apart.

Our benefit trail ride this August was very successful; forty-three riders followed a marked trail through conservation land and private trails, with a choice of 7 or 14 miles, followed by a home-cooked African buffet dinner. Co-sponsored by the Littleton Horse Owners Association, a large portion of the profits were donated to Build a School in Africa.

I did not go to Mali this year–I had long-delayed home improvement projects to deal with. But in October, in the capable hands of our Malian partners, Abou Coulibaly and Mamadou Traore, we started construction on a new primary school in Zandiela, financed by the same generous family that built classrooms in Kodialanida (2017) and Danzana (2018). The new school will have solar lights in one of the classrooms, plus much-needed school supplies. Maps and globes are standard in American classrooms, but sadly lacking in many Malian schools.

We have several more communities on our waiting list: Fantala and Ifola rural villages, and Mancourani B, in a more urban setting in Sikasso. We’re not likely to run out of communities in need of schools any time soon…

Many thanks and very best wishes to all our supporters for the holidays and the New Year!

Judy Lorimer, Mamadou Traore, Abou Coulibaly, and Matthew Heberger

We’re just $1,000 short of what we need to build two new classrooms, latrines, and an office/storage building in village of Zangabougou in southern Mali.

Zangabougou will be our 23rd school! Please consider making a year-donation to help us break ground.

Because we are a small, all-volunteer organization, all donations go 100% to school construction.