Junior Achievement: Chapter One

Junior Achievement:

Recently completed the first project of my Peace Corps Service. During March 11-15, 2008, my homologue and I completed two 5-day programs at a local middle school.

I had a little over two weeks to prepare for this program with my homologue after my trip to Senegal. Most of the time was spent cleaning up all the dust that had settled across my entire house, creating several activities with the markers, crayons and construction paper for Junior Achievement, and networking with the local big wigs.

My homologue, Hamed Traore, is excited about the beginning of the Junior Achievement but is overwhelmed with work of the Credit Union. He is suppose to make a monthly report that tracks the loans and their progress. He only does it when the Regional Director tells him to and the Regional Director only tells him to do it when the Malian headquarters tells him to do it. A line of authority figures that need a little push to get anything accomplished. So he is running around to several villages trying to finish two monthly reports. He is complaining that he is too sick to do anything but he can drink tea and go sightseeing and visit friends…sigh…

Meanwhile, I am scrambling around to finish my preparations for the first class.

I successfully make the following items:

Day One: How does your community work?

-Junior Achievement Poster (Les Jeunes Entreprieses)

-Vocabulary

-Find an artist to make a map that resembles Mali not Belgium

Day Two: La Boulangerie aka La Delice aka a Bakery that is very delicious

-Vocabulary

-ingredients to make froufrou (fried dough) which contains sugar, flour, or millet or beans or rice and oil and the fire to fry it over (made out of construction paper and markers)

-sachets to place the make-believe-construction-papered froufrou

Day Three: Le Gouvernement

-Vocabulary

-crowns with titles of gov't workers (teachers, doctors, mayors, soldiers, etc)

-fake-construction-paper money that acts as the children's salary with which they pay taxes

Day Four: Election

-Vocabulary

-made a lovely poster with a tree and three decisions for a new business in an empty store front

-election ballots

Day Five: How money moves through the community

-Vocabulary

-another map of the community with a lovely path as the money moves from one hand to another and back to the bank (I actually drew the map)

-a poem in Bambara that allows the children to see how the money moves through the community

-candy… well my church sent a bag of candy that came in handy on the last day of the program

As you can hopefully see… The program is well organized and detailed. The struggle comes when the Malian doesn't know how to adapt certain aspects to Mali. My homologue wanted to follow the book to the "T" even though it was written in Belgium. He did surprisingly well but could use a little instruction on how to treat the students with equality and patience. He would give up on the student so quickly or not try to help him/her search for the answer before choosing another student to answer it. It was discouraging to watch let alone to be that child that was crushed in front of the class. Yet the students have no comprehension of patience. They stand up with raised hands and snapping of fingers while yelling monsieur, monsieur!!

Conclusions:

We were able to explain that the community is built by the people who live within it. The people possess skills and develop capacities that allow them to work for their community. However they must work in accordance with the Government. The students will have the ability to elect new officials if they work together aka the majority always rules. The children were able to choose what new commerce would come to their community. They decided a storage unit would be the most appropriate because it would help a large number of people and the taxes would benefit the community.

Afterthoughts:

The week following the program at my site. My homologue and I went to a formation about Junior Achievement. A representative from Belgium came to explain the "Our Community" and the "Company Program" for the primary school and high school. We decided that with Peace Corps involvement the programs will be adapted to Mali. We have the creativity and the Malians have the knowledge of Mali. We are actively looking for funds/sponsors/partners to help Junior Achievement in Mali print the materials and supply the kits for the volunteers (Malians not PC) throughout Mali.

We presented certificates to the children that participated in the program. The Belgian representative, Junior Achievement Africa president, JA Mali Director, and PC SED APCD were present for the ceremony along with government officials from the community. These children will never forget that ceremony. They said that the only improvement that they would like would be to do the program with all the students at their school and throughout their community. It was an amazing program that the children shared with their friend and family. Their parents were thoroughly impressed and were spreading the news.

Along two other Peace Corps volunteers, we are going to become coordinators and informants for the program within our community-educating and hopefully recruiting new volunteers for Junior Achievement.

There is so much potential for the program. Soon we will have an English manual for Mali then it will be translated into French, Bambara, Peuhl, and Songhai so that other PCVs can share the knowledge with their respective communities.

If you would like to help the program please send markers, color pencils, construction paper, or any art supplies that could be useful when making the make-believe items for the class activities.

Wish us luck and we open for any advice if you have any!!! Thank you and see you soon!