We've finally reached the stage in the school project where we're ready for some fundraising. For the first phase (which covers 3 classrooms), we're trying to raise $20,000 through charitable donations. This is the part where I ask all of you for help.
To Donate: go to www.peacecorps.gov and click on Donate Now. Select Donate to Volunteer Projects, search by country for projects in Mali, and select "school construction" by Althoff, M. Or just follow this link: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=688-284
Feel free to share the link with anyone who might be interested!
For those of you new to the blog, or those who have no idea what school project I'm talking about, here's the rundown: We're planning to construct a new 6-classroom schoolhouse in my village. The existing school consists of two small classrooms made of sticks and leaves. Since there are only two rooms, first and second grade students attend school in the morning, while third and fourth grade students attend in the afternoon. There is no fifth or sixth grade class, making it nearly impossible for students to complete the full first cycle of school (through sixth grade) and continue on with their education to second cycle, high school, and university.
The design of the school emphasizes the use of locally available materials, local knowledge systems, and community involvement in all stages of design and implementation. This is the first phase in a larger construction project, the scope of which includes a six-classroom school building, a large-scale rainwater harvesting system, children’s garden and four outdoor composting latrines. We have already planted trees and begun digging a well on the site.
And now an update on the well!
Ramadan is over and we started digging last week! The mayor of the commune came to Tongo to approve the site for the school and get his picture taken "breaking ground" (see above). Malians seem to be very superstitious about digging a well. When we'd decided the exact location, the imam (the islamic leader in the community) drew 3 circles on the ground and starting writing in arabic in the center one. They said it was a blessing to find water. The first day of work, we killed a goat for good luck, and all the workers ate together at the site. Since then, we've been working steadily every day. We've dug 10 meters so far, and plan to go to 30. It's baffling to look into the ground at a hole that's as deep as a 3-story building is tall. Soon it will be the length of a skyscraper, only underground. It makes me think of one of Calvino's 'Invisible Cities.' It also makes me marvel at the enormity of America's subways and Paris' sewers, although, in the case of America at least, they surely had the help of machinery.
I also can't help but imagine the layers of the earth. Here we've dug so far and this is still the crust. How far it must be before you'd hit rock, miles and miles of rock, and then what? Liquid hot magma? Is that really what's in there? Crazy!
