2023 Completed Projects
Women’s Day cooking pots for Oueléssébougou communities
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Peace Love and Happiness Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
As part of Women’s Day in March 2023, we purchased and distributed 50 large communal cooking pots and serving spoons to the city of Ouelessebougou and its surrounding villages. It was heartening to see the joy of the women in these different communities. Each day these women groups face challenges in preparing large meals for major events in their villages. With the provision of these pots, women no longer have to travel long distances to the main city to rent them, which often proves to be an inconvenience and added cost of transportation.The program was truly remarkable and will leave a lasting impact on each of these communities.
Teacher Housing Ouelessebougou
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Building Youth Around the World
Project Description/Impact:
Teachers are hesitant to teach in rural Mali. Providing housing allows us to attract the nation’s best teachers. We partnered with BYAW to build a teachers housing for the Karl and Erika Michel academy of Ouelessebougou. BYAW kindly donated the funds that will make this housing a reality helping provide three teacher families with quality homes while they are working in the community of Ouélessébougou. Each home will have two bedrooms and one living room.
Solar Powered Water System in the village of Kapelegue
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: The Giving Cookie(Katie Pearce) and the Namaste Solar Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
Solar water pumping greatly reduces a burden for the people of rural Mali by giving them clean, readily accessible, pre-pumped water, stored in an above-the-ground tank, using energy from solar panels to power a water pump. We installed a solar-powered water system in the village of Kapelegue. This village located in the commune of Kadiolo has long suffered from the lack of clean drinking water. We partnered with our Board Member Katie Pearce’s Giving Cookie organization and the Namaste Solar Foundation to make clean water a reality. The whole pumping system is composed of Solar panels that sit atop a 5000Litre water tank and support structure, wiring and electrical control devices, the pump, and a set of taps throughout the village for easy accessibility.
Two Solar Powered water Systems in the communities of Misseni and Kafigueba
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Charles Lamar Family Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
Thanks to a generous donation from the Charles Lamar Family Foundation, we installed two solar powered water systems in the communities of Kafigueba and Misseni in the Southern region of Mali. The water sources available in these rural areas are often contaminated, rendering them unsuitable for consumption or agricultural purposes. The communities of Kafigueba (population 1250 households) and Misseni (population 650 households) were particularly affected by this issue.
The absence of clean water was resulting in large amount of sick community members and women/girls who spend a large part of their day walking miles to draw water from a well in the next community. The boreholes we drilled were roughly 300ft deep, and the inclusion of solar panels on top of the 5,000-liter reservoirs ensures a continuous water supply, even during cloudy days. Multiple taps were installed to enhance water accessibility, while the depth of the boreholes guarantees a sustainable water source for decades to come. The storage tanks were painted with the logo of the Charles Lamar Family Foundation to honor their generous donation.
Addition of classrooms to the Dambe Kalanso school in Ouelessebougou
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: JP Peace Love and Happiness Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
The JP Peace Love and Happiness Foundation had already funded 9 classrooms of our Dambe Kalanso school projected. A generous donation allowed us to add 3 more classrooms. The establishment of this unique school building in the community of Ouelessebougou is specifically tailored to create an environment that is conducive to molding the future leaders of Mali. At this school, we will institute a Mali’s national curriculum requisites s a curriculum that not only imbues our students with the academic knowledge they need, but also the character required to lead and make an impact in their society. This approach to education will prepare them to become responsible citizens and future leaders.
Ten new water systems in Mali
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Stirling Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
We partnered with the Stirling Foundation to bring solar powered water systems to 10 rural areas in Mali. Access to clean water is difficult due to the country’s uneven geographic distribution of water resources. On the other hand, there is a huge solar potential in Mali with average sun duration of 7-9 hours available everyday throughout the year. Solar water pumping greatly reduces a burden for the people of rural Mali by giving them clean, readily accessible, pre-pumped water, stored in an above-the-ground tank, using energy from solar panels to power a water pump. Throughout 2023, we installed solar powered water systems in the communities of Pogosso, Pakasso, Zangosso, Zanpedougou, Yirimadjo, Tessalit, Zidiangolodougou, Stade Malien and Tiecourala.
Surgeries for children
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Building Youth Around the World
Project Description/Impact:
Through 2023, we partnered with BYAW to fund life changing surgeries for 11 young children in the community of Ouelessebougou and the surrounding regions. These surgeries were done in partnership with Dr Bagayoko at the Clinic de Paix in Ouelessebougou. Many families in Mali can barely afford medicines and basic health care let alone a surgery. Most children will live with their physical deformities due to inability to afford surgeries. With BYAW and Clinique Paix, Empower Mali was able to provide necessary surgeries that can bless the lives of these children and their families.
Solar powered water system for Dissan
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Hope for a Better World foundation, Rocky Woods Charitable Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
The donations received from the Hope for a Better World foundation and the Rocky Woods Charitable Foundation was used to bring a solar-powered water system in the village of Dissan. This village, situated around 30km from Bougouni, was facing severe challenges accessing clean and safe water, essential for sustenance and agricultural needs. Climate change and water resource overuse exacerbated this issue, necessitating urgent intervention. Our initiative involved drilling a 285ft borehole and conducting comprehensive assessments of water quality and flow. Solar panels installed atop 5,000-liter reservoirs now ensure a consistent water supply, even during cloudy periods. We established a Water Committee responsible for the maintenance of storage tanks and the distribution system. Our team provided training to committee members on system operation and maintenance, alongside sessions on hygiene, sanitation, water treatment, and safe storage practices, ensuring sustained impact. Multiple taps for water distribution will ensure a reliable, continuous water supply for the village well into the future.
Leadership Program
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: JP Peace Love and Happiness Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
Thanks to a generous donation from the Peace Love and Happiness Foundation, we can fund our leadership program, which includes funding scholarships for students in Mali to study in the US, training opportunities, and any initiatives that can contribute to the growth of future leaders in Mali.
Six Additional Classrooms for Dambe Kalanso, Ouelessebougou
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Maxfield Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
A generous donation from the Maxfield Foundation will allow us to add 6 new classrooms to our Dambe Kalanso school. The establishment of this unique school building in the community of Ouelessebougou is specifically tailored to create an environment that is conducive to molding the future leaders of Mali. At this school, we will institute a Mali’s national curriculum requisites s a curriculum that not only imbues our students with the academic knowledge they need, but also the character required to lead and make an impact in their society. This approach to education will prepare them to become responsible citizens and future leaders.
Administration Building for Dambe Kalanso, Ouelessebougou
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Stirling Foundation, Maxfield Foundation, Mellor Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
As part of our commitment to providing a quality education to rural communities in Mali, we are in the process of raising the funds to build our Dambe Kalanso administration building to this. The structure will include the principal’s office, staff offices, meeting rooms, a reception area, storage facilities, and other requisite spaces. Each of these spaces will be designed to create a harmonious blend of Mali’s cultural richness while ensuring an environment that encourages academic prowess and leadership. This new administration building will serve as the hub of our school’s operations, where decisions that shape the curriculum and the direction of our students’ education are made.
Two new Malian students at Nomen Global
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Peace Love Happiness Foundation and Nomen Global
Project Description/Impact:
For the last few years, we have partnered with the Nomen Global ESL language center in Utah to provide scholarships to deserving Malian students to study english in the United States. They then use these skills to pursue further bachelor and master degrees. In a country, where having a Masters degree is not the norm, we hope by training the youth of Mali, we can give them an equal opportuniy to change their lives, the lives of their families and hopefully their communities. This year we provided scholarships to Mamadou Samake and Azidane Ag.
Water system for Kokan
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: Sorenson Legacy Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
We partnered with the Sorenson Legacy Foundation to install a solar powered water systems in the village of Kokan. Thanks to the solar powered system we installed, villagers here, especially women and girls, who used to walk up to two hours to collect clean water for their families, now have access to clean water close by.
Laptops for Students
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: National Speakers Association Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
As part of our committment to rewarding excellence and encouraging our students in Mali to go further, Empower Mali donated 10 laptops to 10 student toppers. The laptops were purchased through funds generously donated by the National Speakers Association Foundation. In Mali, the DEF exam (Diplôme d’Études Fondamentales) tests 9th grade students as they graduate from middle school By awarding the nation’s toppers with laptops and a $200 cash gift, we wanted to recognize their hardwork and their and their parents commitment to their education.
Notebooks for Tombouctou
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: David Kelby Johnson Memorial Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
In Mali, where literacy rates are a challenging 31%, it is particularly lower among orphans who often resort to begging on the streets. The prevailing difficulties are further compounded in the insecure northern regions of Mali. Empower Mali collaborated with the local organization, Association for the Support of Orphans in the Sahel (ASSOS), which aids orphaned children attending schools in the urban municipality of Tombouctou. The funds generously donated by the David Kelby Johnson Memorial Foundation were used to purchase 5,000 notebooks for orphans in the Tombouctou Region.
Completion of 22nd EM School in the village of Labata
Date Completed: 2023
Partners: B.H. Roberts Foundation
Project Description/Impact:
Our newest school is finished in the village of Labata in the Commune of Gnouman Makan. Labata’s children have studied under the most difficult conditions one can imagine. The current school is in a deplorable condition and through the B.H. Roberts Foundation, we can bring long lasting change to the children and future generations. This school has three fully equipped classrooms, a director’s office and storehouse and 6 toilets ( 3 boys and 3 girls).