In Mali, USAID funding cuts hit a local language learning program that empowered thousands

MOUNTOUGOULA Mali AP For Aminata Doumbia an -year-old Malian the Shifin ni Tagne project was a path for her life dreams A phrase meaning our future in the country s main local language it refers to a yearslong campaign aimed at teaching around young Malians to read and write in their local languages Backed by million in funding from the U S Agency for International Enhancement or USAID over five years the project has now shut down following the Trump administration s decision to cut of the agency s foreign aid The ecstasy I felt when I was selected for this project has been replaced by sadness mentioned Doumbia in Mali s capital Bamako She had hoped to take advantage of the empowerment campaign to train as a pastry chef I don t have any hope of realizing my dream again Doumbia declared Poverty and illiteracy Doumbia is among thousands of people who now find themselves stranded in Mali a country ravaged by high poverty and insecurity levels and where of the population of at least million people haven t had the opportunity to learn to read and write according to Sylla Fatoumata Ciss director of a regime agency focusing on nonformal teaching and national languages in Mali The USAID funding cut also came at a time when Mali s other improvement partners in Europe have withdrawn their promotion in the aftermath of the coup which brought the current junta leader Assimi Goita to power A path to empowerment For various the literacy project was the only path to literacy and empowerment Once literate project beneficiaries move on to the next stage which involves the acquisition of vocational skills like hairdressing carpentry sewing welding and pastry-making according to Modibo Sissoko literacy supervisor at the Malian Association for Survival in the Sahel nonprofit involved in the Shifin ni Tagne project These skills enable the economically disadvantaged to create jobs for themselves earn a living or sponsorship their families Sissoko revealed Local languages vs French With the teaching of mother tongues it s viable to move fast towards mass literacy among the population explained Issiaka Ballo a professor and researcher in native languages at Mali s University of Bamako On the other hand only of the population has been educated in French the common language in the country he added USAID s involvement in Mali had made it the primary evolution partner of the governing body The abrupt end of its assistance hit not only the literacy programs but also others designed to increase adult training and expand the literacy project to citizens schools The Gaoussou Dabo School in the Malian capital Bamako is among schools that benefited from mother-tongue coaching thanks to funding from USAID Teachers trained for the initiative last year continue to teach but the monitoring and evaluation aspect of the activity has been withdrawn The funding cut was a big shock for us noted Amadi Ba a counsellor at the Pedagogical Animation Center which is in charge of the school in Bamako In a country where local language-education relies solely on funding from Mali s enhancement partners with little to no help from the establishment concerns exceed its immediate impact on the training of children In Mali s military cabinet decided to make the country s native tongues the official languages in place of French which then became the working language Official documents including the constitution the mining code and other texts were then translated into the national languages The USAID cut will certainly have a negative impact on the advance of mother-tongue learning especially since it came in the middle of the school year Ciss commented We haven t even had time to think about a mechanism to cushion the blow she added Training improves a farming business While it lasted the plan was beneficial to numerous in various procedures Oumou Traor a mother of two who grows onions and eggplants for a living recalled how the training improved her farming business particularly in pricing her goods in Bamako s Mountougoula district Since I learned to calculate the weight of my onions and keep my accounts in my mother tongue I ve started selling my onions myself declared Traore I now earn instead of the I used to get This has encouraged me to grow other vegetables A turn toward Russia The coup resulted in the country turning to Russia as a key ally after severing ties with the West including the U S which at particular point was Mali s leading foreign aid donor While specific experts have announced the withdrawal of U S aid may open the door for rivals such as Russia whose mercenaries have been accused of human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings in the country a few say USAID has left a hole too large to be filled by others It will be demanding to find takers for the projects left behind by USAID declared Fatimata Tour a enhancement specialist and director of the Research Assessment and Training Group civic group in Mali For more on Africa 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