Mural painting at the zcc
The children at the ACFA Zorokoro Children’s Complex (ZCC) and ACFA teenagers in Bamako recently had the opportunity to participate in painting a mural at the ACFA ZCC. The mural project started with a visit by the ACFA CEO Kadiatou Sidibé and Operations Manager Amadou Traoré to the American International School of Bamako (AISB) in November 2022. After a presentation of ACFA's programs and a tour of the AISB school, the two organizations decided to work together. It was in this context that the AISB asked to involve ACFA in its grassroots community engagement program.
AISB is an independent school in Bamako, the capital of Mali, with kindergarten through 12th grade. The school is truly international with students representing more than 35 nationalities. AISB's Community Based Engagement (CBE) program is intended to provide an opportunity for students to meaningfully engage with and learn about the community in which they live, improve the life-skills needed to work effectively within a community, and create a project that is meaningful to them and helpful to the community.
After hearing about ACFA’s work at the ZCC, three groups of students opted to connect with the children of ACFA as part of their CBE plan. The 6th grade students planted sixteen tree seedlings in Zorokoro, the 3rd and 4th graders made flash cards and letter games to play with ZCC students, and the Mural Project group committed to paint two murals, one in at the AISB school and one at ZCC.
On December 1st, 2022, the Bamako teens were invited to AISB (Bily, Diakassan, Hadidiatou, Lassine, and Salé). They were given a short tour, and the two groups decided on what to make at the bake sale in order to buy the materials for the painting. On Friday December 9th, the students of AISB organized the bake sale to raise money for mural supplies.
The mural was painted on the premises of AISB on February 17, 2023, followed by the hand prints of the students 10 days later. The second phase of the mural project was planned for the 2024 school year in Zorokoro.
On February 13, five students from AISB and their professor visited the ZCC to begin the second phase of the mural project. ACFA teenager Alassane, ACFA ZCC children and students in the ZCC school, and ACFA staff participated in the mural painting on the wall of the ACFA dormitory at ZCC. Teenagers painted the mural including maps of Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Mauritania and Ghana all linked by the National colors of Mali, while the children of ZCC put handprints around the maps.
ACFA children enjoyed their experience working with students from AISB and hope to continue more partnerships in the future! Collaborations such as these teach our children valuable lessons of teamwork, community, and engagement.