October- Back to School

Hi... Back to school?? "Isn't it a bit late?", you ask? School normally starts first week of October in Mali. University hasn't started yet. We've been scrambling to help families be able to get school supplies, and to get their kids in school. Every year there are more needs than we can supply. We do have some people who sponsor kids. Elementary 2500 cfa ($5) a month. Jr High 5000 cfa ($10) a month. Sr High 7500 cfa ($15) a month. Very cheap, unless you only make 40,000 cfa per month, and you have 2 or more kids... How do you eat? The nice thing is that many of our high schoolers have made good grades, and the government pays those fees now... But school is very far away, so they need a bicycle to get there, and a backpack. But monthly costs are easier to manage.
We're hoping that by helping these kids through school they may be able to get jobs that pay better than 40,000 cfa ($80) a month, so they will be able to put their kids through, etc...

It has been a month of mini-crisis too. Angeline works mornings for us. She does kitchen stuff and cooks our noon meal so that Lisa is free to homeschool Caleb. She got word that her mother in Bouake is very sick. She broke up in tears, unable to pay to go take care of her mother. So we and our colleagues pulled together some money for her to travel as well as have some money to pay for meds/doctors. She left 2 days ago on a night bus for Bouake. Godspeed Angeline!!

Angeline

Some of Angelines' mouth watering donuts.

On the more fun side of life, we ordered some banana ice cream from our good friend Lazare. How do you make ice cream in Africa? Some of you who are older remember the old crank machines. They work so well. But how do you get crushed ice? Ha ha, you get Claudia to pound it.... She does a good job. Ice cream should be ready for today, yum yum... :D

Claudia pounding ice.

Lazare turning some banana ice cream.

The nice thing about ice cream is that you can make it anywhere. You don't need a fancy ice cream parlour, you can churn right on the side of the road. Lazare is under a mango tree right in front of his resaurant.

Thanks for following along with us, and taking the time to stop by.
Keep praying!
Tom & Lisa