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Los Angeles Benefit Helps Save the Children Build School for Children in Mali
Television and Movie Industry Raises Funds to Build and Equip School in Remote, Rural Sikasso Region
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Oscar-winning actress Helen Hunt and producer Matthew Carnahan show support for Save the Children's village school in Mali in Los Angeles on Oct 18, 2008. |
WESTPORT, Conn. (Oct. 28, 2008) — Helen Hunt, Matthew Perry, Hank Azaria, Steven Weber, Melora Hardin, Ricki Lake, Kathy Najimy and cast members of "The Big Bang Theory" joined nearly 200 members of the television and movie industry at an event on October 18 that raised funds to build and equip a Save the Children village school for 600 children in the Sikasso region of Mali.
The Los Angeles Build a School Committee hosted the third-annual charity event on the legendary NY Street at CBS-Radford Studios in Los Angeles, California. The grassroots organization is comprised of women in the entertainment community dedicated to building a school in a needy community in Africa each year. Members include Gabrielle Allan-Greenberg, Gia Carides, Jennifer Crittenden, Jackie Filgo, Juliette Hohnen, Natalya Hudis, Elizabeth Ingold, Robin Ruzan, Allison Smith, Jamie Tarses and Katie Tarses.
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Actresses Ricki Lake and Kathy Najimy step out for Save the Children at Build a School event in Los Angeles on Oct 18, 2008. |
Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. Only about half of the children in Mali go to school, according to UNESCO. In Sikasso, a remote and rural area of the country, less than four out of 10 children are enrolled in school, with girls missing out most. Nationally, girls fare no better. UNESCO estimates that during the 2004 to 2005 school year, more than one half million primary school girls (ages 7 to 12) had no access to school. The majority of these girls live in rural areas like Sikasso.
Malian girls face many barriers that keep them out of school, including having to help out at home by tending to the family farm or caring for younger siblings, or to get married. In addition, many parents refrain from sending their girls to school for privacy and safety reasons, such as the lack of separate latrines for girls and lengthy walks to distant schools.
The new Sikasso school will focus on providing both boys and girls an education. Funds raised for the school will be used to work with the community to identify children's needs; set up a parent-teacher association to manage the school; build, furnish and equip a school; construct separate latrines for girls and boys; dig a well for clean water; identify and train teachers; and develop and adapt a curriculum that meets national educational standards.
"We greatly appreciate the continued support of this annual event that is helping more children go to school in some of the poorest communities around the world. I can tell you there's no greater sight than seeing the excitement on children's faces when they go to school for the first time," said Charles MacCormack, president and CEO of Save the Children. "The Sikasso school will put these children on a path to progress that will benefit future generations as well."
Background
Since 2006, the Los Angeles Build a School Committee has raised funds through their annual benefit to build two schools, one for 200 children in the remote area of Dendi, Ethiopia, and another for 300 children in war-torn Atok, Sudan.
For more than 20 years, Save the Children has worked in Mali to improve the health, education and food security of children and families in the most marginalized communities. Save the Children began its signature village school program in 1991. Since then, more than 800 schools have been established, with more than half transitioning to become government-run schools. The program includes an integrated approach that includes community mobilization, collaboration with local government agencies, teacher training, direct educational interventions and infrastructure improvements.
