Bougoula is typical of the Malian villages in which we've worked. Some 2,000 villagers live in thatched-roof mud huts, working the land for peanuts, corn and cotton. The people of Bougoula had been waiting 50 years for a formal schoolhouse when BwB arrived. Only 40 students fit into the existing one-room, mud-brick schoolhouse; about 1,000 children under the age of 15 live in the village.

Given the dire need for education, it's no wonder the villagers turned out in such strong numbers to build the school with BwB. While we expect 30 people per day on the work site, 150 villagers turned out for the first day of the project to break ground on the school. Joining them were ten Trek for Knowledge team members from New York and Michigan.

Seven weeks after breaking ground on the project, hundreds of people joined to inaugurate the village's first official school. Community leader Djekamoussa Sangaré spoke for many when he thanked the American students involved in the trek. "You have done a great thing for us. We were honored by your presence, and we can't wait to see you again."

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