Timothee Dolo (above), a middle school teacher in Bandiagara, Mali became concerned about his students' lack of knowledge of their own culture and total unfamiliarity with the rich cultural sites in their Dogon Plateau region, which has been designated a World Heritage Site.  Several years ago, he began the "Classe de Patrimoine"� or heritage class, an experiential education program that allows a group of students from Bandiagara to visit other parts of Dogon Country and learn about their cultural heritage and the current activities going on around them.  To finance the trip of several days at the beginning of the school vacation, the students each contribute a small sum on a weekly basis and earn additional money by cleaning up the courtyards of various organizations in the city.  Timothee sometimes receives a small donation (40 Euros) from a French partner and often contributes personally as well. He would love to be able to expand the group from 20 to 30 or 40 students and to be able to travel farther, eventually taking the students to neighboring Burkina Faso for a cultural exchange with their counterparts there.

You can make a donation to help Timothee enlarge the opportunities for the Classe de Patrimoine.