Abako Foundation

Abako Foundation remains dedicated to improving literacy levels at four schools in Koutiala Mali However political unrest has hindered our ability to visit schools and train teachers and staff locally Despite these challenges teachers persevere under difficult conditions and Abako continues to support them by providing vibrant library spaces filled with books and practical resources In 2025 Abako traveled to Senegal to train staff and acquire books and materials for our only active school library Looking ahead to 2026 we aim to open three additional libraries if circumstances permit Abako is committed to fostering literacy development in public and community elementary schools Over the past year we have equipped the library with new materials hosted a childrens day celebration and plan to further honor teachers contributions in 2026

This pilot Childhood Education project supports mothers caretakers and children ages 0-3 Our goal is to guide and accompany mothers as they introduce their children to their first words in both Mayan and Spanish Mothers become primary language teachers by creating visual materials in both languages They draw simple vocabulary words in 5-7 domains and engage their children as language experts in a natural context-driven way Abako offers teacher training parent workshops drawing notebooks colored pencils classroom furniture and other necessary supplies Abako staff regularly visit the project sites to monitor progress and provide ongoing teacher training

Our three-year partnership with the Karunodaya Foundation in Gaya India continued to flourish in 2025 During two visits to India in 2025 we forged important collaborations to support the 29 schools participating in the Literacy and Library Program launched by Abako in 2022 Abako sponsored a Teachers Day celebration visited 15 school sites led a week-long capacity-building workshop for the 15-member staff and held library sessions in five schools working closely with Karunodaya staff and local teachers We also purchased and delivered stationery and sports equipment for all program schools Additionally Abako visited a new Karunodaya initiative in 11 small villages near Gaya aimed at helping young women complete their education and develop leadership skills While this project is still in the exploratory phase we have already provided materials and equipment to support the staff In 2026 Abako plans to deepen our involvement in this promising new initiative

The Reading Program second and final year benefited 300 middle school students Its purpose was to foster a culture of reading for both pleasure and academic growth while teaching strategies to enhance reading comprehension The program sought to raise literacy awareness by establishing a school library providing book and teaching material donations organizing writing contests and conducting regular Abako visits to monitor progress and ensure the library remained an open welcoming space for the entire school community

This small writing project in a middle school in Cuernavaca Mexico aims at improving basic writing skills The 241 students work with a book that target discrete writing skills from sentence structure to paragraph formation and organization These students have demonstrated strong reading skills but now they need to transfer all the knowledge into writing their thoughts and ideas Abako provides books and paper materials for the project implementation