Savadogo Mariam, Burkina Faso
Savadogo Mariam has been working for eight years on improving education in her community, especially focusing on the capacity of girls succeeding in their lives and school careers. Currently a teacher, she mentors groups of young girls, helping them carry on their education and lives in a more meaningful way by overcoming barriers like early pregnancy, HIV/Aids, STDs, and female circumcision. To do so, she uses dance, singing, performance of the girls' real-life stories, and role play. Mariam has also volunteered in community associations like Association Monde Rural working for the well-being of people in rural areas, where she was in charge of tutoring young people. Mariam holds a license from the University of Ouagadougou from the English department where she studied American Literature. Once she is back home, Mariam would like to strengthen and widen her school exchange groups, to make more girls conscious of the issues that decelerate their education, and to teach them solutions and preventions.