“When I finish my studies I will grow vegetables with myAgro,” Aminata added, “since my Dad’s a member.”
“When I grow up, I want to become a doctor so I can take care of children,” said fourth grader Aminata Samake of Dialakoroba, a market village in Mali. Her seven year old sister, Gnine, agreed. “After my studies I want to be a doctor like my aunt!” she proclaimed. The Samake sisters’ aunt is a nurse at the small health center in Dialakoroba. It’s clear that she’s become an important role 
model for the girls, encouraging them to stay in school. “I love to study,” Aminata told me.
“When I finish my studies I will grow vegetables with myAgro,” Aminata added, “since my Dad’s a member.” Notably, the nine-year-old declared that she only wants to grow vegetables, not farm corn, rice, or sorghum alongside her future family. Aminata envisions herself eating and selling vegetables on the side, like many Malian professionals who cultivate their own gardens while working careers like nursing or teaching. Whether you farm or buy your staple grains and meats, household gardens can be an important source of diverse, nutritious food for Malian families. Fresh, vitamin-rich garden produce has a huge impact on children’s health, boosting immune systems, combating deficiencies, and ensuring proper growth. Whether she realizes it or not, Aminata’s desire to grow vegetables is deeply connected to her goal of becoming a doctor– both will help her achieve her dream of taking care of children.
Gnine, the first grader, offered a much more straigthforward reason for why she too wants to work in a health center like her aunt: “I love when she wears her doctor’s coat!”
