Joyous schoolchildren in Mali. Photo courtesy of Global Play.

We are honored to present to you this guest blog post from Carlos Hornstein 05MBA, founder and president of Global Play Foundation. We present this as part of our 175 Connections series.

From Emory to Mali – six years building the future for over 4000 children

When I look back at these past years a sentence once said by Nelson Mandela comes to mind: “it always seems impossible until it’s done”.  I was an Emory MBA student when I first set foot in Mali six years ago, having travelled to the country as part of an elective of the MBA program dealing with international cooperation projects in developing countries sponsored by the Carter Center. I would have never imagined that this trip would change the rest of my life.  I spent weeks travelling around Mali and seeing firsthand the reality that millions of children had to face every day: crumbling schools, overcrowded classes, inexistent sanitary facilities, unqualified teachers, etc….

Play is of primary importance for engaging young minds. Photo courtesy of Global Play.

Coming back to the “western world” the images of those children were playing over in my mind. It was clear to me that I had to do something about it; the time had come for me to take action although I still did not know how. I called my friends and shared with them my concerns for those children and my dream to start a charity that would help improve the living conditions of these girls, boys, their families, their whole community, in order to promote development, eradicate poverty and injustice and allow for a decent life for every human being. It was fundamental to all of us that education would be the pillar of the charity, and sports and play (hence the name, Global Play) would be the means to reach our goals.

The first project, funded by my friends and I, involved building a sports field at Yendouma School. That was back in 2006. Since then, Global Play has grown; we have local permanent staff working in Bamako ensuring continuity to our projects, maintaining relations with the beneficiary groups, the local authorities and the government. Global Play has been recognized officially by the Mali government and we have the undivided support of the Education Ministry as well as the Sports and Youth Ministry.

Five schools have been built in three different regions of the country benefiting more than 4.000 children. We have brought potable water to rural areas, built infrastructures (new classes, latrines for both girls and boys, libraries), donated school material, introduced sanitary elements in schools, taught health and safety measures, created literacy programs for adults, trained teachers, given bicycles so children didn’t have to walk miles every day to reach school and offered medical assistance to all the children attending the schools where we were present. We have worked hard all these years in order to make a dream become a reality; defending some basic human rights such as  primary education, gender equality and health so that everyone can benefit from them.

Photo courtesy of Global Play.

All this could not have been possible without the help of over 78 entities / companies who have believed in our project and supported us both financially and morally. Today the Global Play Family counts with the help of over 1500 “Global Players” and 47 volunteers have already traveled to Mali to share some of their happiness with the children we assist. I encourage you to be part of this big family, visit us at www.globalplay.org to know more about our ongoing projects.

As I said, six years ago I would have never imagined that all this could be possible.  Thank you Emory.

Carlos P. Hornstein 05 MBA, Founder and President GLOBAL PLAY FOUNDATION

Tagged as: 175 connections, Emory Alumni

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