Laura Bush sits with Mali’s first lady Toure Lobbo Traore, teachers and students of the Nelson Mandela Primary School Complex in Bamako, June 29.

The school complex houses three other primary schools and one secondary school, with a total of 3,034 students, 1,458 boys and 1,576 girls.

In addition to the president’s Africa Education Initiative funds, Mali participates in a Millennium Challenge Corporation four-year, $460.8 million agreement to reduce poverty through economic growth and improvement of infrastructure. Investments are targeted at developing the Niger River Delta for irrigated agriculture and the Bamako-Senou International Airport as a regional and international trade gateway. (White House/Shealah Craighead)