[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE]
My name is Niankoro Yeah Samake.
And I was born and raised in one of the poorest
countries in the world: Mali, West Africa.
Today I would like to tell you how small acts of service,
together with accountable, honest leadership,
can bring real change at the local and national level.
First example of service, my father and my mother.
My first taste of seeing how service can change lives
was seeing how my father's act of service can change my own.
When I was growing up, education was not
something people aspired to.
People didn't see the benefit.
They only knew it would reduce work
that could be done on the farm.
So when my father committed to send all of his 18 children
to school, boys and girls, people
thought he had lost his mind.
But my father knew the only way he
could break the cycle of poverty for his family was
to provide an education for all of his children.
I'm grateful for this now.
But this decision came with a painful impact on all of us
at the time.
There were many nights when we'd go to bed on an empty stomach.
Some nights, my mother, in hope of easing the pain,
would tie our stomach with handkerchiefs
so that we would not feel the hunger.
But despite these hard times, my parents
knew that education was key to our success.
And they worked hard to support our educational pursuits.
To support our schooling, my father switched from farming
to sewing clothing in the village--mostly ceremonial
dress or clothes poor villagers would buy for special festivals
and other community events.
My mother took jobs in the village,
helping others with household tasks whenever she could.
The result was that all 18 of us received a high school
education, making us some of the most
educated people in the city.
We were some of the few kids who knew
all the secrets of the village, since we were often
called to write and read all the letters.
[LAUGHTER]
So despite this hardship early on,
we soon realized how blessed we were to gain an education.
Today we are all successful.
And living conditions for me and my siblings
are far beyond anything our father could have envisioned.
We all enjoy options and freedoms many people of Mali,
unfortunately, do not have today:
home ownership, electricity, running water, good health
care.
My father's vision to end poverty
through educating his posterity has been fulfilled.
Because of his vision and sacrifice for us,
we were able to take care of him and our mother
and provide well for them.
Second example of service is volunteering to teach.
I also saw how service impacts the lives of others
while teaching in my village school.
After graduating from college, when I finished high school
and university in the capital city of Bamako,
having earned a degree to teach English
but knowing I couldn't find a job there,
I returned to my village.
But there, there were no jobs either.
And the government did not have money to hire new teachers.
However, I realized I now had a unique skill that could be
used to help and bless others.
I volunteered to teach English at the local middle school
for three years.
My decision to teach was not about earning money,
but rather because I had a strong desire
to give back to my community.
And by doing this, I quickly saw the first blessing
I received from my service.
As I was one of the few in the village that spoke English,
I got a job as a cultural and linguistic guide
for Peace Corps.
I received $1 per hour for this Peace Corps work,
or $3 to $4 a day when I worked part-time--more than what I
would have received in salary as a full-time teacher at that
time in Mali.
But the money I earned was only the first blessing
that came from this service.
Through my work with the Peace Corps,
I met my first Latter-day Saint.
And that meeting changed my life.
Through the kindness of this person and their family,
I was invited to come to the United States,
where I learned more about the Church
and became a member of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in November of 2000.
That same year, I was accepted to the master's
of public policy program at Brigham Young University
in Utah.
There, I learned how my desire to serve
and my focus on leading with integrity,
connected with the principles of the gospel,
could help me do more for myself, for my family,
and for my whole country.
BYU gave me a lot.
I left the university armed with a master's degree
and the support of a loving wife, Marissa,
who had come from India for her bachelor degree at BYU.
I wanted to share my success with my country,
taking what I had learned to serve those who had not
been as lucky as I have been.
I believe these blessings came because of my willingness
to serve the children in my village in Mali.
For me, this act of service was like a domino effect
of blessing that I strongly believe
came because of the first decision to serve.
Now, the third example of service is Empower Mali.
Seeing the impact of my father's service and sacrifice,
and then witnessing the miracles that followed my own effort,
I was now determined to serve on a larger scale.
After graduating from BYU, I was again
faced with a dilemma as to what to do.
I had seen how blessed I was to have an education.
And I had a burning desire to bring the benefit of education
to all the people in my country.
I felt I needed to do something to help others,
just as my life had been changed through education
and through the hard work and kindness of people in my life.
And above all, I felt it would be a blessing
to be able to give back by opening up
opportunities for others.
Together with generous donors who share the same vision,
I started the foundation now known
as Empower Mali, which is focused
on serving the educational needs of the people of Mali.
I strongly believe that one thing that
can make Mali into a success story in the long run
is education.
Today 70 percent of Mali's population is under 25 years
of age, yet only 31 percent of Mali's population is
literate--a figure that is even lower for girls.
So while the national government has
been able to put elementary school in most
of Mali's villages, these villages, unfortunately,
do not have a middle school.
So after sixth grade, many children
will drop out of school simply because they have no access
to one, with the nearest being several villages or towns away.
Through the work of our foundation
and the support of many generous people and organizations,
Empower Mali has built 6 new schools in the rural villages
of Mali in addition to the 19 we have built previously
with other organizations.
Each of these schools serves 150 and more children
from the community, dramatically increasing access
to quality education.
The small act of starting this foundation has blossomed
into a service organization that has also benefited rural
communities in Mali in other ways--for example,
Empower Playgrounds.
The Empower Playground provides an enjoyable merry-go-round
for children to play on, which also provides electricity
for the school, making it possible for the children
in rural areas to read safely at night
with solar-powered lanterns.
Access to textbooks to help the children of Mali
succeed in their schooling.
Empower Mali has been working to provide each child with one
textbook for each subject matter they
study at the middle school.
This program has significantly increased the performance
of the ninth-grade students on the national end
of middle school examination.
So students at our schools achieve a higher level
of performance than the national average.
Teacher housing.
Many teachers will refuse to teach in rural areas because
of lack of adequate housing for them and their families,
creating teacher shortage in many villages.
So Empower Mali's teacher housing project has been
so successful that teachers will remain in the village even
during vacation time because they cannot afford the same
quality accommodation for their family in the city.
Drinking water--access to clean water has become a dire need
facing many villages across Mali.
Empower Mali has installed solar pumps that bring clean drinking
water to several villages.
And this project has improved the public health
by reducing waterborne diseases in many communities.
We are one of the few organizations in Mali
that actually work hand in hand with community leaders
to help them meet their needs.
We involve community leaders at the local level
to ensure that a project is successful from the start.
My commitment to honesty, integrity, and service
drives me to ensure that my people get the resources
intended for them.
The people I come into contact with--both donors and across
Mali--know I will serve them with integrity because they
have seen what I have done over the last 14 years.
Through the small act of service,
we have helped thousands of children access quality
education.
And we have helped communities access clean water
and clean energy.
These children in turn will impact the communities
they live in, which in turn can impact the entire nation.
The fourth example of service is serving as an elected official,
another act of service that can have a big impact in serving
in elected office.
So I was--I ran for mayor.
In 2009 the mayor of my hometown was up for reelection.
The mayor's office had embezzled a lot of money.
And as a result, the city was suffering
from poor education, limited electricity,
and a lack of clean water.
Our region was at the bottom of the list
when measured in effectiveness of local governance
and transparency.
I knew my hometown could do better
and that I had an opportunity to serve on a larger scale.
So I discussed this opportunity with my family.
And we decided to leave the comfort of the United States
to return to Mali and implement what
I had learned through my service and my education.
People were very receptive to my message: focus
on leading our city through honest, accountable,
and transparent governance.
And I received 86 percent of the votes.
At the end of my term as mayor, my hometown of Ouelessebougou
opened its first big multiservice
hospital, a solar energy field, had clean running water,
and had built the first public high school in the area.
Business started to bloom.
And new businesses opened their doors in Ouelessebougou.
By focusing on serving the people
and making this principle the core
of every decision I took as mayor,
I saw how my community had prospered.
Within three years we were able to move Ouelessebougou
from the bottom 5 of 704 cities to the top 10
in terms of tax collection, economic development,
transparency, and infrastructure building.
Ambassador--then came an opportunity to serve
in a different way, a way I never expected.
On Thursday of May 7, 2015, the president of Mali,
His Excellency Ibrahim Boubacar Keita,
appointed me as the Malian ambassador
to the Republic of India, a post that
includes covering 10 countries in South and Southeast Asia.
Integrity is key when serving as an ambassador.
As you are a guest in the host country,
a success only comes through relationships and showing
that you are an honest, trustworthy representative
of your people.
Luckily, through small acts of service
and examples of my parents, I had been well prepared
for this opportunity.
And I knew it would allow me to do even more
to help my fellow citizens.
In conclusion, I have seen how personal integrity can open
doors and bring about change and lead to bigger things that can
impact a nation--sometimes in small ways,
sometimes in big ways, but always in significant ways.
As you do your best to do what is right,
people will seek you out as someone to rely on.
And as you demonstrate your integrity,
you'll be given more opportunity to serve God's children.
We are a blessed people.
And no matter what our personal struggles,
there is always someone who needs something
just a bit more.
I believe that if we look around us to those in need
and try to serve that need, our own needs
will be met by the Lord.
I have seen this time and time again in my own life.
This relates well with my favorite scripture, Mosiah
2:17: "And behold, I tell you these things
that ye may learn wisdom; that ye
may learn that when ye are in the service
of your fellow beings ye are only
in the service of your God."
I call on you to look each day for an opportunity to serve.
The opportunities are plenty.
How can you serve your family, your friends, or your neighbor?
What opportunities do we have each day to help our coworkers?
I testify to you that small acts of service
can have great impacts.
Seeing the blessings in my own life,
I promise you that you will be blessed.
And those who rely on you will be blessed as well.
It all starts with the desire to help.
It all starts with the action to make a difference.
Together, little by little, small, kind actions
can combine to create waves of impact through a nation
and through the whole world.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]