Skidmore Grad Opens Library in Ivory Coast

Funded Projects, Sustained Impact, Alumni, Partner Institutions, Africa, Education, Youth

Korotoumou Katy Ballo poses with a group of young students inside an Ivory Coast library created by her nonprofit, Impactful Education. Photo via Impactful Education.

This article was originally published by Jonathon Norcross via Saratoga Today.

A Skidmore College alum who grew up in Anyama, Ivory Coast amidst a decade-long civil war returned to her hometown to open a library that offers thousands of youth free access to educational resources.

Korotoumou Katy Ballo explained how she accomplished this feat at a Saratoga Springs Lions Club meeting in December.

“It was very difficult for [my generation] because we grew up with a civil war and we felt like the older generation had failed us,” Ballo said. “So we have to make sure that we don’t fail the next generation.”

When graduating from Skidmore in 2021, Ballo was a recipient of the Davis Projects for Peace award, a program that funds students who want to implement their own grassroots projects for peace anywhere in the world. This grant led to the creation of Impactful Education and the construction of the first-ever library in Anyama.

Ballo said that many students in Anyama struggle with literacy and don’t always have access to modern technology. Ballo herself had never seen a library nor used a computer prior to immigrating to New York in 2013 (she now works as a senior financial risk consultant at Ernst & Young in New York City).

“[For] some of them, the first time they used a computer was when they started coming to our library,” she said. “So we are trying to close the literacy and technology gap.”

The library (or education hub as it’s officially known) has 24 computers and thousands of books. A free, 8-week summer program in 2024 helped educate 50 young people from Anyama, offering English learning classes, creative writing, fundamental reading skills, and group discussions and debates. Students also learned basic computer skills and progressed to using programs such as Microsoft Office.

Ballo’s Impactful Education aims to expand its influence in the future, hoping to reach hundreds of thousands of young learners in the rural Ivory Coast by building more libraries and offering more technological resources and educational programs.

“We are doing it for the younger generation,” Ballo said.

Impactful Education has earned financial support from the Rotary Club of Saratoga Springs, as well as the Presbyterian United Church of Christ in Saratoga Springs. Ballo serves as the organization’s founder and CEO, and Don Wildermuth of the Wilton Rotary Club serves as the org’s treasurer. The nonprofit is currently accepting tax-deductible donations after recently becoming 501(c)(3) approved. To donate or learn more, visit impactfuleducationprojects.org.