Quick visit to the Embassy

WEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2011

Robin, Michelle, Allan, Dana and Ana ran up to DC for the day to get visas from the Malian embassy for upcoming trips and to have a nice face-to-face with Adam Kaplan and his staff at Sister Cities International. The AUPAP latrine and maternity clinic renovation projects are moving, slowly, but steadily, towards construction even as we hold our breath that the work can get done before the rainy season takes a complete and slushy hold on Segou. We also discussed other projects of VFOM most, though not all, of which are centered on or based in Segou. Our annual visits to the Festival Sur Le Niger, hosting of friends visiting from Segou, intra-national youth film and photography projects, and the simple rewarding business of getting to know one another's countries and lifeways. All went well and we even managed to vacate the capital region by 3pm and so miss the exiting wall of traffic that is so many commuters' daily nightmare.

FRIDAY, 3 JUNE 2011

First Fridays means hitting the galleries and museums that are open for simultaneous opening receptions for new shows or are taking advantage of the extra pedestrian traffic to extend their normal hours. Robin and Michelle Poulton arrived in Richmond on Wednesday and so were able to meet Dana Wiggins, Ana Edwards, Bako and Fatim Sanogo at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center for a few hours. It was the first time that Bako, Fatim and Robin saw our VFOM exhibit Djita: Pearls of Wisdom from a Sister City. Dr. Elgersman-Lee (executive director), Mary Lauterdale (curator and assistant director) and Marcus Robinson (museum reception and gallery assistant) were on hand for their evening's program highlighting the artwork of Richmond area public school students - a VERY nice group of block prints - so please visit wwwBlackHistoryMuseum.org for details on that AND their current major exhibit, Pearls of Wisdom: Black Families and the Nobility of Everyday Living. Both exhibits run through July 1. It was a lovely night and hardly a precursor to the oven-degree temperatures we are now experiencing. Though I do love a warm summer evening, don't you...?

Comments

"Peace Baba is the most famous bead person in Mali"

Peace Baba (real name Oumar Cissé) is the most famous bead person in Mali. His nickname comes from the fact that he used, for more than 20 years, to take care of Peace Corps volunteers in Mopti Region, whose 'vacation house' was right next to his shop: Farafina Tigne is the name of his museum/shop and the website is fabulously extensive, including a decent travelogue description of the country's major towns and features of interest to tourists. Peace Baba has moved from his small store on the island that is Mopti town, to a larger store in Sevaré beside the main paved Great North Road. Here he has a museum of beads and crafts upstairs, and a fantastic bead shop downstairs. Peace Corps Baba (Baba - Father) is a great man with a magnetic personnality and communicatable English. His beads are SO WORTH WHILE (and such good value). Some Malian beads are 5000 years old. Some were made when Jesus Christ was alive. Some are made from the bones of fish or the nuts of t

VFOM member visits AUPAP sites

1st Adjoint to the Mayor M. NIANG, (Segou), Dace (SCI), Adjoint (Segou), Dana (VFOM), Mayor O. SIMAGA (Segou) Our good friend and executive committee member Dana Wiggins left on August 19 and returns September 14 from her turn as AUPAP project monitor and defacto Richmond city ambassador to our twin city, Segou. Notre bon ami et membre du comité exécutif Dana Wiggins quitté le 19 août et retourne Septembre 14 à partir de son tour que AUPAP projet de surveiller et de facto ambassadeur de ville de Richmond a notre ville jumelle, Ségou. The following photos were taken in July and August and demonstrate that construction has been moving "full speed ahead" since funding and the rainy season arrived almost simultaneously. The Ségou contractors have been diligent and in spite of one wall collapse, Dana and Dace (Sister Cities International) have been able to confirm that a September completion date is likely. Les photos suivantes ont été prises en Juillet et Août et démo

The February Chiwara Is Out!

February in America is Black History Month, and this will be a theme of this month’s Newsletter . Black History Month is a great time for teachers to introduce Sunjata the Lion King to their 3rd grade students who will learn about the medieval Empire of Mali (a standard of learning requirement for elementary students in Virginia). Past Issues!

Virginia Friends of Mali

Search This Blog