Improving Health Care & Lowering Barriers to Girls' Education

Virginia Friends of Mali invites you to plan your 2017 gift to support our mission through two projects:

Project CURE

In 2016, $25,000 was raised to send $450,000 worth of materiel that has JUST ARRIVED IN Segou! Project CURE cargo containers of hospital and medical supplies were shipped in December and arrived the last week of January in Segou (Richmond's sister city since 2009). The destination was L’Hôpital Niankoro Fomba and one of its associated community healthcare centers. Segou's sister city committee president, M Madani Sissoko, was on hand with hospital director, Dr. Abdoulaye Sanogo, to accept delivery of the materiel. In partnership with Rotary Club partners in the US and Mali, we are raising funds to send a second container this year. We have commitments for $15,000 and need your help to raise the remaining $10,000. Two anonymous donors have so far pledged $500 each. Perhaps you'll join them!

2017 Goal: $10,000 Raised: $1,000 Remaining: $9,000

Richmond House

Maaya Muso Girls Empowerment Center to promote leadership roles for women through a range of cultural, artistic, sporting and entrepreneurial activities, built around a library-IT center where women will gain access to the technologies of tomorrow. From Nyéléni to Maaya Musow: nurturing Ségou’s adolescent girls to be tomorrow’s urban leaders & entrepreneurs. In 2015, five acres was donated to launch the project. In 2016, the well was completed to supply water for construction phase of the project, including the local manufacture of bricks (banco). Built into this project is requisite that all contracts, materials and employment are locally based. In 2017 the bricks will be made, plans finalized, complex schematics and construction of the first building will begin.

Project Goal: $ 221,000 2017 Goal: $12,000

Please be generous!

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"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

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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

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