Virginia Friends of Mali

The Richmond Chiwara, November 2022 Très Chers Tous, Salutations à tous nos Ami.e.s à Richmond et à Ségou.  Que Dieu vous bénisse!  We salute all our Friends in Ségou and in Richmond. God bless you all! In this issue:  American Thanksgiving    C’est quoi? Ségou, une ville du Mali    SEGOU, a city in MALI - A series written by  écrit par  Madani Sissoko & Macky Tall et ...  a little visit by Kida!   We were very happy in Richmond to enjoy the visit of Madani Sissoko in early October, coinciding with the commemoration of Gabriel’s rebellion against slavery in favor of freedom. Nous étions fort heureux de recevoir notre ami ‘Kida’ Sissoko début octobre en visite à Richmond, coïncidant avec la commémoration de la rébellion de Gabriel contre l'esclavage en faveur de la liberté. Want more?  Vouloir plus? S'abonner !   Subscribe to The Richmond Chiwara delivered right to your inbox!

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts hosted its free Family Day 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, celebrating the art and culture of Mali. Storytelling and Mudcloth activities with Virginia Friends of Mali , dancing, performances by musician Cheick Hamala Diabate and DJ Mikemetic & the Afro Beta Drummers were featured, along with quilting demonstrations by the Sisters of the Yam African-American Quilters Guild , clay vessel demonstrations by Carren Clarke and woodcut print demonstrations by Dennis Winston . Storytelling in the Library with the Alapini-Sakponou Women had it covered with these two books: The Magic Gourd by Baba Wague Diakite Sundiata: The Lion King of Mali by David Wisniewski At the end of the storytelling, the group talked about the country of Mali, and used a map made of Bogolanfini, a textile decorated with natural leaf and mud dyes. Then they sent their visitors downstairs to the Bogolan making activity!  Mudcloth Demonstra...

Les 10 journalistes de Radio Sikoro- six a gauche, quatre a droit. The 10 journalists of Radio Sikoro - six on the left, four on the right.  Five finalists (Soummou , Marie , Saran , Massitan , Safiatou)  held a writing conference, a round table in the studio on the theme, "influence of social networks on girls." They went on camera one by one to introduce themselves and describe their motivations.  Today, Andee, Cameron and their Bamako-based assistant, Erika Pomerance (standing in the photo), announced the three finalists:  Marie , Saran , et Massitan!  They said it was difficult to leave anyone out! This group of three will work together until Saturday at noon, when their team leader will be announced as the WRIR intern. Remember, though the intern will travel, all the young women will benefit and are excited about the projects they would like to take on with their new skills.

Cameron and Andee are shown in a video greeting they sent to the group of ten young jounalists who make up the Radio Sikoro half of the Sister Radio project.  Sister Radio is an independent documentary following the partnership between two independent radio stations from two sister cities: WRIR 97.3 fm in Richmond, Virginia and Radio Sikoro in Segou, Mali, as they build a program to educate women in Segou on radio broadcasting and radio production. The program is called Sister Radio in which Radio Sikoro sends an intern to Richmond to learn the elements of radio production under the tutelage of WRIR radio producers. The intern will then go back to Segou where she will relay the knowledge she accumulated to other women interested in making their voices heard through Mali radio. Andee and Cameron arranged for several interviews in advance so they would lose no time getting to work. These shots are from their first interviews in the capital city of Bamako. Khadidia Samake Tour...

VFOM new president, Lydie Alapini-Sakponou, in 2012, with then Malian Ambassador Mamoun KEITA, Segou Project Manager Robin Poulton and the ambassador's Chief of Protocol, during our annual National Mali Day program. VFOM held its annual board meeting on October 26, 2017 and elected a new president and vice president. Ana Edwards, who has served as president since the formation of the sister city relationship with Segou MALI in 2009, has shifted to vice president and organizational representative on the Richmond Sister Cities Commission. "I happily and proudly yield the leadership position to Lydie Alapini-Sakponou. She was a founding member of the organization and has a long record as an outstanding educator in Chesterfield County schools. Lydie will bring warmth, experience and a keen talent to the job." The board also welcomed a new category, Student Board Member, and with it three new student members from Virginia Commonwealth University. Click here to...