A few pictures from

Mali

West Africa

August 8-18, 2008

I flew on Delta and Ethiopian Airways to Bamako, Mali to be a consultant at the American International School of Bamako.   I worked five days at the school with the teachers, and then spent three days for fun at the town of Segou, about 4 hours away.  Right:  The capital city of Bamako.

On the mural below, Mali is the yellow country underneath the woman's elbow. 

These are young moms visiting the American school campus.

Below:  I took this shot from the back of the room during a break in a workshop I presented on curriculum design.  I presented a 90 minute session each morning, and spent the remainder of the work day meeting with smaller groups, such as the science committee. 

The director, David Henry, is in the blue shirt on the extreme right.

Left:  On Friday evening, after the week's work was done, a group of teachers took me bar hopping.  Bamako is famous for live music.  This picture looks grainy because the night club was very, very dark and my little flash just didn't measure up.  At first the music sounds like just another rock band, but then one gradually becomes aware of  the West African influences, especially the drumming.

When the rain got too bad I retreated to this bar (left) to read a book, drink a local beer, and tough it out!  Because most of the streets are dirt and sand, my pants were filthy by the end of the day, but everyone else was muddy too.

On the way to Segou I saw many villages, people going to market in donkey carts, and other colorful sights.  It was a fun drive.

Left Below:  I spent two hours in this village 6 miles out from Segou.  The village was like many that I passed on the drive from Bamako.  Walls are basically mud, and the rooms were without furniture of any kind.  About 1000 people live here according to my driver, who chatted with some of the locals.

Above Left:  There seemed to be only a couple of water sources in the village.  It was clear that there was no plumbing in the houses.  But aren't the dresses beautiful?

Above Right:  Two young ladies selling peanuts and veggies on the street back in Segou.  I have noticed throughout west Africa that women are expert at carrying serious loads on their heads. 

Right:  A girl on her way home with fish fresh from the river.  Note the soil in the pictures is basically sand.  Mali is on the edge of the Sahara desert.

Below:  In the village it was wash day.  The river banks were very busy.  NOTE the baby sleeping on the back of the woman!  This is quite common, I noticed.

Left Below:  Donkey carts were everywhere, not only in the villages but also Bamako.   As we left Segou early one morning we met dozens of donkey carts coming to the town for market day.