For the first several weeks of November, the Mali Rising's U.S. staff will head to Mali to spend time with our Mali staff and students. We'll visit 18 schools, catch up with Inspiration Scholars, visit potential new partner villages, and more. Along the way we'll see some sights and have some fun. We wish you could all come a long for the journey. Luckily, via social media you can actually kind of be there...
You Won't Be Able To Resist The Beat
We are gearing up here for our big Soiree on October 12. It is a chance to hear about the successes you've supported in the last year and what great things are coming in the next year.But this year that isn't all you'll hear! We are excited to have three drummers joining us to share the joy and beauty of West African drumming -- Deja Mitchell, Sekou Soumah, and Hakim Muhammed.
If The Way To Your Heart Is Through Your Stomach...
If the way to your heart is through your stomach, you will soon be in love with Mali Rising. Or at least you will be if you get your tickets to the 2017 Soiree. I'm just back from an amazing taste testing with the great folks at LUX Catering & Events. LUX is a Gold Sponsor of our upcoming Soiree celebration, and they have pulled out all the stops on a menu you're going to love.
6 Fun Facts About Mali for Friday
As the Director of Mali Rising, I get a lot of questions about Mali from curious friends and supporters. So I'm always on the lookout for fun facts about this great country that has become my second home. On this pre-holiday Friday, I thought I'd share six of the facts I most often trot out when asked about Mali (outside of the serious facts about our important work on education!)...
Book Review: The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu
Since joining Mali Rising's staff, I've tried to read as many books written by Malians and/or about Mali as I can. Frankly, one doesn't find scads of them here in the U.S. But I'd been hearing about The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu for a while, and was excited to see a pretty main-stream book that was set in Mali getting some attention.
A Little Friday Fun With Food
I do love food, and I love cooking, and I really love dinner parties. So a few years back when I started this job one of the first things I did was invite a big group of friends over for a Mali feast. In this blog post, I'll share my recipes, but also some great food resources from around the web...
Five Things I Didn’t Know About Mali
Proverbs From Mali...They Travel Well
This weekend I dug through some old files, looking for something I suddenly needed again. I found what I needed, but only after getting very distracted by something else. That something else was a small project an intern last year -- Salifou -- created. Salifou is a student here in the U.S., but he is from Mali. He gathered and shared some Malian proverbs for an event we were planning. I dusted the project off for today's blog because I'm betting you'll find them as much fun as I do.
What's In a Name?
It’s halfway through my Malian trip and I found myself in the rural village of Lofine. Mali Rising’s team is tucked away under the shade of a huge gnarled tree for the opening of a new school. The ceremony is chaotic, but beautiful. There were traditional dances intertwined through speeches of the village dignitaries as well as the board members of Mali Rising.I slowly lost interest during the painstaking translations from English to Bambara and reverted to studying the faces of those in the large crowd circled around us.
