Mali Development Group

Who are we?
A recently formed organisation with the objectives of supporting development work in Mali, and promoting awareness in this country about the people and culture of Mali. We now have charitable status and are actively raising money and supporting work in Mali through the Bamako based Malian organisation Jeunesse et Developpement, (J&D).

Why support MDG?
Because as well as raising funds for vital development work we aim to build local links and a real partnership at grass roots level through J&D. We will be involved in specific targeted fundraising-at present funding transport for health workers. We would like you to help us with this and other very practical aims. If you would like any more information please contact us here.

A personal View of Mali
Our Chair, Laurence Lalanne Devlin is an occasional visitor to Mali as part of her work in radio. What follows is her view of Mali and its people -

Mali is my favourite country in the whole of West Africa!

I've being going there regularly for the last 17 years, sometimes to very isolated areas and for long periods but I still remember the amazing assault on the senses I had when I first arrived in the capital, Bamako: Besides the incredible heat which, at 35 or 36 degrees, is definitely a shock to the system, I felt that colours, noises and smells were literally "jumping" out at me from everywhere in the incredibly crowded streets: the vivid damask of the women's long flowing dresses, the golden embroidery on the rich men's caftans, the deep blue of the sky set against the red-ochre earth, the pungent smell of fish frying in shea-butter, the extra-sweet mint tea boiling away on tiny metal stoves, the strong smell of traditional incense (woussoulan) escaping from the mud houses, the piles of spices and "strange" food in the market, and everywhere, people talking in groups, slapping each other's hands and laughing! It is quite invigorating to experience how much fun the Malian people are and how much they like laughing!

Very quickly you realize that, in spite of having very few of the things we would consider as essential in Europe, they are intrinsically happy and they love life. And the noises! If you are after a quiet night, don't go to Mali! The chickens, the rhythmic pounding of the millet in the huge wooden mortars, the multitude of children crying, the conversations, the resonant laughter, the regular calls of the Muezzin, and of course the music, famous all over the world now, blaring out of innumerable cheap radios sets …You can have the lot…. and often together!!!!

But that is small inconvenience compared to the warmth and welcome the people give to foreigners (each time you go to a village in Mali, you can't leave without a present of a chicken …or two… or even a sheep!), and the genuine interest they have in meeting you and getting to know more about you and your family and the reason for your visit. I am always amazed by the fact that it seems so much easier to communicate and establish a rapport with people in Mali compared with Europe, even if sometimes you wish little children would not stare at you so much!!!

Although the motto of the country is "One people, One goal, One faith", you are immediately struck by the ethnic diversity of the people: the Bambara, strong and very tall, the Fulani delicate and pale, wearing huge gold hearings, the proud Tamacheks with their dark indigo turbans and the mysterious Dogon people who never submitted to Islam…

I also love the wealth of crafts in Mali: the wooden sculptures, the masks, the wonderful mud cloth (Bogolan) and of course the traditional cotton material called "bazin" pounded endlessly to acquire its famous sheen: clothes and material are a serious business in Mali and I challenge any visitor not to buy some!