advice

i cannot tell you about all of west africa or francophone africa; only about mali. however, i is reasonable to assume that many things are the same or similar in neighboring countries. so, with that said:

if you are ever in mali or a nieghboring country and an organization of any kind invites you to an atelier/workshop/conference; go.

i have been to two thus far with the apdf. the first on prevalent problems facing malian womenand collaborative solutions andthe second on child/adolescent and forced marriages.

both were informative. if you go to an atelier, it will be informative. also you will meet potentially helpful people. also it will be air conditioned and you will most likely be treated to a coffee break that includes pastries and a lunch that includes chicken and sodas of every flavor. also there will be bathrooms, most likely with toilet paper provided (malians use a kettle system instead so finding toilet paper is really really rare). also, they might give you free money. "for transportation". and there might be guys there to take your picture if you want. its like a fair almost. but better.

i realize that besides the free money, probably none of this sounds luxerious but here it really is. ateliers are great.