VCU
Grant-funded Student Travel in 2014
In Summer 2014, six Virginia Commonwealth University students were granted the opportunity to travel to Côte d'Ivoire and took advantage of optional travel to Mali. In Côte d'Ivoire, VCU students stayed with host families all of whom had students attending AGITEL Formation. VCU students attended classes funded by the grant on the campus of AGITEL. Group leaders were Dr. Robin Edward Poulton and Dr. Michelle Poulton, and local arrangements were made by Professor Brahima Koné in collaboration with government and university officials in Abidjan. During the two weeks in Abidjan, students saw much of the Ivory Coast and spent a night on the campus of the Institut National Polytechnique - Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB.) Through this opportunity, students visited local stations, went to a local orphanage, and experienced Ivorian culture through conversations in French, food tasting and cultural programs organized by AGITEL students.
Following two weeks in Abidjan, students travelled to Bamako, Mali, and also stayed with host famlies for two weeks to get the most out of their stay in Mali. at the invitation of classmate Kadidia Samaké and grant partner Université des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Bamako. While there, VCU students interacted with Malian students and faculty of the ULSHB. Some participated in an internship while others continued the class on Malian culture and history as well as on the Bamanakan (Bambara) language they had begun during the VCU orientation and during their two weeks in Côte d'Ivoire.
PROJECTS
VCU Gates Foundation HIV Study in Mali
From 2012-16 VCU ran a study on HIV-positive women in Richmond's sister city of Ségou, Mali. This grant built on the sister cities grant through which the Gates Foundation created a maternity center within a Community Health Center in the same city. Bringing together hospital and community center resources, the probiotics study had as an objective the opportunity to use probiotics to keep those with a low immune cell count from progressing beyone HIV-disease to full-blown AIDS. At the same time, other sister cities projects brought medical supplies and medical instruments to Richmond's sister city and other locations in Mali.
Virginia Friends of Mali establishment of a Richmond House in Ségou, Mali
During the VCU French West Africa Project, community engagement both locally with the Virginia Friends of Mali and internationally with the Fondation Cheick Abdoul Mansour Haidara based in Ségou, Mali. The two groups have established a partnership to benefit women and girls in particular, and it promotes instruction in American English, in financial literacy, and in research projects of interest to university faculty in Richmond, Virginia.
Women's Shea Butter Cooperative in Ségou, Mali
Under development.
Ségou, Mali produces the best shea butter in the world, according to a documentary by TV5 Monde. Richmond Sister City Commission Chair Patricia Cummins met with Djénéba Cissé, the head of the women's Shea butter cooperative, in 2014 and 2015. Ms. Cissé was unsuccessful in obtaining a visa to come to the United States in 2015, but if her visa request is granted, she is expected to come to Richmond in late 2016 as part of the economic development initiatives between Richmond and its sister city in Mali. Further development of activities is anticipated at that time.
VCU students on the campus of INPHB, VCU grant partner
During the summer of 2015, two VCU students, Samantha McCartney and Tyler Tresslar, were invited to teach an English language course at the American Corner at the Institut Nationale Polytechnique Houphouët-Boigny in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire. During their six week stay, they interacted with as well as taught graduate students of the university the English language skills necessary for basic communication. In addition, they were afforded the opportunity to lead a few classes with students at a local high school tp better prepare them for higher education.
Translation of Le Couteau Brûlant
Following their travel to Côte d'Ivoire and Mali, three of the VCU students returning from the grant-funded trip were invited to translate Le Couteau Brûlant, the harrowing story of female excision victim Aminata Traore. This first hand account of her excision inspired Minsun Kim, Amanda Radke and Samantha McCartney, with the guidance of Dr. Michelle Poulton, to translate the book into English, with a title of The Burning Knife. In 2015-16 Dr. Poulton and Prof. Brahima Koné refined the translation, and a presentation of the work that was jointly prepared with the author in 2016 was scheduled to appear as a chapter in the proceedings of the Women, War, and Peace in Africa conference to be published by the African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review. Faculty collaboration with students included public presentations, such as the one on the video found elsewhere on this website.
Regional economic development with the Côte d'Ivoire and the West African Monetary Union
French West Africa Project partner Institut National Polytechnique-Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB) and the economic development arm of the Ivory Coast, the Centre pour la Promotion des Investissements en Côte d'Ivoire (CEPICI,) began working with faculty in the VCU French West Africa Project in 2015. They developed plans in 2016 to increase economic development between West Africa and countries of the West African Monetary Union and the mid-Atlantic region in the United States. Discussions with the Greater Richmond Partnership, the Richmond Sister Cities Commission, the State of Virginia, and economic development associations on both continents explored potential agreements between government agencies. Joint activities involving VCU faculty and students and those at the INP-HB included projects for language and intercultural communication, the cocoa industry, drug development for Africa, and other areas.
