When we arrive in N’Gouraba they entire village is out to greet us. We are early even, but they are waiting diligently. The road is completely lined with people of all ages and the Hunters greet us with music and strange dancing. I say strange because it is totally random free-form movement and they’re snickering and joking around with one another.

My good friend kc and I went on a pretty nuts trip this past May. It was a whirlwind that started with Amanda and I spending a week on the beach in Mexico followed by London, Bamako, Casablanca, Paris, and Lyon with the main purpose of the trip to get our boots on the ground in Mali, make sure things were going well, and to see where we could further get things done.

Posted by Dario Meli

* This blog post is part of Invoke’s participation in the 2008 Vancouver Blogathon for Charity

Earlier this year both David Tedman and I were asked to be trustees of a foundation focusing on laying the groundwork for sustainable economic development, primarily in Mali. This was an opportunity to help guide dollars and offer leadership to regions in need of economic empowerment.

The Lochmaddy Foundation’s philosophy is simple:

Focus on economic development - Once a community has economic options and self sufficiency it is able to take care of its own. The foundations of economic sustainability do require medicine, education and solid, responsible leadership and we integrate each of those into the mix when creating a plan for the community.

Lochmaddy Foundation Philosophy

Posted by Dario Meli

* This blog post is par

I would like to take a quick minute to thank all of the donors who have so generously supported Invoke in our quest to raise money for the Lochmaddy Foundation and through them the village of N’Gouraba, Mali.

Below are some pictures of N’Gouraba and the people that will be helped through your donations.

Vancouver’s first annual blogathon for charity is set to start 10 pm Friday, July 26 and will finish 9 pm Sunday, July 28. There are three shifts that bloggers could sign up for and Invoke has signed up for the Sunshine Shift - 10 pm Friday to 10 pm Saturday. This may be the first Vancouver specific blogathon, but it flows from a long tradition of blogathons. When the people who organized the previous blogathons could not organize it this year, Rebecca - Vancouver’s Miss604 - stepped in and organized this years event.