These photos, above and to the right were all taken when Assa and Mamadou were in California. Above, is a classic view with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. The photos to the right are at Sarah's house; one has me in it, and the other has Peter - otherwise the cast is the same, Sarah, Mamadou, Assa, Peter or me, and Becky.

Lower right is a photo of Assitan when she was in line at her graduation ceremony at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, to receive her PhD in 1999. (Sarah and I went back for the ceremony.)

(You can get to larger views of all of these photos by clicking on them.)
Sarah and I met Assa and Mamadou in 1983, in a bank in Bamako, the capital of Mali. She was home in order to have her first son (Baba), and spoke excellent English, as she was then a graduate student at the University of Maryland. She offered to help us with our banking problem/transaction, and then she and her (at the time - new) husband offered to help us with an unusual visa problem. Out of that help grew a wonderful friendship, which has been nurtured on both of our continents. There have been several visits back and forth, and a prolonged stay on Assa's part in the USA, when she was working on her PhD at Brown University.

This page was last modified on 5/5/01