Djita, a Malian girl from Virginia

DJITA is the true story of a small Malian girl who was born in Virginia. Many modern Virginians had Malian ancestors. Djita is an international child, attending an international school where most children speak two or three languages. Djita is seven-years-old, and she speaks French and English, Bambara and German. In Washington she attended a bilingual, French-and-English-speaking International School ; then she moved to Europe. Her life is very different from a typical Malian girl, and very different from a typical American girl, yet she is both Malian and American. Medieval Mali grew very rich from the trade in gold and salt. Desert rock salt is very important for health in this hot country, where people’s bodies lose salt through sweat. Salt is also vital for preserving fish. The salt trade made Timbuktu rich ; its university was a famous center of Islamic scholarship from the 12th until the 15th centuries, with as many as 25,000 students. Because modern Mali is a landlocked country, exporting goods to earn dollars is not easy. This small book links medieval Mali with modern Mali, and brings African history into the present day. Djita’s story will open the eyes of school children to globalization. They will discover - through the life of their seven-year-old playmate Djita - a new way of seeing the world in which we all live. Virginia Elementary School students all study the medieval Empire of Mali as a Standard of Learning for history and social studies. The Mali Empire was founded in the year 1235 by Sunjata, the original Lion King (whose story was borrowed by Disney for a famous film). All students have heard of the Lion King, but they probably do not know that King Sunjata was a real person and a Malian. This book is built around twelve classroom exercises, to help teachers in their classrooms address a whole range of exciting African Heritage subjects including music, food, family structures, storytelling, Islam, international trade, and the United Nations. The first part (1300 words) is written for older students to read. The second part (300 words) – a classroom story – is written in simpler language, to allow students in lower grades to read and understand Djita’s story. Voici l’histoire vraie d’une petite fille malienne née en Virginie, inscrite dans une école internationale où la plupart des enfants parlent deux ou trois langues. Djita a sept ans, elle parle le français et l’anglais, le bambara et l’allemand. Sa vie n’est typique ni d’un enfant malien, ni d’un enfant américain : cependant Djita est à la fois malienne et américaine. Le Mali médiéval s’est enrichi grâce au commerce du sel et de l’or. Le sel gemme du Sahara est important pour la santé de la population dans ce pays chaud, où le corps le perd rapidement par la sueur. Le sel est indispensable pour conserver le poisson. Le commerce du sel a permis à Tombouctou de s’enrichir ; son université est devenue un centre intellectuel islamique du 12e au 15e siècles avec presque 25 000 étudiants. Le Mali modern est enclavé : ce qui rend difficile l’exportation des marchandises pour gagner des dollars. Ce livret rattache le Mali médiéval au Mali modern, rendant au présent une partie de l’histoire africaine. Grâce à la vie de Djita, l’arrivée de la globalisation et de la mondialisation deviendront réelles pour les élèves en classes primaires. Le présent livre est construit autour de douze activités pédagogiques, pour aider les enseignants à exploiter une gamme de sujets reliant l’histoire malienne à l’héritage africain des Amériques, dont les griots et la musique, l ‘alimentation, les structures familiales, l’Islam, le commerce international et les Nations Unies. La première partie du livre est destinée aux élèves du secondaire. La deuxième partie – le récit d’une salle de classe - exploite un langage simplifié, permettant aux élèves de l’élémentaire de lire et de comprendre l’histoire de Djita.