About Yirimadjo 

We work in Yirimadjo, a community on the outskirts of Bamako, the capital city of Mali.  Many families in Mali cannot access the essential tools we all need to protect our health. 72% of the population lives on less than $1/day. Consistent access to nutritious food, clean water, safe mosquito-proof housing, education and medical care is often beyond their reach.  Yirimadjo is in a particularly vulnerable position: its residents must face the problems of a growing city, including overcrowding and pollution. At the same time, they confront the challenges of rural Mali: running water, electricity and sanitation lie just beyond their reach.

About Mali

Mali is the meeting place of numerous proud West African cultures, famous for its musical and artistic traditions. For the past 15 years, it has been a stable, peaceful, multi-party democracy.  It is also the 5th poorest country in the world, ranked 173 out of 177 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index. Within this context, Malians face numerous health crises, particularly for women and young children. Out of every 1,000 children born alive in Mali, 218 do not survive until their 5th birthday.

The following was excerpted from Wikipedia on 1/13/08 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali): 
Recent History
In 1992, Alpha Oumar Konaré won Mali's first democratic, multi-party presidential election. Upon his reelection in 1997, President Konaré pushed through political and economic reforms and fought corruption. In 2002 he was succeeded in democratic elections by Amadou Toumani Touré, a retired General, who had been the leader of the military aspect of 1991 democratic uprising. Today, Mali is one of the most politically and socially stable countries in Africa. 
 
Geography
At 478,734 mi² (1,240,000 km²), Mali is the world's 24th-largest country. It is comparable in size to South Africa, and is nearly twice the size of the American state of Texas. Mali is landlocked and has a subtropical to arid climate. It is mostly flat, rising to rolling northern plains covered by sand, with savanna around the Niger River in the south. The Adrar des Ifoghas lies in the northeast. Most of the country lies in the Sahara, which produces a hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons and leads to recurring droughts. The nation has considerable natural resources, with gold, uranium, phosphates, kaolinite , salt and limestone being most widely exploited.
 
Economy
Mali's economic performance is fragile, characterised by a vulnerability to climatic conditions, fluctuating terms of trade, dependence on ports in neighboring countries. Mali produces cotton, cereals and rice. Although locally produced rice now provides competition to imported Asian rice, Mali's primary export is cotton. Livestock exports and industry (producing vegetable and cottonseed oils, and textiles) have experienced growth. Although most of Mali is desert or semi-desert, the Niger River is a potential irrigation source.

More recommended reading for information about Mali:
Mali Embassy Site 
BBC News Country Profile