"Namballa Keita: A Soldier and His Village" film viewing and discussion with film maker Cherif KeitaSeptember 29, 2022 at 6:30–8:30 p.m.

“Namballa Keita: A soldier and his Village,” a film by Chérif Keita.
Chérif Keita pays tribute to his late father Namballa Keita(1915-1999), a farm laborer,
who, after learning to read and write as a soldier in the French colonial army(the
Tirailleurs sénégalais) during WW II, returned from the Italian Front to enter the colonial
service in his country, known then as the French Soudan. Determined to bring
modernity to his small remote village, he built with his own small savings a public school
that opened its doors in October 1960, a few days after his country’s independence, to
bring the light of education to generations thereafter in the Republic of Mali. Throughout
his long career as a nurse and as the head of a village infirmary, Namballa Keita gained
national prominence as an advocate for modern education and healthcare.
"Namballa Keita: A Soldier and his Village"(85 minutes, narrated in English, dialogues in
French and Bambara), directed by Chérif Keita and edited by Dominic Fucci, is a
Medialabafrica production.