Kayes

Ami Diarra is a griot from Kayes, the capital of the region with the same name in the west of Mali. But she's more than that. Paralysed as a child by polio, she has become an ambassador for those less fortunate. With great energy she uses her skills as a griot to educate the youth from Kayes about the dangers of AIDS, to fight against outdated traditions like female circumcision and arranged marriages.

But she is an impressive singer too, as you can see in this video from the early 1990s, in which she is performing with the Ensemble Balemaya.