One of the reasons, of course, that so much is shared, is that there isn’t a lot to go around. Mali is a poor country: the climate is harsh, though not impossibly so; the real problem is that there is a lack of industry and infrastructure to facilitate development.

The country has the potential to feed itself, but cash crops, cotton and tobacco in particular, are often a family’s or community’s sole source of income. If the crops fail, farmers have nothing to fall back on. The cash crop system, of course, was introduced by the French colonizers, who wanted to exploit natural resources and receive taxes from the indigenous population.

Mali receives about $500 million in foreign aid annually, which represents 25% of its gross domestic product. France, World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and the United States are the principal donors. Much of the money flows in through loans from the World Bank and IMF, but a large proportion is channeled through non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, such as CARE, Save the Children, and religious-based groups.

Since the 1990’s aid has been directed towards these groups and away from the Malian government, as corruption and mismanagement have funnelled money into private bank accounts. NGOs and PVOs (private voluntary organizations) work directly with the community, and are able to build schools and clinics, improve water supplies, address health problems, and organize economic cooperatives extremely effectively.