Bla, population 15,000 (2004 est.), is a small town
in Mali's Ségou Region, located 85 kilometers south of Ségou along Mali's main
highway. Bla serves as a central location for NGO activity in the region and is
a crossroads for transportation going northeast to Mopti and Gao, as well as
south to Sikasso, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. Bla is also the main town
for the Djonka, a sub-group of the Bamana
