Yearly Archive for 2010

Construction report of House LINDA

December 20, 2010 in Latest news from Ouagadougou.

Before House LINDA was built

Before House LINDA was built the activities of the nutrition project took place under the trees of AMPO.

I. The construction of House LINDA

The construction of the House LINDA took place in the months of august until October 2010.

Roof truss construction of House LINDA

II. Use of the House LINDA

II.1. EDUCATION

House LINDA permits the reception of 95 mothers of malnourished children two times a week to counsel them in points of importance of aliment, composition of children’s rations, hygiene and wastewater treatment. The children’s growth is checked regularly.

Counseling session of House LINDA

II.2. Preparation of enriched mash

The counseling sessions are accompanied by demonstrations of the preparation of enriched mash.

II.3. Observing the children’s growth

The weighing of the children in House LINDA

The growth of the malnourished children is regularly checked by measuring their weight, height and arm girth.

Observing the children's growth

III. Conclusion

House LINDA is opened to all the malnourished children of Ouagadougou and its surrounding area.

AMPO-Newsletter October 2010

November 2, 2010 in AMPO Newsletter.

The latest news from Burkina Faso

Dear friends and sponsors of our orphans in Ouagadougou,

Let me begin this newsletter the way all the children are taught in school in Burkina Faso: “My heart is full of joy as I sit down to tell you of what is new in our lives.” This is the standard way of starting a letter from Africa. Indeed it is usually true the three or four times I write to you every year and my news to you today is particularly good.

Everything is going smoothly here at AMPO, the children and all the staff are doing well and we can look back on a beautiful, eventful summer, as we hope you can too. At least the weather in Europe was fine for a while. We hope you were able to take advantage of the good weather and enjoy many days outdoors.

Now for some private news. You may have heard that my son John and his long-standing girlfriend got married here in Africa. Even by African wedding standards, this event was a very special and especially large celebration with more than a thousand guests. It was particularly touching to see many of the poorest people among the guests. There were of course huge presents from the more well-to-do, but the “real Africa” was represented by neighbours and women’s groups. They came in groups and proudly presented their gifts of hard-earned money (roughly equivalent to 1.50 Euros). This was truly wonderful and I look upon it as a sign of esteem and respect for the decades of work we have done here. The happy couple did not spend this money. It will be put aside for their newly-born daughter for a special occasion later in her life. Yes, Katrin has become a grandmother again and now has two wonderful granddaughters, Mia aged 12 and Emma 12 days old today! On such occasions we say: God is great! This summer however, my mother passed away and I flew to Germany to close up her apartment and to arrange the funeral. This was a sad time for me, because I miss her a lot, although I realise her time had come and I am able to let go. Here we say: “May Mother Earth rest lightly on her”.

Back to AMPO and Africa. Shortly after my return we seemed to find like a blessing many good solutions to long outstanding problems here in Africa. Bureaucracy here is an extremely tiring business, much more than in Germany. Five years ago we had a case of theft to do with the AMPO bookkeeping. The Department of Social Services however was adamant in claiming the large amount of fines for late payment, although we repaid all our contributions promptly and to the last cent. But we finally came through. We have an official letter confirming we are free from debt to the State. We ourselves, Sahel e.V. in Germany and the DZI are now happy and contented. It was a triumph of diplomacy. I also succeeded in reducing the burden of land tax on our property. Our NGO status for tax purposes was finally confirmed by the State.

Suddenly, after witnessing the accidental death of a young girl. I realized that this also involved me somehow. The accident statistics are increasingly disastrous in this city where many streets are being tarmacked all at once. It dawned on me that we still have the traffic films and the radio sketches for children we recorded years ago. How could I be so negligent and do nothing? Within an hour I had an appointment with the Chief of Police and another with the Mayor. I must have been convincing, because only three days later AMPO was sitting round the table with four enthusiastic school inspectors. The day after tomorrow will see the start of a hitherto unknown education campaign on road traffic in the capital. Our films will be shown on television (subjects like: Why shouldn’t five people ride on one moped?). Our radio sketches will be broadcast in six local languages (Take hands and look left before crossing the road.) three times a day on two radio stations for a month. Two teams of AMPO members and policemen in uniform are travelling round 30 primary schools three times a week with German policeman puppets (with carefully blackened faces) and lots of music and noise. We will pay the costs of the project for the first three months to the tune of 2,000 Euros (so little money for so many children’s lives) and for the coming year we have already applied for grants from the Japanese and German embassies. We’ll see what happens. I wish we had those terrific reflector jackets the school beginners have in Germany.

21 new children have now started in our two orphanages and they are attending school for the first time, happy yet apprehensive. They too will have new sponsors next year and this brings us to a delicate topic. All of the AMPO tutors would like to have the children contact their sponsors by post. As long as the kids are under our supervision they are urged never to ask for anything. This is only right and proper, because each child is equipped with everything he needs for everyday life. They certainly don’t need cameras, MP3 players, cellphones and iPods. How could they afford the upkeep? We have a problem with our youngsters contacting their sponsors by e-mail. This is where the tutors no longer have control and often it is the sisters or others from the family who suddenly try to get 500 Euros via the e-mail addresses of the sponsors. The sponsors get upset and call the office in Plön, not knowing how to cope with the situation – we don’t either. Every young person leaving our orphanages is supported for at least another year outside, thanks to your many contributions. Very good students are provided with further education up to university. Some of these kids turn to their sponsors for financial support, although that is not necessary.

This is why we prefer to discourage contact by e-mail. The objective of our training and education is not to make our young people dependent on sponsors. Each AMPO youngster who buckles down to work can earn his own living in his early twenties and is even able to support his family. That is why we start very early on with vocational guidance. All our tutors are very observant and try to promote individual talent when they see it. I really hope you understand the issues involved here. African children, especially our orphans, do not live on the same plane as Europeans. It is not good to spoil them, because they have to fend for themselves later. Our great success is due to this consistent approach to upbringing.

We also managed to come up with a solution for two of our long-term problem kids. Not every child is brilliant at school (although some of ours are), some are not quite so clever or even psychologically impaired. In many cases this is due to poor nutrition in infancy. These children are hindered in their development. In such cases we have to find individual solutions, even if the person concerned already left us four years ago. This topic is always on the agenda at our directors’ meetings and is subject to hours of discussion. First and foremost I am delighted about the way our directors tackle their work with a sense of responsibility. When I just got back from a long trip to Europe I put my usual question to the group with my initial concern: “So, what are the crises and catastrophes?” (Nothing unusual for us.) They all looked at each other and shook their heads. A moment of incredulity on my part and we all burst out laughing. For the first time in almost 18 years working in Africa, the directors had coped with their catastrophes themselves. Oh happy day!

I hope this period of calm lasts a little. We returned replenished after the summer and are geared to face our daily challenges. Part of this has to do with confidence. And if there is one thing I can wish you for the coming months it is confidence and self-assurance – apart of course from health, which is most important of all.

With every good wish from Ouagadougou
Yours,
Katrin Rohde
plus appendages (300 children at present)

SAHEL e.V.
Am Strohberg 2 • 24306 Plön • Tel.0 45 22 – 78 98 85 • Fax 0 45 22 – 78 98 86
Email: info.sahel@sahel.de Internet: www.sahel.de
Spendenkonto bei der Förde Sparkasse Plön: • Kto. Nr. 5785 • BLZ 210 501 70
Internationale Bankverbindung: IBAN (Konto-Nr.):
DE27 2105 0170 0000 005785 BIC (Bankidentifikation): NOLADE21KIE

Katrin Rohde – Stiftung
Am Strohberg 2 • 24306 Plön • Tel. 0 45 22 – 50 82 34 • Fax: 0 45 22 – 50 837
Email: info@katrin-rohde-stiftung.de Internet: www.katrin-rohde-stiftung.de
Spendenkonto bei der Förde Sparkasse Plön:
• Kto. Nr. 100 203 595 BLZ 210 501 70, IBAN (Konto-Nr.): DE21 2105 0170 0100 20395 BIC: NOLADE21KIE

AMPO-Newsletter: July 2010

August 16, 2010 in AMPO Newsletter.

Dear friends of AMPO,

I am writing this newsletter with the World Cup in mind. You can well imagine the roar that goes up at AMPO every time a goal is scored.

We have raised the flags of all our donor countries, Denmark and Spain, Switzerland and Canada, Austria, England and especially Germany, of course, whose soccer team is the favourite of all the children.

Most of our boys know the German league table by heart. The AMPO fans of Werder and Bavaria follow every game and great groans can be heard if the ball lands in the wrong net. Thank goodness it is already school holidays and the kids can watch football whenever they like. During term time they can only watch television for two hours a week.

This year 21 young people will leave the orphanages and another 15 girls and their children will leave the MIA and ALMA houses. All of them are given a bicycle and continued support for one to three years, depending on their training.

Three of them will go to nursing school and seven to primary teacher training college. For some others we will finance another year at school or in exceptional cases an entire study course. The others are trained as tailors or weavers, mechanics or carpenters. Their final year is financed by AMPO, including board and lodging, medical care, etc. Thank goodness the BONITA Company is our major donor for training programmes, for without them it would not be possible. Our thanks go to Hamminkeln!

We had a team of Spaniards staying with us for a week. Two of them set up our new optical unit. We now have machines for the correct measurement and fitting of lenses. The proud head of this new unit is Kabré Aziz, who grew up as an orphan in one of our homes and is today a state certified nurse with an added optician’s qualification.

The unit opened last week and our intention was to have a couple of days‘ trial with our children to see whether our young newly-fledged opticians are masters of their trade. The drums of Africa put paid to our plans. Our reputation had gone on ahead and on the first day there was a queue of 150 people needing glasses in front of the door. No problem! We gave them appointments over the next two weeks, because each treatment takes a good half hour including measuring and fitting. The “Opticiens sans frontieres” are extremely friendly and very capable. They have already set up similar units to ours in Latin America, India and elsewhere in Africa. They approached us last year, having already installed such a unit in Bobodioulasso, and were on the lookout for a reliable structure in the capital. AMPO of course is reliable and we are very pleased to earn their praise and recognition.

The opticians were accompanied by two highly-skilled IT experts who nearly tore their hair out when they discovered 46, 000 viruses in our secretary’s computer alone. This is mainly the fault of our USB sticks which enable these viruses to circulate easily from one computer to the next. Our grid in Africa is also so weak that we have problems sending many things.

They set to work. Within a week we installed 350 metres of cable and now our bookkeeping (responsible for sending our monthly accounts to the office in Germany), our secretary, the German section with Nicole, of course, and the children’s computer room are all connected online – a miracle! Even our restaurant has become a cybercafé and anyone with a password can connect a laptop – the first customers have been sitting there since this morning.

Thanks to the Spaniards! One of the IT experts will come back at the end of August to complete the work. There will probably be a webcam installed soon in the road outside the orphanages so everyone can see what sort of weather we’re having and what we are up to. It all goes to show that AMPO is moving with the times.

Meanwhile back on the farm, our freshly trained young farmers left to go back home to their villages and 80 new recruits took their place. The director and myself were there this morning to welcome them. From a distance of about one kilometer our stallion came riding towards us, in keeping with the custom here when welcoming a high-ranking guest. He then galloped on ahead of us to show us the way. All along the driveway stood the boys, visibly proud in their new work clothes, dungarees and wellingtons, some wearing their large work gloves, clapping and drumming. They introduced themselves in groups and I held a rousing speech.
Our success is there for all to see. Of the 160 boys who have returned to their villages so far as ecologically trained young farmers, not one has gone back to life on the streets. All of them are back where they belong – with their families. At home they demonstrate how to achieve a good crop without expensive artificial fertilizers and without insecticides. Because of intensive use of these products the soil has become tired and they wonder why. Now many people are reverting to traditional methods, along with the input of the young AMPO farmers working with the latest findings in tropical agriculture. This was in fact my initial idea behind the agricultural college. Now thanks to the generous support of the Dr.Elvire Engel Foundation in Luxemburg everything is running smoothly, because the Tondtenga farm is a cost-intensive project.

Katrin Rohde at the optician‘s

We are now planning a new facility along similar lines, but a quarter of the size. If the truth be known I had no intention of building anything new, but in recognition of the good work done by AMPO during the flood disaster, the state donated a plot of land on the outskirts of the city. After long and careful consideration we decided to set up a small ecological farm for 25 girls with a vegetable garden and facilities for breeding chickens and rabbits. The plan is to accommodate five elderly women without a family as well, so that they can help with the gardening and give advice. At the same time, the young girls can look after the elderly ladies. That is the idea, at least.

The first thing we want to do is to build a large surrounding wall. This costs 80 Euros per metre. If you know of anyone who might sponsor the wall, they can decide on the colour of their metre and their name will be etched into the cement. Wouldn’t that be a good birthday present for your best friend? You will be sent a photograph, but only once we have collected enough money, probably at the beginning of next year, I guess…

At the beginning of June I returned to Ouagadougou after a refreshing time of five weeks in Germany, arriving just in time for the start of the rainy season. This time my journey went very well without pain after my knee operation (five weeks carrying a suitcase) and five weeks of well attended lectures. I’d like to thank all those who helped, especially Gerolf Wolpmann (Bremen Überseemuseum) and the inspiring Elfriede Orda who captured all our hearts with her charm. She organized an extremely successful gala evening at the ethnological museum in Munich. I seem to be getting to the age when I’m being exhibited in museums….

I started the tour greatly encouraged by our Annual General Meeting, because 40 members of our charity were unanimous: AMPO is on the right track. The accounts and figures are in order according to the external German auditor; the clinic is doing its job properly, applying high standards of hygiene in treating the patients in need.
My book has just been published by a new publishing house, thanks to Gaby von Malottki who did most of the work. A new chapter has been added and there are some new photographs. It is due to appear as an e-book in Spanish – as I said before: AMPO is moving with the times.

We have new flyers, a new brochure, an improved webpage, all our members and sponsors are motivated. At this point I would like to thank in particular our active board members of the charity and the foundation for their constructive thoughts and for the work they put in to drawing up new statutes and promoting all of our projects in general.

In spite of the global credit crunch we are continuing our work in Africa and I thank you all as always for your confidence in AMPO here in Ouagadougou. As before, our priority is the orphans, the abandoned, abused children who receive any help we can give.

I know that you are firmly on our side, our dear friends: our circle is growing and you are spreading the word. We notice this because of the growing number of new donors. Please accept our heartfelt thanks. As usual we do need as much support as possible in any form. There are so many children who come to us with serious problems.

Helping AMPO is contagious – in the best sense of the word!
All of us here wish you in Europe a lovely summer, quality time spent with your families so that you relax and gain strength to get back to your everyday lives.

With many blessings from Africa,
Yours,
Katrin Rohde

AMPO–Newsletter: April 2010

April 21, 2010 in AMPO Newsletter and Assistants' Newsletter.

The latest news from Burkina Faso

Dear friends of the children in Burkina Faso,

I would love to count all the newsletters I have written to you in the past. I used to write three or four a year, going back to 1998, and I’m sure we are heading for a jubilee. Unfortunately I’m having problems accessing the internet again (the newsletters are all on our website) because our hometown at the edge of the desert has problems with electricity, the telephone network and with water. For days on end there is no contact by mail with the charity in Germany and with all of you. In addition, there are power cuts lasting three to six hours every day and every night. This is usually followed by such a power surge and many a fridge or hard disk has to be replaced unless someone has remembered to disconnect it. You cannot work properly under these circumstances and there are many civil servants who just get out their newspapers or disappear off for lunch during the morning. This does not happen at AMPO of course because we always have something to do even if it is only tidying up the stores and drawers.

So much for the minor problems of everyday life. By contrast there are no problems at the moment with the children themselves. Most of them are working hard at school. Jacob and Andrea are in the middle of final exams. Ali has been away for three years and is just coming to the end of his college course to be a top level administrator. He came to me full of concern, saying he needed a suit for the graduation ceremony. Since he started his studies he has been living very modestly on 15 Euros a month. He got his suit, of course, together with shoes, socks and a tie. Mariam is finishing her training as a bookkeeper and has first-class reports to prove it. She won’t have difficulty finding a job. Balima is a good tailoress, having just completed her apprenticeship, bursting with ideas and very precise in her work. Looking to the future with confidence, she wants to be self-employed and she will take a young girl from AMPO to work as an apprentice in her small workshop, thus completing the circle. Roland has recently passed his entrance test and will start working as a male nurse in the state health service, just like Daouda before him. For three years now Daouda has been second in command of a remote state clinic far in the north past Gorom-Gorom. To travel to us it takes him two days by camel and pirogue and then by bush taxi along country tracks. In a clinic like that there is no x-ray equipment, no laboratory tests, you just have to make do with what you’ve got and cope with appendix operations or childbirth by the light of oil lamps as best you can. Such people go on to become the best “attachés de santé” and one day Daouda is sure to become head of our clinic.

Our greatest causes for concern are two boys, both now living outside. First there is Aziz whom I picked up off the street aged seven. Sadly he had taken too many drugs and bore signs of damage. He simply did not make it at school. It took years of effort, but he just did not learn to read and write. On top of this he suffers from asthma and cannot easily become a joiner. What can we do?

Alain as well, who has been outside for four years now, sinks deeper and deeper into depression. He becomes aggressive to everyone around him, except me; nevertheless he has to be able to stand on his own two feet on the outside. What can be done? These are cases we often discuss at the directors’ meeting. We do come up with short-term solutions, but it is difficult in the long term.

Adama, who is completely paralysed and whom I discovered years ago in hospital is another difficult case. He lies patiently and undemanding in our rehab centre. He never has visits from the rest of his family so we have taken him in as a permanent guest. We have no choice. The poor boy is a sad case. Yet he is living together with the rest of us and his smile is a pure ray of sunshine.

You might have heard that the book “Mama Tenga” I wrote several years ago is out of print. I have just written another chapter and a new edition will appear in May with another publisher. So far this is the only book available describing Burkina Faso. Apart from Steinmeyer and Schlingensief there is little information available about how people here really live. And so I am happy that I can contribute something to general knowledge, because Burkina Faso is certainly worth it. We are poor, it is true, but we do appreciate consideration, respect and politeness. Modest people here often serve as examples of human values, many of which have long been forgotten in fast-moving Europe.

The snow you had this year befell us here in Ouagadougou in September as the flood of the century. There are still hundreds of people without a roof over their heads. Thank God with the temperatures we have you can sleep outside. Our AMPO orphanages were scarcely affected and AMPO received first-aid supplies. At the moment we are building the 58th house for families affected by the floods, with priority given to widows and the handicapped.

I am very happy with my new colleague Nicole Grimminger, who will also write a few words. She is smart, cheerful and hard-working – what more could I wish for?
I will be travelling in Germany for the entire month of May. Perhaps we will meet up somewhere. That would be great. You can find out my itinerary from the office and it also appears on our website.

For now I wish you a pleasant spring and I hope the summer makes up for such a hard winter as the one you’ve had.
God’s blessing, health and much joy from all 320 kids in Ouagadougou,

Yours,
Katrin Rohde

***

Dear friends of AMPO,

I was actually under the impression I knew a bit about Burkina Faso …after all, I had been here three times. I had conducted research for the university on business administration and tried to extend my knowledge of the local languages. From an AMPO perspective everything now seems totally different. Here we are not dealing with numbers, but exclusively with people, especially those less fortunate than myself. I deal daily with children without parents, women in need and with those who have no hope, but this is something I often forget because they are almost always smiling. Their joie de vivre and their friendliness is contagious, no matter how modest their circumstances.

I learn something new every day about how to organise my life here in the capital of Burkina Faso. I receive help from AMPO colleagues among others and Katrin also gives me tips now and again, sometimes with reticence because she thinks she is being patronising – I don’t!

The frequent power cuts in Ouagadougou are extremely annoying. Whenever the computer gives up the ghost without warning, I just turn to other tasks that can be done without electricity. This is not the only major difference between this and the jobs I previously held in Germany. The climate in my lovely, redesigned office on the site of the boys’ orphanage is completely different from other offices in the government ministries, for example, where the air-conditioning is set so that you run the risk of having a severe cold when you leave the building. At AMPO there is no air-conditioning, only fans – when the electricity is running. And then I can choose between papers flying around the room and airless heat – 44° at the moment. If my fan is switched off and African colleagues come into my office, they politely switch it on because they think I’ve forgotten to – strange!
I am very pleased to be with AMPO and to contribute my work to this institution that has grown considerably in Ouagadougou. And in a way I am contributing to providing many people in Burkina Faso with a better future and who knows what this will mean for themselves and for the world?

When I met Katrin I liked her straight away and I was immediately impressed by the AMPO facilities. Since my private life also brought me to Burkina Faso I really struck lucky. I am now working as part of a great team with about 80 Burkinan colleagues who are committed heart and soul to their AMPO children.

One of my jobs at AMPO is to support the sponsorships between the AMPO children and their sponsors abroad. And this brings me to my first piece of news for you:
15 children living in AMPO orphanages since 2009, girls and boys between the ages of 8 and 12, are still without sponsors. Every child wishes for a sponsor, either an individual or even a whole family. If you are interested in taking on a sponsorship please contact our office in Plön. The AMPO children are eager to get to know you – and so am I.

Yours,
Nicole Grimminger
Assistant to Katrin Rohde

***

… and in closing one more point from the office in Plön. As you can see, we have updated and revamped our flyer and we hope you like it. It is now also available in English and French, plus we have a new information kit with further details of all the AMPO facilities. We will send you the flyers and kits on request for you to pass on to anyone who is interested.

Best regards from Plön,
Sabine Duwe & Ricarda Dittrich
SAHEL e.V. Katrin Rohde-Stiftung

Annual report on the AMPO facilities for 2009 from Ouagadougou

January 11, 2010 in Latest news from Ouagadougou.

3rd January
After a successful operation in Germany Katrin Rohde finally returns to Burkina Faso.

8th January
D. Sam, one of our clinic staff died as a result of a moped accident in Ouagadougou. We mourn our friend Sam.

19th January
All the annual reports from all the various facilities and the bookkeeping for 2008 for the whole of AMPO arrive in Germany. We are proud of our directors and our new structures.

13th February
Our new rehab clinic opens. Thanks to the generous donation by a family near Frankfurt we can take in 6 handicapped children or children with severe burns and treat them for three months. There is also room for a bandaging unit and an optical unit. Thank you!

19th February
8-year-old Dimanchi travels to Wuppertal accompanied by Felix to be treated for severe burns. She undergoes 8 operations. She is looked after by a team of more than 12 carers. Sadly her best friend Sanne Lehmann dies at the much too early age of 40. We mourn our good friend of AMPO.

3rd March
Our counselling service P.P. Filles celebrates its 10th anniversary. Hundreds of women come, the local mayor becomes the official patron of this wonderful project, devoted only to the poorest of women, under the gentle care of our sociologist, Hedwige Ouedraogo. She and her team teach all there is to know about women’ rights and hygiene, Aids prevention and familly planning and provide counselling on circumcision. The work is done in the capital (financed by a group in Berlin, the AHK care service) and in many villages (financed by the Arche Noah Foundation). The local German GTZ often asks her for professional advice and assistance. Thank you for your loyalty, professionalism and your great heart.

20th March
The anniversary of the disappearance of our former orphans Abdoulaye and Bureima. Still no trace.

4th May
The thatched roofed refectory in the boys’ orphanage burns down after sparks fly from a neighbouring property, a Catholic mission. Despite several reminders they still have not made any contributions. Thank God we were able to find a noble donor in Pinneberg.

23rd May
A major donor cuts his annual budget. This means the clinic will have to close by the end of the year and the street kids’ project will lose a quarter of its support. This is a shock for everyone. Katrin is still optimistic.

25th May
The DWHH which bears three quarters of the cost of the street kids’ project has a change in structure in favour of agriculture. This means a definite end to the project. The DWHH is very generous in providing funds so that this step can be properly concluded, which AMPO then does. All the kids are covered, including training costs, for the next three years. I. Kargougou, the project leader and the staff received generous severance allowances.

1st June
Catrin Stibbe from Canada finances swimming lessons for all AMPO children. The kids are delighted.

15th June
Only very few of the children have to repeat a year at school. Most achieve good marks and are getting better and better. One of the reasons is that they come to us at an early age and their tutors are there to help and advise them. Those in the final year have extra lessons – and the internet! That is how much we have progressed.

15th July
Mr Kieselhorst, the auditor from Bremen, spends a week externally checking the bookkeeping of all the projects. The AMPO accounts are also externally audited here on a monthly basis. We are getting new bookkeeping software.

25th July
All the AMPO kids set off together for camp for the first time on holiday – singing!

3rd August
We are in shock. No entry permits to West Afica for assistants on alternative national service due to al Qua’eda warnings. Sadly, our hopeful assistant Martin Kruk had to leave.

6th August
The Katheri-Gymnasium in Ingolstadt finances a library for AMPO. At last all the children are able to read at weekends.

9th August
Vincent Christ from Germany donates his entire year’s pocket money to AMPO after his mother read our children’s book to him. Vincent is seven years old. With his money two children will be able to go to school for a year. Thank you, Vincent.

15th August
Finally, after trying for three years we have managed to operate our biogas plant on the Tondtenga farm. We have had a bumper onion crop, but everything else is difficult because of the nematodes in the garden. We are still trying and the garden will soon be relocated.

20th August
Final work done on the extension to the clinic and the summer repair work complete.

25th August
The donor and supporter of our dental practice, Dr Vorauer from Salzburg, pays us a visit, finding the practice remodelled and enlarged – our surprise worked!

1st September
Flood disaster. 150,000 homeless in the capital. Great shock, many dead, hundreds injured, the effects on the poor people (always the worst affected) unforeseeable for the immediate future.

16th September
AMPO receives € 100,000 from Switzerland for our emergency team for the flood victims, see our website report.

25th September
Thanks to Jako-O AMPO can pay school fees for 650 external children.

30th September
Our streetkids’ project closes on schedule after 10 years. All the kids are taken care of and all the staff received severance compensation.

1st October
Our Cinemobil, newly financed and equipped, is off on the road again doing a wonderful counselling job in the provinces.

2nd October
Twenty new children move in to the AMPO orphanages. We are happy to have them! Five of the leavers are shaking in their shoes as they start their new lives „on the outside“. We will continue to support and care for them for another year.

5th October
After many operations, Dimanchi returns to Burkina Faso accompanied by Katrin Rohde and her friend from the village, Tom Bindemann. She speaks better German than French, is now attending school and is happily living in the MIA home. Thanks to all her carers in Germany.

10th October
AMPO was able to hand over the 200th wheelchair this year to a handicapped child. We owe our thanks for this to a donation campaign set up by the chairman of our Sahel e.V. Charity. Many blessings from Africa to this man who is so committed to helping the poor.

14th October
The girls’ orphanage celebrates a major anniversary with many visitors and a national television crew. Psychologist Christine Adamou has been in charge of 60 girls aged between 6 and 18 for ten years now. In comparison it is much easier to look after a cartload of monkeys, I couldn’t do it myself. Christine Adamou has been there from the very beginning, even at the planning stage. She is a wonderfully argumentative colleague and the many discussions on principle we have had over the years have brought us close together. Congratulations, Christine Adamou!

15th October
On the basis of many years of cooperation Katrin Rohde is awarded a certificate of honour by the Order of Mother Teresa.

6th November
AMPO is selected by the state as one of the distribution centres for undernourished mothers and children. Now once a week there are up to 1000 women and their children waiting for their rations in front of our gate.
This meant we had to remodel a storeroom, because it is too dangerous for mothers and children on the major road ouside. We buy a large tent to provide shade and barrels of drinking water.

18th November
The AMPO Charity receives a parcel of 6 hectares of land in the city from the Mayor of Ouagadougou.

28th November
A huge present in every sense of the term was given to us by Karlheinz Kratzer (owner of the IP company) – a small-scale Adidas football pitch. There is nothing like it in the whole of Burkina Faso – and it belongs to AMPO!

1st December
Our worries are over: a budget of SFR 200,000 is donated from Switzerland for our clinic. Cause for celebration! 30,000 poor people, our annual patient count, can heave a sigh of relief. This also means medical care for all the AMPO children.

3rd December
Arrival of the Spanish organisation „Visio sens fronteres“, opticians without borders. They are setting up a spectacle manufacturing unit in our rehab centre. This will be managed by one of our former AMPO orphans who is now a qualified male nurse.

5th December
Apart from a small amount still outstanding, we have paid off our debts to the social security office, which were due to a case of fraud in 2008. AMPO was the victin of a gang of criminals who used forged signatures, receipts and stamps for the purpose of tax fraud. If they had done this on the basis of our payroll acounting we would have noticed, but they embezzled the staff contributions in a perfidious way. Of course AMPO has repaid the contributions to the social security fund. At the end of this year the matter is paractically settled, thank God. It cannot happen again because all payments are now made by cheque.

12th December
German bookstall and Advent coffee at AMPO organised together with Katrin Buchmann from the university in Ouagadougou. Selling books and biscuits (a kind girlfriend spent hours with the smallest AMPO kids baking in our restaurant kitchen), we raised enough money for 5 urgent operations for babies.

15th December
Twelve heavy boxes with French books for the children arrive from Switzerland – welcome to our new, fabulously stocked library.

18th December
In a celebration of thanksgiving the municipal hospital honours its donors. AMPO is high on the list with a contribution of € 18,000 spread over a period of months, intended exclusively for operations for needy children. Thanks to our contributors.

22nd December
Our problem child with the severe burns, Dimanchi, receives a prize from the Mayor for being dux of the school. Miracles do happen!

24th December
A sumptuous Christmas party with 400 guests draws to an end at 2.30 in the morning. Having danced our feet off we stagger off to our mats or to bed. Our Father Christmas (Rainer Willfeld) makes a mamoth effort. None of the 350 children present goes without a gift. Thanks to all those who donated and to the sponsors who have been so generous towards us. Even the German Ambassador is impressed by the joy and vitality of the AMPO children and staff.

25th December
All the children go off to their families for a week while at AMPO the annual financial statement for 2009 and the budget plans for 2010 are prepared. Every director is busy drawing up an annual report. The storerooms have to be tidied.

31st December
Katrin Rohde finds a new „right-hand woman“ who will relieve the pressure – a stroke of luck on the last day of the year! She will start at AMPO in February. All the best, Nicole.

All of us thank God for the year 2009. It was not easy, but all the children are healthy and most of them hard-working, the team of directors is working in harmony as never before, the staff are motivated, Katrin Rohde is setting up one new structure after another and slowly delegates herself out of many tasks. It is wonderful to see how people grow with their responsibility. One of these days I’ll only be coming to AMPO as a visitor …!

A big thanks to our German Charity team. Despite the fact that the work is „only“ voluntary, each member has sacrified many hours of their private lives for Africa’s children in need. May God reward you.

Katrin Rohde
Founder of AMPO, Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso, 31.12.2009