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
