Latest news from Burkina Faso
Dear AMPO friends, donors to our children in Burkina Faso and contributors,
I trust this letter finds you all well.
Here in West Africa times are uncertain and this makes me realize how much you support us with your kind thoughts. A curfew was imposed for four nights, but it was lifted again yesterday. We could hear a lot of gunfire, pistols, rifles, mortar fire. It is quite uncanny in the stillness of the night.
A few weeks ago there was an incident in Koudougou which resulted in student protests. Police stations and court buildings were wrecked and the protests spread to other towns. These demonstrations clearly showed how dissatisfied students and schoolchildren are with their living conditions and they were joined by the military. Schools were closed for four weeks. School fees have increased year by year and the military is badly treated and poorly paid. The cost of living is rising unbelievably. Banks and petrol stations closed. How was I supposed to pay wages and salaries?
Temperatures rose for a few weeks in more ways than one, because at the same time the thermometer went up to 48 degrees – strenuous for everyone in this country where patience is running low and nerves are frayed.
On top of that there were the uprisings in Libya, Syria and in many other countries and – the worst for us – in the Ivory Coast. More than three million people from Burkina Faso live there and nearly everyone here has a relative there. These are our direct neighbours and hundreds of people lost their lives there during the civil war, one of the most terrible wars of all. For all that, Burkina Faso is one of the most peaceful countries on earth where acceptance and genuine tolerance are part of the basis of our daily life.
Again the President started by listening for days to everyone in authority, from the judiciary to the military and religious leaders and that helped to calm the situation. In churches and in mosques, on the radio and on television people pray together for peace and for that I love dear, old Burkina. The curfew was raised yesterday. I was in town in the evening and the place was jumping. Everyone was celebrating the return to freedom.
Let’s see how things go on from here. We are following closely the developments in the Ivory Coast, hoping and praying that the fighting will finally stop and the country returns to peace.
So much for that situation. Here at AMPO life goes on. Since all the schools were closed, the only concession we made was to shift the children’s extra tuition to daytime and the children were no longer allowed to sleep outdoors, which they normally like to do when it gets so hot. But it was too dangerous with bullets flying around and with murmurs of protest they had to give up their wonderful, huge spread of communal mats under our mango tree.
The schools are due to start up again today. We made good use of the time and practically covered the entire curriculum with the AMPO children day by day, so they are well prepared – but what about the others? Prior to these events I spent ten days in Spain on a lecture tour around Alicante. Our friends there prepared the trip well and I am very pleased to report that our project for undernourished children is funded for next year. Thank goodness, because 2400 babies and infants were striving to survive. All but one succeeded and our heartfelt thanks go to Spain.
Another container has just arrived and in addition to the large boxes of clothing sent regularly by Bonita, there were tools, lots of pens and pencils, hand-knitted baby jackets, sports equipment, sewing machines and office equipment. Large quantities of spectacles came from Germany and the Czech Republic as well as toys and jotters for the children.
One kind lady donated 200 road-safety jackets; DEKRA sent a load of reflectors and “cappies” so that all our children are now well protected on their way to school. In this city of 2 million inhabitants there is not a single pedestrian crossing and nearly all of the children have to cross a 4-lane road on the way to school, a task that demands a great deal of patience and considerable attention, even for adults. We also received a full set of new equipment for our kinesiology therapist in the rehab centre. Roc said this was unique in Burkina Faso, with all these racks and other technical apparatus, even the large hospital is not so well equipped. Many thanks! Some of it will go to the children’s hospital. This time we had enough willing hands to unpack the container, because the children were off school, of course. Once again we would like to thank all those who sent parcels, those very kind sponsors and other donors.
Fortunately I was able to make sure before I left that the famous wall around our new Emma Yiri project is almost complete. The remainder of the building supervision was left in the reliable hands of my husband. The agricultural students from the Tondtenga farm have already planted 80 trees for their little sisters, an enormous job given the tough soil we have. The trees are watered twice a day by our lovely old neighbour with our donkey, Uschi, hauling the water barrel. Each tree is surrounded by a small fence, otherwise they would have been eaten long ago by the goats roaming around freely. At the end of the week we’ll start painting the wall in the various colours according to the wishes of you, our donors. It is so exciting. The simple colours like red, pink, yellow, blue, orange, white, black, turquoise, lilac, ruby red, terracotta and olive green, bright green, mint green, etc. we’ll paint together with the children. Special wishes are a bit trickier, like the German tricolor “black, red and gold” (you can’t get gold paint in Burkina Faso) or neon green (no neon paint here either). And how on earth am I supposed to fit the words “Women for peace” in English, German and More into three metres? We will have to find an African solution to all of these problems. I’m really looking forward to it. It will be great fun. Yesterday afternoon I visited the MIA and ALMA homes and was pleased to note that things were quiet and running smoothly there.
I went to the farm school in the morning. There are 18 piglets, four white and brown calves and a black foal named Fofo (in the language of the Peul, Fulfulde, this means “welcome”). And so we are surrounded by hope.
Hope along with us, stay with us and receive our heartfelt thanks Yours,
Katrin Rohde from Ouagadougou
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To all our donors and friends of Sahel e.V. and AMPO,
as you can tell from what Katrin Rohde writes, everything is going well at AMPO in spite of the difficult times in Burkina Faso. At the office we have completed the statement of account for the year ending 2010. The annual reports for each AMPO facility have been translated and together with the activity report for Sahel e.V., they are now accessible on our website www.sahel.de
You will also find the itinerary for Katrin Rohde’s lecture tour in Germany in May 2011. Perhaps you may be able to participate in one or other of the events with Katrin Rohde. You will be most welcome. One final item worth mentioning – we have been registered on the “Bildungsspender” internet portal for some time now. Here you have the possibility to support us quite simply when you purchase on the internet.
Visit http://www.bildungsspender.de/ampo
Please contact us if you have any questions or comments.
Wishing you lots of spring sunshine, thanks for your support and very best wishes,
Ricarda Dittrich and Sabine Duwe from the office in Plön.
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
