Last Day of School - July 14

The last day of school at Ecole les Amis du Monde is not quite like our last day of school, where most activities have already reached their peak, leaving the last day a bit anti-climactic.   This is much closer to the craziness of our first day.  There are awards, announcements for next year, musical entertainment, a soccer tournament....excitement was in the air!

Tammy and I were given matching dresses to wear on the last day.  We were very hesitant to show up to school in matching ensembles, but we did not want to be rude......When we arrived and saw that all the other teachers outfits made from the same material, it all made sense; we were being included as fellow professionals!

Although we arrived at 7:30am, the presentations only began to get under way at around 9:00.  Part of this was due to the fact that rice, oil and beans were being proportionally divvied up among the classes. Part of the incentive for parents to enrol their children in school, is that the school provides students with one meal everyday.  Also, at the end of the year, students who have completed their level will receive additional foods.  The government supplements this initiative in a very limited way.  This year, I think they donated one litre of oil to every student in grade 2.  However, Francois (school director) and his budgetary brilliance, made sure that everyone got something.  Of course, the assistant minister of primary education showed up to announce his generosity ;)

Opening presentation by Assistant Minister of Primary Education

For scholarly excellence, the top 5 students of every class were awarded school books for their next year.

A time for celebration!  After all of the awards and announcements, it was time to celebrate the end of another school year.  We knew there was going to be music....we had no idea that they came with dancers and a pyromancer!

Invited to Dance

Pyromancer

Bright Futures of Burkina sponsored a soccer tournament - for which we gave next year's school supplies to the finalist and semi-finalist teams.  

It should be noted that this soccer tournament is played with trees in the middle of the field and without shoes.  It kind of makes all of our safety gear and precautions seem excessive. 

This painting was made as a Thank You to Swansea School-
 for  all the work and fundraising done to support Ecole les Amis du Monde.
I will be hanging this in a place of honour.

Lovin' Naton

I love the village of Naton! There are some things that don’t need language to be understood, and the strength of the people in this village, especially the women, is one of those things.  

So we had 2 objectives yesterday when we visited the village.  One was to bring in some much needed supplies.  We piled 50 x 25kg bags of rice, 3 bags of seeds for planting, 4 huge bundles of textiles for clothes, the first section of the fence and four people into the truck.  We really tested the limits of that vehicle, especially on the canyon-riddled “road” of the interior. But we made it in without braking an axle! The village especially needed the rice since, despite it being the rainy season, they have not received any rain - bringing their food production to a stomach-grinding halt.  

Our second objective was to begin the profiles of the 10 women who will be receiving micro-credit loans for their businesses.  After having visited Kaya, and seeing how they treated women, it is all the more impressive how the whole village is supportive of these 10 women.  We asked how they were chosen, and they said that they had come to a consensus that these would be the women/businesses that they wanted to support.   Even though only 10 women will be receiving the loans, everyone will be working to make sure that it is repaid, because they know that the success of these women will benefit the whole village and more people will be eligible for loans.  

When you teach a woman to fish....because we are starting out by exclusively supporting the women, they felt that the women should have a place where they can meet to talk out business strategy, how to invest their money, etc.  It has only been a week since this was proposed, and the men of the village have practically finished its construction!!  That is how excited they are to support this initiative!  And what is seeming to become a trend.... the women would also like to use this building to have classes on how to read and write!  This is a far cry from the opinion that “education is dangerous for women,” which was stated by our guide in Kaya. 

The village of Naton is really special.  They inspire me.  

The precarious (over)loading of the truck

Building for the women - it's only been one week!

Unloading the emergency rice

Village meeting

Aminita  - I don't understand what she says but likes to chat with me.  

Tammy's African mom - she's one spry sweetheart

The 10 business women

Visit to Kaya

Yesterday we went to the village of Kaya, where they are known for their leather products.  One of the local artisans walked us through the whole process, from buying the animals at the livestock market, to soaking the pelts, to the workshop where they treat the leather and turn it into purses, belts and jewelry.  

It was interesting to see how different this village was from the other ones we have visited.  The geography was very different from Naton or Po, because it had “mountains” and the earth was bright read.  Also, unlike the other villages where men and women worked side by side in the field, women were clearly not a part of the leather industry.  When we went to the livestock market, Tammy and I attracted a lot of attention, partly because we are “nasara” (white) but also because we are women. There were no women at all in the market.  

This experience made it all the more clear to me why it is important to create micro-credit loans for women - they are simply not invited to be a part of industry or given the same opportunities as men.  

The pelts are soaked for about 3 days 

The pelts are then scraped to take off all the fur.  At the bottom of this tree, there is a big pile of discarded fur, mixed with mud.

I stepped in the big pile

After the pelt has been scraped, it is soaked again of a couple of days, but this time in a mixture containing crushed seeds.  We are crushing the seeds.  The guy offered me a job to work as his wife.  Tempting....

Grinding millet into flour

Awesome Baobab tree

Nazinga

Nazinga Ranch is a "national park which covers 94,000 hectares and contains 20,000 animals".  To get there you have to drive for one hour on, what felt like, the world's bumpiest road - including flooded sections like the one you see below.  Because of the recent rains, most people we talked to here were sceptical that we would see any elephants on this particular visit.  Since water was everywhere, they would not be coming to the waterhole (where they are usually seen).

But we totally lucked out!  We saw 2 small elephant herds, with their babies, and 3 lone bulls.  And they were so close to our truck!!!!  It was awesome!  I have never seen a group of elephants before - I've only seen them as lone zoo attractions.  Only males are ever alone in the wild.  Also, did you know African elephants are black?  I thought they were all grey, but apparently this is because of they mud coating which protects them from flies.  I wish I had a mud coating - these bugs just love me.  It's not really a reciprocated feeling though.

Protecting the babies

Catch a Croc by its Tail

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is a real crocodile!  It is alive and snapping.  It took a little while to work up the courage to do it....but I was assured that it does not eat people.  According to village lore, these crocodiles are the reincarnation of their ancestors, and that is why they never eat people.  The village children swim in these waters, and they report that no one has ever been attacked.  Although, when the water rises they do venture into the village and break into the chicken coops.  

My theory is that they feed the crocs so many chickens on a regular basis, and have done so for so many generations, that these croc are somewhat domesticated.  But it didn't really want to test my theory and venture any closer to that mouth!

Village of Naton

Yesterday we went to the village of Naton.  We drove about 40 minutes outside of the city and then another 20 minutes into the interior - the difference being that there is no real road in the interior.  The village has about 3000 people all together but they are spread out over many acres of land. When we arrived, the village leaders convened a meeting to discuss the implementation of a micro-credit program for 10 women in the village. Wow!  What a unique experience!  To be a part of a village meeting!  

Even more special was seeing how we can concretely contribute to the improvement of their community.  The people in this village eat every 2 days.  They faithfully work the land but they lack the finances to put certain structures in place to guarantee a proper harvest.  For instance, they need wire fencing to keep animals out of the garden.  So Tammy and I are returning to the village on Thursday to help install the fence...well we will try to be helpful ;) 

Visiting the village was my favourite experience thus far.  The quiet courage these people exhibit, in the face of all their hardship, is truly inspiring.  They all want to work, they just need a leg up.  I am so happy that Tammy decided to expand her micro-credit program to Francois’ village, Naton.  I believe these small loans will make a huge difference for the whole village.

Village Meeting

Walking through the village to learn about their work

One of the village leaders

Abundance of Entrepreneurship

One of the most shocking things about Ouagadougou is the number of stalls that line the street.  I have been to a number of countries, but the I have never seen this method of survival so clearly etched into the fabric of the city.  We drive about 10 kilometers to get to the school, and there are very few breaks in the river of textile stores, make-shift mechanic shops, barbecues for corn or chicken, and convenience "boutiques" that flow alongside the main road.  This are not stores created for tourist dollars, cause there are none, these are shops for the local people, created by the local people.  They are generating their own economy!

Of course I do not want to misguide you, these are not stores by our standards and they generate little income.  But what is so cool about them is that the stalls serve a social role (people hang out in front of each others businesses) and they demonstrate a culture of entrepreneurship.  Facing a lack of structure from the government, people have carved their own path of survival, and this path is a positive one, from which many people benefit.

Roadside Business

Knowing this, it is with great confidence that we can invest in these women.  So today we met with the second group of women who have applied for a small loan of $200.  These loans are to help them continue and expand their existing business ventures.  The women meet with Francois (the director of the school) twice a month to troubleshoot and give updates on their progress.  Once a  woman has repaid her loan and has attended these meetings, she can reapply for another loan.  The women are very happy to have this opportunity.  This also guarantees that their children stay in school because they are able to generate more income and pay school fees.  These women have also requested to have night classes so that they can learn to read and write.  This is great progress :)

The second group of mothers in the micro-credit program

On a side note: The women took a while to smile for their photos. At first they were soooo serious!  They were smiling right up until the moment they stood in front of the camera, and suddenly the smile vanished! But as I was showing them their photos on the digital camera, I saw that they really liked seeing the photos of their children.  I offered to print off the photos downtown and Francois would give them to them the next day.  Well they couldn't get in front of the camera fast enough after that, and they were all smiles.  This has been my favourite experience so far.  I like that I could give them something tangible; something that they wanted and clearly valued.  It was a good day.