TV Takes Easter Beyond Church Walls in Burkina Faso
A children’s TV program provides a means for staff member Phoebe Lankoande to share the message of Easter beyond the walls of the church in Burkina Faso.
Continue Reading ›Standing Up to Prejudice and Abuse Through Awareness
Violence in its many forms, exploitation for economic aims and the denial of basic rights remains the portion for many women and children living in Burkina Faso.
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The Tradition of Rakiire in Burkina Faso
What is Rakiire? Rakiire consists of two people within the same big family or between two different ethnic groups telling jokes that are often very sour and border on insolence.
Introducing a Future Minister of Defense for Burkina Faso
Twelve-year-old Fadilatou is one of the top five scholars of her age in all of Burkina Faso. She is the youngest child of the family, with six brothers and sisters. Because of her parents’ hospitality, they have received some of their nephews and nieces, along with their children, so the total number of people in the family is 23.
Fadilatou’s father was a driver, but is now too old to work, so he stays at home all day taking care of his grandchildren.
Her mother is a hairdresser and provides food for all the family with her income of less than $2 a day. Sometimes the mother goes to bed without eating, so the rest of the family can share the little food she has gathered.
In 2004 Fadilatou enrolled at the Assemblies of God Patte d’Oie Child Development Center. Her father was not for it because he did not know about the ministry of Compassion, but her mother insisted and convinced him to allow the girl to be part of the program.
Since she joined, Fadilatou has been the top pupil in class. She dreams of going to a military academy next year. “I would like to become minister of defense of the country,” Fadilatou tells her parents.
What Does Child Sponsorship Mean in Burkina Faso?
Pastor Korogo has been a pastor since 2002. He officiates as junior pastor in the central church of the Assemblies of God Church of Ziniaré, 30 kilometers from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
In 2008, when the church began partnering with Compassion, Pastor Korogo was recruited as child development center director because of his long-standing experience in the ministry among the children of his church.
The development center has 220 registered children who take part regularly in center activities. Like all the other centers in the country, it is located in an area where poverty is visible in people’s daily lives.
The great majority of the population does not have access to drinking water or electricity. When someone in these families falls ill, he is cared for with indigenous methods, as families can’t afford medical care or drugs at the pharmacy.
The child development center is located in a community that is nearly 70 percent Islamic. The largest mosque in the city is 10 meters from the church that shelters the center. This proximity sometimes makes it difficult for Muslim children to effectively take part in the center activities.
