Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country on the Northern border with Ghana. Burkinabees as they are known, are a friendly and colourfully dressed people. Burkina Faso actually means “land of the upright man”.

However Burkina Faso is a very poor country and as a result has the worst literacy rate on the planet. In 2015 it was estimated that less than 36% of over 15 year olds can read and write. If you focus on just the women over this age the figure is below 30% due to gender inequality in this country. The infant mortality rate is also one of the highest globally; there is an average of 64 deaths per 1,000 live births.

In the rural areas of Burkina Faso these figures are estimated to be far higher due to huge distances to schools and hospitals as well as a vast lack of income. Nearly half of the population is considered to be living in extreme poverty.

We have partnered with Burkina Faso for more than 10 years, launching and supporting several development projects in the rural areas around Bobo Dioulasso. Through a secondary school and a thriving medical centre we are meeting the needs of hundreds, providing affordable healthcare and education.

Our work so far

• During 2015 and 2016, we have been building a new maternity unit to add to the existing medical centre, as an increasing number of babies are being born and space is very limited. We hope to see the new unit open by the end of the year
• In October 2015 a new primary school was opened in the grounds of La Bonne Nouvelle secondary school, 374 pupils aged between 5 and 11 years old joined the school on the first day of registration
• In total the medical centre received 5,434 patients between January 1 and June 30, 2015