Education Burkina Faso Project #21811

Empower a Rural Community by Building a School

A microproject by BARKA Foundation

Empower a Rural Community by Building a School

Project Report | Oct 18, 2016
Update from the Ground

By Ina & Esu | Co-Founders

Water Committee of Lampiadi Waits for their Well

Dear Friends of BARKA,

Ina and I are pleased to provide an update on what's happening in Burkina Faso.

Firstly, the rains were plentiful this rainy season which is just now coming to an end. For the subsistence farmers who make up 90% of Burkina's population, too much or too little rain can be catastrophic. The food each family grows is all the food they have to last them until next year's harvest. Thankfully, this year the rains were steady. Despite some flooding, they were good for farmers' staple crops.

Due to the rains, it is often hard to get to places because dirt roads become flooded and impassable. The village of Lampiadi has been waiting for its new well since June. The well driller tried on 3 occasions to get to the village but couldn't because roads had been washed out. We're now hoping that by the next time we send a project report, Lampiadi will be drinking clean water from a newly drilled well. Stay tuned!

Since our last project report, BARKA worked with two interns from 2iE, the renowned water research institute in Ouagadougou. Their task was to assist BARKA to conduct two "focus groups" to gain valuable information for BARKA's ceramic water filter project. This project is in effect a social enterprise-- a business that would create sustainable revenue to make ceramic water filters available to rural villagers in Burkina. The objective of the focus group was to test out the perceived need for water filtration, determine people's "willingness to pay" to determine pricing, test aesthetic preferences, and to brainstorm product names. The focus groups were held in September and were well attended> We are currently analyzing the data our team on the ground collected. Overall, conducting these meetings helped to strengthen our study of the market and advance the goals of this project.

We expect to return to Burkina Faso after Thanksgiving to begin work on a new project. We will keep you informed every step of the way. Thank you for your support and for being on this journey together with us. It would not be possible without your financial contributions which have powered BARKA's work forward. BARKA continues to rely on your generosity and commitment to this work. Thank you, bless you, barka!

Hydraulic water filter press

How ceramic water filtration works

Permalink

Feb 12, 2016
The Improved School in Dandantiri is Ready!

By Ina & Esu | Co-Founders

Under the roof of the new school in Dandantiri

Dear Friends of Dandantiri,

We did it! With your financial and moral support, and through a single generous donation (who donated outside of Global Giving) BARKA Foundation was able to build a permanent structure for the three classes of the Dandantiri village primary school!!!! We could not have done this without you.

Villagers gathered their resources not only to contribute financially to the project, they also did all the work and donated their labor. In 2015, BARKA constructed latrines at this school and we were very pleased to see that our efforts had mobilized the village. BARKA's "animators" taught students, teachers and community members about hygiene, improved sanitation and good governance, which inspired them to change their situation for the better. The first step they chose to do was to improve the local school for their children.

You may recall from the photos that the old school was made of millet stalks and collapsed last summer in the harsh rainy season. Although many schools in rural villages are subject to this fate, Dandantiri hoped for a more permanent structure that would withstand the elements. They proposed a "hangar" which is structure with metal posts and roof; something that was affordable and simple to construct. The next step will be for villagers to make bricks from mud and cement to create walls between the classrooms. They will most likely wall in the structure with thick woven mats.

On January 21st, the village welcomed the BARKA team to see the finished structure and express their immense gratitude. The entire community was there, and much to our surprise, so was the chief of the larger village of Boungou (of which Dandantiri is a part)! There were dancers and drummers, and two local authorities from the regional government office of Education came to inspect and encourage both BARKA and the villagers for this inspired effort. The government officials said they wanted to come and see the result so they could inform other NGOs working in the region of what BARKA did with this community.

You were such an integral part of this day-- it was like everyone who supported this micro-project was there with us, dancing and celebrating. We wish to extend the gratitude and blessings of the village of Dandantiri to you. They are grateful beyond words. Thank you again for helping to make this possible. Barka!

We were greeted with song by women & dance by men

Ina greets the king of Boungou

Students dance in celebration

Homemade scaffolding used to build the school

The new structure for the students of Dandantiri

Permalink

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.