Clean Water for Rural Villagers in Burkina Faso

Last month, BARKA's professional Theatre Troupe revived its original production "Water for the Present and for the Future" for a ten-performance tour throughout communities in Fada N'Gourma.

The play focuses on hygiene education, the need to collect small micro-payments from water users for sustainable water resource management, and the importance of the role of women with regard to water resources for the community.

In this project, we focused on building the capacity of local water committees who are the stewards and caretakers of the local water points. This play sensitized communities on the issue of the need for water users to pay small sums of money so the committee will have funds to repair the pump when it eventually fails. Before and after each performance the local water committee was able to address the crowd and discuss and issues or problems they're experiencing.

The project was made possible through a grant by the US Embassy of Burkina Faso which was announced last year during the Gala Dinner of The Water Fair. Together with a gift from the First Lady of Burkina Faso, the US Embassy grant inaugurated the International Water Fund which is focused on water, sanitation & hygiene education in the eastern region of Burkina Faso.

The tour was a great success. Crowds were large and very receptive. After each show, the troupe led the audience in a discussion of the issues raised by the play and these post-performance debates were lively. The play was performed in front of 4500 people with an average audience size of 450.

Burkina Faso is one of the most illiterate countries in the world. In such an environment, theatre is a creative and cost-effective way to convey complex concepts in ways that can be understood and remembered leading to behavioral change. The filmed performance of "Water for the Present and for the Future" will soon begin screening on Burkina's national bus lines to continue to expand the impact of its important social messages.

On World Water Day last week, BARKA hosted a conference about peace and civic engagement for youth to counteract the growing terrorist influence that has been disrupting the country's security. In Burkina Faso, water has always been synonymous with peace. Water is the first thing brought to a stranger or visitor when they arrive. People in Burkina say 'No Water, No Life... No Water, No Peace'. 

Therefore, BARKA Foundation felt compelled to address this crisis of insecurity at the local level. We've partnered with the local government arm of the Ministry of Human Rights to focus on creating a "culture of peace" through civic education and engagement for youth and students. Terrorist groups are recruiting individuals at the local level, and this is a way to counteract the susceptibility of youngsters from joining their ranks. Through this event on World Water Day, we are creating resilience and building resistance to the developing threat of terrorism sweeping the nation.

The event was held right in front of the Peace Pole which BARKA implanted last year on World Water Day during The Water Fair (watch a 5-minute film about the Water Fair here).

There are also new water projects in development which are needed more than ever. BARKA is committed to ensuring that every school in Fada has clean water, improved sanitation and hygiene education. We are currently seeking funders for this ambitious, multi-year project.

Our WASH-in-Schools program led to the blosssoming of a Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) program which has recently entered a new phase and has already directly benefitted over 2500 girls at 7 schools. MHM is a powerful way to suport girls and women's empowerment and BARKA has established itself as a leader in this field within Burkina Faso. We will construct "MHM cabins" this Spring at Fada's 2 biggest high schools next to latrines to address a major lack of resources to properly address girls' menstrual needs. For more visit our Global Giving project page.

We'd love to hear from you. Let us know how you think we're doing.  If you're inspired, pass this report to your friends and social nets to share the love. Thank you so much for your longtime support, we could not do what we do without you!

Dear BARKA Friend,

2018 was one of the most successful in BARKA's history. As the year draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on what we accomplished in the past year:

• Lampiadi: the well BARKA drilled in this village and the impact our work has had for its 700 inhabitants is profiled in a new short film.
• The Water Fair: BARKA produced and hosted Burkina Faso's national World Water Day celebration in Fada N'Gourma. This 5-day event included a Walk for Water with over 1000 people; an Exhibition for water-centric enterprises, nonprofits and local sellers; a Forum for NGOs to share best practices; concerts, a SLAM competition and comedy performances in The Nights of the Fair; and culminated in a Gala Dinner.  This event was also chronicled in a new short film. This event was so wonderful and such a resounding success, we hope you'll watch the film to get a sense for yourself.
• At the Water Fair's Gala Dinner, the First Lady of Burkina Faso herself launched a new financial mechanism to fund water projects in the eastern region of Burkina Faso-- the International Water Fund-- and inaugurated the fund with her own $2000 donation!
• BARKA's Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) program sensitized 500 more girls and formed a partnership with a new Partner School
• BARKA was part of the coalition of NGOs that organized the Burkina Faso's MHM Day national celebration
• We worked with 3 villages to establish sustainable community gardens next to the wells BARKA drilled
• A delegation of 4 BARKA staffers from Burkina Faso came to the US for 3 weeks and attended the Annual Board of Directors Retreat in Maine
• Two new members were added to BARKA's Board of Directors
• And finally, to get an indication of what's coming up in 2019, BARKA has developed two new major projects for which it is currently seeking funding: one is to drill 24 wells in a community of 150,000 people and the other is to be the first NGO in Burkina's history to distribute menstrual cups in a comprehensive program to address reproductive and sexual health for 15,000 girls and women.

We couldn't have done this without you, and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your generosity, your belief in BARKA's mission, and for your partnership in all of the work mentioned above.

We wish you and your family blessings for a happy and healthy 2019!

Happy holidays!.

We'd like to welcome the many new donors who joined the BARKA family-- in just the last month, we received generous donations from 50 new people. However you found us, we're glad you did, and we hope you spread the word because there's something special happening here...

A quick update from last month's Giving Tuesday: it was the most successful one ever- raising over $5000 for clean water, women's empowerment and agroecology to help smallholder farmers deal with a changing climate in Burkina Faso. Barka!

Right now we're hard at work developing the largest WASH (water, sanitation & hygiene) project we've ever considered- 24 wells in communities in the eastern region, one of the driest areas of the country.

We also recently submitted a major grant application to support girls and women through menstrual hygiene management. If we get it, BARKA will be the first in Burkina's history to introduce and distribute menstrual cups. To support this project and learn more, visit its GlobalGiving project page.

As the year draws to a close, you may be asking how can you best support BARKA at this time?

If you want to continue the incredible impact BARKA has achieved on the ground, please consider becoming a recurring donor. We're searching for at least 8 recurring donors before the end of the year. That will regain BARKA's status as a "Superstar" organization and help us attract even wider support from GlobalGiving's platform. You know (and so do we) that we're a superstar organization, so let's make sure everyone knows it!

Just $10 or $25 a month will make a huge difference:

• $10/month = $120/year = a private latrine for a compound in the bush serving 25 people
• $25/month = $300/year = training for a mechanic to maintain the functioning of a community water source
• $100/month = $1200/year = hygiene education programs for 5 primary schools in the bush serving 500 students

And to sweeten the deal, GlobalGiving is providing a 100% match for the first month's donation of all recurring donors- just until the end of the year.

On behalf of all the villagers who tell us all the time to thank and bless the people in the United States who have donated to their cause- without even knowing them or ever having met them, we thank you for your support! 

Dear BARKA Supporters,

Today is #GivingTuesday, a GlobalGiving movement fueled by social media and generosity. Over 2.5 million gifts will be made, raising 300 million dollars online in over 150 countries.

Thanks to GlobalGiving’s $150,000 in matching incentive funds, a gift today to this project has an extra-big impact through its potential to be matched.

Plus, BARKA Foundation’s Board of Directors is providing an additional $2000 in matching funds, so we are setting a goal of raising $2000 today.

GlobalGiving’s Recurring Donor Campaign:

One last thing to consider: starting today GlobalGiving is launching a matching campaign especially for RECURRING DONORS! Any recurring donation up to $200 will get an additional 100% match on the initial donation (as long as it remains active for four consecutive payments).

BARKA is very focused right now on increasing the number of recurring, or as we like to call them, SUSTAINING DONORS, so this GlobalGiving campaign is perfectly timed.

Please consider supporting clean water, improved sanitation, and hygiene education for people who need it most in Burkina Faso this Giving Tuesday.

‘Barka’ is an African word of gratitude, blessing & reciprocity. On behalf of the BARKA team and all the beneficiaries in rural villages your gift will directly support, we say barka to you!