Clean Water for Rural Villagers in Burkina Faso

Dear BARKA Supporter,

Good news: the new well in Lampiadi has a completed superstructure around it. Villagers mobilized themselves to transport 30 bags of cement which BARKA purchased with project funds, and the well driller donated their labor to construct the platform and reservoir where animals will drink at a safe distance from people. We're now in discussion with the village community about creating a garden area next to the well and we'll be able to update you about that in our next report.

In related news, BARKA's new project "Empowering Girls through Menstrual Hygiene Management" has struck a chord in donors.

We've raised over $5000 in two weeks from 78 donors.
On Women's Day on March 8th we received 33 donations!
Can we get 22 more in our last few hours to break 100?

It is a testament that we're on the right track and doing the right thing. BARKA has been researching this topic for 4 years and finally, with an inspirational spark from Global Giving, and the incredible support of our donors, we have begun.

Please donate here to make a contribution to the Girl Fund Campaign before it ends tomorrow, March 15 at 11:59pm ET.

Tell your friends and family to donate just $10 to support girls taking control over their bodies.

We need your help to be among the top 4 projects with the most donors to get selected into GlobalGiving's Girl Fund and get funding for a year.

Imagine the number of girls we could help if we get that funding!

• Schools will get girls-only washrooms stocked with clean water and soap
• BARKA's theatre troupe will tour Fada's 27 high schools
• ...and thousands of girls will be better off.

JOIN US.  MAKE A $10 DONATION NOW!  

Dear Friends of BARKA,

Thanks to GlobalGiving, BARKA has been given an amazing opportunity to fund its project to empower girls through Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM), a key development issue that often leads to girls ending their schooling.

On March 1st, GlobalGiving launched its Girl Fund campaign which will fund 4 projects for a full year. It's a competition among all 148 entries to get the MOST unique donors. The top 4 are selected. After the first day, BARKA received 15 donations and we are currently in 5th place!

With your continued support, we know we can be among the top 4 winners to receive funding to raise awareness of this taboo subject and provide much needed resources such as a washroom/changing station for girls at school, access to local, traditional sanitary pads and even over-the-counter medication to alleviate symptoms which often keep girls out of school or prevent concentration on their class work. BARKA will also utilize its theatre troupe to create a new play that will powerfully address this issue to reinforce key social messages.

We are working with a host of great partners on this project, including two phenomenal local female high school teachers who have both been trained by UNICEF on this issue, as well as the Mayor's Office, local Dept. of Education and Fada's two largest high schools. We will work with girls, boys, teachers and parents to raise people's consciousness about this issue and will be able to reach thousands of students and girls at risk.

We can't do it without your continued support. For just $10, or the price of two designer coffees at Starbucks, you can add your name to the list of unique donors to support this project and help BARKA secure funding for it for the next year.

The competition runs through March 15th, and on March 8th (International Women's Day) there will be a Bonus Day.

You can make a donation and learn more about the project on our Global Giving project page here.

Links:

• BARKA's newsletter explains why this project is so important.

Dear Friend and Supporter of BARKA Foundation,

BARKA's co-founders recently returned to Burkina Faso and the BARKA team is moving into its new office in Fada N'Gourma (we grew out of the old one)!  There is a great deal of excitement here because a new well was just drilled for the village of Lampiadi where people had been walking 7km to the nearest water source.  There are also several new projects BARKA is developing in the area of WASH (water, sanitation & hygiene) as well as Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change Mitigation through a new theatre sensitization project.

However we can't realize the dreams ahead without your continued support!

Thankfully GlobalGiving makes it easy and right now through December 31, a generous donor will match all new recurring donations by 200%!  That means if you donate $25, Global Giving will add an additional $50 on your first monthly gift. This offer is too good to pass up.

Couple this with BARKA's campaign to increase its "Sustaining Donors" (those giving monthly) by inviting them to join a LIVE conference call with BARKA's co-founders once every 3 months to provide a personal update. This will provide an opportunity to meet team members, understand the true impact of your support, and get a bird's-eye view of BARKA's work on the ground.

So please don't wait. Sign up today to become a Sustaining Donor and get your first month's donation matched by 200%.

We wish you blessings for a happy and healthy new year for you and your family. We look forward to being in touch again in the new year.

Barka,

Ina, Esu and the entire BARKA Team

Links:

• BARKA's newly re-launched website

Today is the International Day of Giving, known as #GivingTuesday. 

It's an opportunity to pause and break away from holiday preparations and the busy-ness of everyday life to think about the less fortunate among us, who need a hand up, not a handout.

If you haven't already sent a year-end gift to The BARKA Foundation, please consider doing so today.

Thanks to GlobalGiving and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, your #GivingTuesday donation will be matched by 50%!  They are offering up to $1 Million in matching funds- Global Giving's largest matching program ever.

Matching has already begun and will continue while matching funds last, so please don't wait as funds go fast!

We know there are many good causes to support. Why should you donate to us?

• Over 50% of Burkina faso's population does not have access to clean drinking water.
• Open defecation in the rural areas where BARKA works is 97%.
• 90% of the country lives by subsistence farming and is increasingly vulnerable to the drastic effects of climate change.

• BARKA offers hope.
• BARKA creates transformative change in village communities.
• BARKA saves lives by improving health through water, sanitation and hygiene education.

Click here to make a donation today and receive a 50% match.

Thank you, and happy holidays.

The BARKA Team

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!