Karifiguela Girls Camp and Nianssogoni

We recently had a camp for 34 5th grade female students in a village called Karifiguela near Banfora. The girls came in from 5 different villages and I was able to bring 8 girls from my own village. The girls had a lot of fun and learned a lot about hygiene, malaria, sex ed., family planning, and planning for their futures.

The girls also got their national exam results while we were at the camp together. Every single girl who came to the camp with me passed! Last year the overall passing rate at my primary school was 33% and this year it was over 60%- not taking all the credit but definitely excited for all of the students who are now able to continue on to secondary school!

 Me with the Diarabakoko girls

 On top of the bush taxi on the way to Karifiguela

 Riding on top of the bush taxi with McKenna

 McKenna teaching the girls how to make anti-mosquito cream

 Celenia demonstrating the period bracelet

John playing the menstruation song on guitar

After the camp, I went to Nianssogoni, right on the border with Mali and easily one of the most beautiful places in Burkina Faso. After arriving we biked 15 kilometers to the next village over and had a local student show us the path up the waterfalls to a pristine swimming hole. The next day some volunteers hiked up to see the summit but McKenna and I decided to bike 45 kilometers to her village so we could get back to work. We had such a good time that we're planning to take the new volunteers over there again in the coming months!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from Burkina Faso!

In honor of independence day I want to write a little tribute to my country. I would have never described myself as patriotic before coming to Burkina, but I think that living abroad gives one a new appreciation for their homeland.

Of course, I probably romanticize it a bit (okay, a lot) and there are obviously things that irk me about my country, but living here I've realized that there are quite a few things that America just gets right. Here are a few, in no particular order...

lines
fixed prices
fast food
putting ice in already-cold drinks
debit cards
driving
cool weather
being anonymous
good beer
television
movie theaters
sandwiches
cheap delivery pizza
Dr. Pepper
ENGLISH
air conditioning
good pillows
grocery stores
ketchup always available
chicken pumped with hormones
Mexican food
soda fountains
2+ story buildings
privacy
being able to show my legs
feeling clean
hot showers
shopping malls
people saying what they really think
can-do attitude
not being treated like an idiot because I'm a female
non-forced marriages
real coffee
individualism
being on time
following road rules (most of the time)
umbrellas
educating girls and boys
seedless watermelon
sarcasm
jeans
actually having everything thats on the menu
babysitting/childcare

And now, a few things that Burkina has got going for it...

super cheap maternal health care

free child labor (need sugar or water or a box of matches? just tell that small child to go get it for you!)
palm wine and millet beer

bush taxis (for all the safety concerns, its still really cheap and convenient to throw all your stuff on top)

street vendors (want sesame cakes, cold water, or cashews? just give this woman your money through the window when you stop at customs... African drive-through)

water conservation (when you're pumping all of it yourself, you tend to use it sparingly)

village markets

pay as you go phone credit

sweetened condensed milk in coffee

pagne skirts (just wrap this $3 piece of fabric around your waist and voila- a skirt!


Have a great independence day everyone!