News from Burkina Faso
In Burkina temperature is rising both in the air and among the people. The government wants more money and it is trying to put a tax on “allowances” mainly for civil servants. Today most civil servants have a base salary and many “allowances” which today are not taxed. The amount of the allowances is often higher than the base salary.
Since civil servants (education, health, police, army and many more) is the largest group of people with a work contract, there is a lot of money available. But “les fonctionnaires” are absolutely not happy and there will be several strikes and marches during the coming month.
I believe that Burkina has other problems to tackle, it does not look like the government priorities are right…
Visit to the LAP from pupils of the primary schools of Kofila
There are 3 villages close to the LAP (less than 5km). Due to the difficulties encountered at the beginning of the LAP, the school has a bad reputation in those villages. One consequence is that we have very few students at the LAP from those villages.
This situation is not good and could create some difficulties with those villages in the future.
We thought that it might help to invite the children in the last year of primary school to visit the LAP. We received over 80 children from Kofila last week.
It went very well and now all the children want to come to the LAP. It was also an eye opener for the accompanying teachers who had never been at the LAP.
Visit of the class, workshops and trying beds. The visit lasted from 10 AM to 15 PM. We offered them a meal.
Vaccination against meningitis at the LAP
A meningitis epidemy happens here every year at time of strong winds. We lost one student the first year in 2011. Since then we vaccinate all students who need it (it is valid 3 years). Since there are several type of meningitis we have to buy a rather expensive vaccine which covers them all (14 euro per student).
Lydie our nurse giving the vaccinations. Some of the students a little bit scared….
Some trees with flowers and fruits
Shea tree flowers One type of Kapok tree with may fruits
Another type of kapok tree Locust bean tree flowers
Neem flowers And a cicada
Sayings of the week
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. Albert Einstein
There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.
Lord Byron
Take care,
Hervé