Food for refugees

The current situation has been exacerbated by the security crisis with hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring in to the capital, the scarcity of food between mid-July and late September, not to mention the increase in food prices. Our plan is to provide food for families who are victims of this crisis.

Thanks to the Dear Foundation and many other donations we were able to assist more than 560 families in need. Burkina produces less food than is needed to feed the local population. The majority of foodstuffs, especially rice, is imported from Asia. However, this year the Covid-19 pandemic has thwarted production in Asia countries, leading to a decrease in exports. Added to that, our country is subjected to the brutal impact of terrorist attacks in the north and in the east, driving the civilian population, victims of this violence, to the cities, especially Ouagadougou. This crisis is adding to the difficult food situation in the regions with incoming refugees, making these victims dependent on the generosity of others. Projects like this, made possible by the support of charity organisations such as The Dear Foundation, are a breath of fresh air for people here in Burkina Faso.   We will soon be able to continue this project with the financial support of AMPO Danmark, StigGlent-Madsens Foundation "DetNytter" and TAMIGA.

Such support is the essence of solidarity. Thank you!

Life gets back to normal in the orphanages

At the beginning of August the children went back to their original families for the school holidays. For us it is important to maintain contact to the families so that when the kids reach the age of majority and leave the orphanages, they can be re-integrated into their remaining family under the best conditions, especially since the precarious situation of the families may have deteriorated in many cases. In September the kids returned to their “AMPO family“. Settling back home they have a lot to tell about the time they spent with their families.

As usual the newcomers are welcomed a few days after all the others get back. The whole process of integrating the new children started in March and April, based on certain criteria. Priority is given to orphans and semi-orphans who meet the requirements in terms of age and vulnerability. Sadly we have no capacity for all of the eligible children in these categories because the number of incoming children depends on the number of young people leaving the orphanages.

Thus 15 boys and 14 girls have joined the AMPO family since September. They are closely monitored by the team of educators during the first three months to identify quickly any problems that may arise and to help them to integrate as well as possible. Our vision is for these children to find the support and affection they need at AMPO to become men and women who one day will reach out to the poorest in the community.

External school fees

As in previous years during the months of July and August our focus was on the “external school fees” project. This is a means of support for children from very poor backgrounds by paying for their schooling, especially for the many children we were unable to accept into the orphanages. AMPO has received several hundred requests for assistance since the end of the school year. The team responsible for this project held regular meetings to agree and define selection criteria. The demand is growing and the money available for external school fees is less and less. This year preference will be given to the most promising children living under difficult circumstances. As a rule school fees are available only for state schools.

We started by identifying prospective recipients who were invited to an interview and asked to bring their school reports. Once the selection process was completed our staff went to the respective schools to pay the first instalment of the school fees. This is a good way of supporting more children. AMPO remains in contact with the parents to try to involve them more in the education of their children. Our mid-term review shows that nearly 400 payments have been made. We will continue to make these payments for as long as our resources permit.