Fred's Burkina trip in January 2019
Fred Eckhard made a trip to Burkina in January 2019 and was accompanied by Anne Penketh and Nicole Hochschild, both Board members of BWEF Geneva.
Day 1: Christiane, Christine, Adissa, Josiane, Jeanne, Ursula, Haoua
It was with pleasure that I returned to Le Karité Bleu, the small inn where I stayed during my visits over the past eight years.
Day 2: Ursula, Hélène, Roberte, Madeleine, Françoise, Adjarata
Anne, the journalist, glances at the newspapers during breakfast. “Here, look,” she says. “A Fulbright scholarship announcement from the United States Embassy.”
Day 3: Ouaga-Koudougou
Having breakfast at Karité Bleu is always a pleasure. Anne takes care of the translation into French of my daily report from the day before.
Day 4: Sabou, Koudougou, Roseline, Claudine, Open House
This year, I’m trying to meet all the candidates for aid presented to us by our sister association, Solidarité, even though some of them may not pass their baccalaureate. They gave us seven names, one of which is Claudine, who lives in Sabou, a half-hour’s drive west of Koudougou.
Day 5 in Ouaga: Another Open House
On Anne’s last day in Burkina, we headed back to Ouaga where I had scheduled another Open House all afternoon.
Day 6 in Ouaga: Nonghen Pilote, CSS and RHA employment agencies, Sonya
Many years ago, I arranged an exchange between secondary students in our home village in France and their counterparts in Burkina.
Day 7 in Koudougou: Stéphanie, Appolinaire, Pascaline, Zénabou
I had a lot of beneficiaries left to see, and Nicole was due to arrive two days later, so I jumped in the car with Abdoulaye and we drove to Koudougou. The landscape is typically African.
Day 8 in Koudougou: Stéphanie, Appolinaire, Pascaline, Zénabou
Today our first visit is for Stéphanie - one of the seven candidates proposed by Solidarité. Noëlie from Solidarité is still with us, she knows all these girls well. We start with Stéphanie's high school, Saint Joseph Moukassa.
Day 9 in Ouaga: Ursula, Winnie, Clément, Ruth
We were due to return to Ouaga for Nicole's arrival this evening. We left the "suburbs" of Koudougou and headed east.
Day 10 in Koudougou: Ursula’s mom, Zalissa, Maasme, Noëlie, Pauline, Alice
Nicole arrived from Geneva last night and showed up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for breakfast at 8 o'clock sharp.
Day 11 in Ouaga: Ursula, Djeneba, Village Artisanal
We thanked Father Albert for his hospitality and returned to Ouaga. The mango trees are beginning to bear fruit.
Day 12 in Bobo: Dr Odile Pagezy, Dr Traoré
In recent years, a new luxury bus service has been introduced between Ouagadougou and the country’s second city, Bobo Dioulasso. We have several beneficiaries in Bobo, so Nicole and I jumped on board.
Day 13 in Bobo: Aïcha, Juliette, Emma, Open House
Our first meeting was with candidate Aïcha, daughter of Dr Odile Pagezy’s domestic help who recommended her. We started by visiting her house.
Day 14 in Bobo: Djénéba, Anne-Géraud, Pélagie, Thérèse
We started our second day in Bobo with a visit to the Université Aube Nouvelle where Anne-Géraude and Djénéba study. Dr. Traoré drove us.
Days 15 & 16 in Ouaga: Armata, Bénédicte, Christiane, Djénéba, Kologh Naba, Ursula
We spent a comfortable 5-plus hours on the bus from Bobo to Ouaga. At a distance, we saw a pile of newly harvested cotton.
