Burkina Faso
Inspiring hope in Burkina Faso
About Burkina Faso
About one in three children cannot afford to enroll in school in Burkina Faso.* As a result, the country has the third-lowest literacy rate in the world, with approximately 65% of the population is under the age of 25. When combined with high illiteracy rates and a high poverty rate, too many of the people of Burkina Faso face a daily struggle to survive.
With a population estimated around 18.6 million, Burkina Faso is a sub-Saharan, French-speaking country in West Africa with a history of military coups and recurring droughts. And due to harsh geographic and environmental conditions ranging from severe flooding to extreme drought, it is challenging to grow food. Malnutrition affects over 1.5 million children, with around 350,000 children in need of emergency medical assistance. Human trafficking is also a growing concern, as vulnerable children are at risk of being forced to work as farmhands, street beggars, domestic servants, and sex workers.
But Hope Story's partner in Burkina Faso, the Gampela Centre has a vision to see children thrive, to see young people take on the future with confidence and skill, and see nurture kids in the love and knowledge of the Lord.
We are committed to giving vulnerable children in Gampela a reason to hope, and invite you to see how you too can help - by championing hope for at-risk children in Burkina Faso!
* statistic from UNICEF
A Vision for Children Thriving
Located just outside the capital city of Ouagadougou, The Gampela Centre is a safe refuge where almost 400 vulnerable children now attend primary and middle school. At the heart of the Centre is Grace Evangelical Church, with its vibrant community witness.
Another one of the church's ministries is a pre-school program that currently serves over 300 children between the ages of 3 and 5. And the Vocational Training Centre is providing skills training for youth and young adults to help ensure that children grow up in families with increased economic and food security. A medical clinic was established with a special emphasis on child, newborn and maternal health as the local hospital is both too expensive as well as impossible to get to in an emergency, for a community with little access to a vehicle.
The vision for the centre has grown, and today, the Gampela Centre operates a food program for students to combat malnutrition and even helps out the many families internally displaced within Burkina Faso. The Gampela Centre reaches out to families, providing literacy and skills training as a means to break the cycle of poverty.
Our Work in Burkina Faso
Support the Vocational Training Centre
In Burkina Faso, traditional education, while essential, often overlooks the need for training skilled tradespeople and professionals in many critical areas. Young people who do not attend university after school are often resigned to a harsh and sometimes uncertain life of sustenance farming. By providing the opportunity for youth to learn a marketable trade such as masonry or sewing after high school, they will be given a chance to change their lives and those of their family members in long-term sustainable ways. The new Vocational Training Centre is a key addition to strengthening the community.
School Food Program
It's hard to learn if you're hungry. That's why the Gampela School serves its primary and middle-school students a nutritious, hot lunch. The lunch program has made an enormous difference for the majority of students who were going without a proper lunch - and some students also have an inadequate breakfast and supper at home. Hope Story recently expanded this program to the older students, a significant expansion of the program beyond the younger students. Your support provides what could be the biggest meal of the day to an at-risk child. Champion hope today with a donation to this food program, filling bellies and nurturing children.