Thanks So Much, Mrs. Le Maire!

Thanks So Much, Mrs. Le Maire!

Delighted and honored by a visit from Mrs. Le Maire Rainatou Ouedraogo from Ouagadougou’s 3rd District – which includes Rimkieta – and the delegation of 5 advisors who came with her, I want to share it with you in this new post….

Necessity is the Mother of Invention…And the Capacity for Risk

Necessity is the Mother of Invention…And the Capacity for Risk

For this latest post, about which I’ve been ruminating for some time, the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is dead on.  As hard as I might try, I’d never be able to explain to you in words the almost daily vicissitudes I encounter on my commute between home and Rimkieta.

Rimkieta’s Little Cinderellas

Rimkieta’s Little Cinderellas

“Early in the morning I go to fetch water from the fountain. When I get home, I bathe the 8-month-old baby of the aunt with whom I live, then, carrying him on my back, I sweep the house and patio and wash the dishes. Then I go to the market to buy vegetables and I help my aunt cook. In the afternoon when I get home from FAR, I sweep the house again, wash the clothes, and after dinner, I wash the dishes “ (SK, 10 years old).

And the Ground Shook… (Third Terrorist Attack in Ouaga in 2 Years…)

And the Ground Shook… (Third Terrorist Attack in Ouaga in 2 Years…)

I’m adapted to the sound of truck tires exploding, which is rather common here in Burkina, though I must admit it always catches me by surprise and startles me for a few seconds.  Yet the great explosion of last Friday March 2nd morning, and the accompanying tremors, didn’t just frighten me, but rather

FAR Moving ahead, Burkina not as Much… (Special Post by JCVD)

FAR Moving ahead, Burkina not as Much… (Special Post by JCVD)

Dear Friends of Rimkieta, once again at this time of year, we travelled to Rimkieta to attend to our institutional relationships, as well as our social contacts, whom we must also take into account. Chus Moldes, Eva Morcillo, Mercè Casanovas, Fernando Infiesta and I (Photo 1) went. The way there, during the day, was as comfortable and as much fun as always. The return trip, by night, was not so much fun nor as comfortable… as always….The lodging there, a house with service for the five of us, was much better and less expensive than a hotel – a great idea “the Marias” had.