Hi All,

My name is Reine, and I will be running my first triathlon in Portarlington, Victoria on the 17th March 2019 to raise funds to build a school in Burkina Faso, West Africa!

This is the first of a series of fundraisers, with a combined goal of 30,000 EUR.

All the donations will go directly to the French charity “Les Colombes du Faso”: https://www.lescolombesdufaso.org/
(my English-speaking friends: the English version of the website is currently under construction, please see below for more information on the project).

I should mention this project is very close to my heart: my Mum, Mai Nana, and her partner, Stephane Granado, are the founders of the association. They combine more than five decades of experience in the Education system. They are currently wrapping up their life in France in order to relocate permanently to Burkina Faso, finalise the construction of the school and run it.

Here are some details of this great project underway:

·         The school will welcome 600 youths between the age of 3 and 20 years old.

·         It will be built in the rural town of Soumousso (www.lescolombesdufaso.org/situation-geographique ), where currently 1 out of 2 children does not go to school, mainly because of a lack of availability.

·         The school will be sustainably built and self-sustained, to the extent possible (there will be organic crops, solar panels, rainwater harvesting system…)

·         The project will be funded by...

o   International and governmental subsidies

o   Personal contribution of the founders / members

o   Sponsors

o   Individual donations

Subsidies will be available as the project kicks on. Consequently, donations are crucial at this stage.  Every donation, big or small counts.

·         Our goal is to open the first class in September 2022. In order to achieve this goal, we need to raise 30,000 EUR.

 

Some facts about Burkina Faso:

·         The Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world (ranked 183rd out of 189 countries according to the Human Development Index)

·         It is a young country: 58% of the population is less than 20 year old.

·         Less than half of the young men aged between 15 and 24 year old can read and write.

·         Less than a third of the young women aged between 15 and 24 year old can read and write.

·         It needs more investments in long-term projects, particularly in rural areas.

Below are some stories of the people I have met. They told me how this school will change their life…

This is Djarata and she is 11 years old. She is at the top of her class – there are 97 other pupils in her class. Once she is old enough to go to high-school, she will have to leave the village she is from as there are no high-school in a 50kms radius. Her family is reluctant to let her go as they worry for her safety.
Our school will have accommodations on site for young girls in her situation.

This is Boukari. He is a dad of three and working really hard to be able to afford to send his children to school. He explained his daily struggles, not knowing how to write or read. He wants his children to have a better life than he did. Our school will be used to run classes for adults like Boukari, who do not know how to read and write.

This young women is the mother of two children. She is looking forward to being able to leave her child in the good care of our staff whilst she runs a small business selling cereals to the boutiques in the nearby villages. She is 20 years old, and the main breadwinner of the family. She explained how difficult it is not having a school nearby: she has to look after her children while she is working which impacts her ability to earn more money.

Mai Nana (my mum) and Stephane Granado, founders of the association

Soumousso, where the school will be built.

This is the land where the school will be built.

 

We are all very excited by this great project and are looking forward to building the first classroom. Thank you for supporting us on this exciting journey!

All the best,

Reine