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A land of hope
Optimism is the national characteristic of Burkina Faso,
but are the country's aims achievable? In her final report,
Lauren Pyrah examines the future of the African state
"IT is my dream in the next ten years for
my district of Ouagadougou to be just
like downtown, where you have asphalt
roads everywhere and clean streets. But
right now, we are facing a lot of
problems."
Zenabou Drabo, one of Burkina Faso's urban
mayors, neatly sums up the national attitude: hope
in the face of adversity. And as a female politician
in a largely paternal society, the mayor of Bogodogo
knows all about adversity.
Recently elected as MP in a country where just 11
out of 110 members of parliament are women, she
is a widely-respected politician. We meet at the
town hall, a large, Seventies-style building, which,
like much in Burkina, would be considered shabby
to Westerners, but is palatial in this African state.
Zenabou tells us that rapid urbanisation is one
of the biggest problems facing the city, as local government
does not have the money or resources to
put in infrastructure such as drainage, water standpipes
or even proper roads.
"We don't have very good streets," she says. "During
the rainy season, we have serious problems with
flooding. If I could, I would address all these problems
so my area would be just like downtown."
Yet, looking at the narrow lanes of dry, red dust,
the stinking piles of rubbish and the makeshift
shacks of Ouagadougou's shanty towns, I can't help
wondering if this is realistic.
One man who does not share my reservations
about the country's future is WaterAid Burkina
Faso's head of programme, Yerefolo Malle. A native
of neighbouring Mali, his government has awarded
him the equivalent of a knighthood for his work
in Burkina.
The programme has educated tens of thousands
of people about the importance of clean water and
sanitation as well as helping them access these necessities.
Key to its success was getting the government
on-side and testament to this is the two
awards they have given the project.
However, there is still a great deal to be done if
Burkina is to meet the millennium goals set by the
United Nations for water and sanitation coverage.
Now, just 14 per cent of the urban and ten per cent
in rural populations have proper sanitation - the
UN target for 2015 is 57 per cent and 54 per cent.
Goals for clean water are slightly less ambitious
but still significant. To meet the targets, rural areas
must increase coverage from 60 per cent to 75 per
cent, while in urban areas the rise must be from 74
per cent to 84 per cent.
Clearly, this is a mammoth task, but it one Mr
Malle believes possible.
"It is achievable," he says. "We just need money
to ensure we can deliver the education. We need to
educate communities, educate providers, educate
the private sector, educate even the government."
He says the next stage of the programme will
tackle infrastructure, working with the private sector
to provide a proper water network, but education
would continue to underpin WaterAid's work.
One WaterAid success story is a soap-making
business run by women in Magourou, a village near
Tenkodogo.
The project allows women to earn their own
money - rare in male-dominated Burkina - but also
sells soap to villagers for a nominal price, about 17p
a piece. It is probably no coincidence that the village's
sanitation education programme has a 100
per cent success rate.
When we arrive, the atmosphere in the village is
subdued. In every other place we have visited, the
whole village has turned out to give us a grand reception.
Here, we are warmly welcomed, but there
are few people around.
The reason soon becomes apparent - just the
night before, a woman died in childbirth. Many villagers
have gone to the neighbouring hamlet, where
her family live, to pay their respects. It is a poignant
reminder that, for the people of Burkina, preventable
death is an all-too-common reality.
Adama Seone, 44, one of the women involved with
the soap-making project, says. "There were 47 of
us in the beginning but two women from the programme
died."
But there is no denying the project has empowered
these women. "The soap we are making contributes
to our own hygiene. When we sell it, we
have some income which also contributes to our
feeding. The soap we are making is very cheap, so
even the poor people, they can afford it," she says.
The results of education about hygiene can also
be seen in the nearby school of Zompalma. One of
the most optimistic places we visit on the trip, it is
a clean, cool and calm environment. And from the
pristine latrines, to the children's knowledge of hygiene,
it is plain the message has sunk in.
Even their favourite song, which they are only too
happy to sing for us, is related to cleanliness, translating
as: "You are dirty like a donkey, you must
wash every morning, wash every evening."
One of the girls in the class, ten-year-old Djawaratou
Billa, says: "It is very important to be clean.
When you don't wash, you are dirty and can be contaminated
by disease."
Djawaratou's teacher said she is a very good student.
Like her classmates, she is learning French
as well as the indigenous language.
"When I grow up, I want to be a nurse," Djawaratou
tells us.
In the UK, this young girl would undoubtedly
have a bright future ahead of her. Sadly, in Burkina,
that future is not so clear. The country has massive
obstacles to overcome: it is the world's second
poorest country, one in five children die before they
reach their fifth birthday and the average life expectancy
is 47.
But if Burkina Faso has a national characteristic,
it is surely optimism.
In just one week, I met mothers who had endured
the heartbreak of losing not one, not two, but three
children for the want of clean water, a father whose
eldest son had died from the lack of a latrine, teachers
who were ashamed that children in their care
are forced to defecate in the school yard.
Yet these people were not only some of the kindest
and most generous I have ever met, but were
also some of the most industrious. They do not deserve
to live without the most basic of human rights
- safe drinking water and proper sanitation - yet
millions do.
Experience tells us sanitation infrastructure is
the first essential step out of the cycle of poverty
and disease. Victorian Britain saw its life expectancy
jump by 15 years in just four decades following
the widespread creation of proper sewers
and water works.
Burkina has the talent, the ambition and the will
to deliver the basic rights people in the North-East
of England take for granted every single day. All it
needs to save lives is the money.
11:42am Wednesday 26th March 2008
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