Hi all,

 

I am posting this to my blog, but also have copied many as I'm looking for some help with a project here. My apologies for the mass email.

 

I've had the opportunity, through living here, and through the work that I do, to meet some really great people with very inspired plans for Burkina. I think I've told many of you previously of an American woman I met who opened an orphanage, school and medical clinic and is doing some incredible work through it. Ruth Cox has been here for about 13 years and has developed some self-sustaining business with the young people from her school, including soap making and cards. My company helps finance her school projects and I personally send the orphanage funds for the children. My niece Bryanna last year, instead of getting presents for her birthday asked for her friends to donate to the orphanage, and they raised over $400! 15 little girls in one day. With that, they bought enough milk to feed all the babies for over a month (25 infant orphans - you should see their daily laundry line of diapers!!!)  www.sheltering-wings.org

 

Another project that I've recently become involved in is run by a Burkinabe. ICCV Nazemce is a community group that focuses on education and health. Simon Nacoulma is a former school teacher who wanted to do more for his community. He had a dream to build a library to help students to learn, where they could study (especially at night when few people have electricity), a place where kids could come and be safe and grow, and the community could get together. With a really small budget and without much "expatriate" support, he built his library and has been running for a couple years. His library dream has been hugely successful, so much so that there are over 1200 people who use it, and as a tribute to its success, all the high school students who came and used his facility, passed their national level exams last year (usually a small percent of students pass this exam).

 

In order to better serve his community, he would like to expand his library. Tonight we attended a fundraiser to help finance the construction of a new one. The total costs for the building are 50,000 euros but he has already raised some 30,000 euros towards the construction. I know he will make the funds for the building the new library. Our company has donated labour, equipment and volunteer time for it and a number of other companies here, mining, drilling and others have made large donations. Simon is someone I've had the pleasure of dealing with firsthand. Similar to Ruth, his passion for for his work, his effort and his effectiveness in dealing with issues make him one of the people I admire most, of any nationality. (that and he's terribly funny, ask me or Ben for the story of the "matelas savage" - the wild mattress.) You can see some pictures of ICCV Nazemce on Facebook.

 

It would be fantastic if you were looking for something incredible and effective to donate to, if you would consider ICCV or Yako Orphanage... not to discourage you from that but I had something else in mind. 

 

Many of you have children, and many of your kids are in school, some even in french immersion, or taking french. My goal is to get as many books as possible to take back with me, (preferably french but english would be great too, and for all school ages). Normally I wouldn't ship stuff, I can buy books in Burkina but the quality and diversity are quite limited, and they are ridiculously expensive - a crappy colouring book with 10 pages can be $6 or more. 

 

When she was young, about 7, my sister created a book (wrote and did all the art work), which the school bound and put in the library. Could still be there. I know this library would be super excited to have stories that are written and/or designed by Canadian children and it would encourage them to write and be creative as well. Maybe they will even send some back.

 

I will be in Canada in July/August, 2013, and having sold my house in Ottawa, I will be coming to pick through my stuff that I left behind (nearly a whole household full). First if you need anything, let me know and you are welcome to it (literally 99% of it is going to Goodwill or whatever agency will come pick it up - beds, sheets, cook stuff, I don't even remember all what there is). IThrough my connections I am hoping to send the books with one of the Mining companies inCanada that ships regularly to Burkina. My goal is to collect 2000 books so if you have any spare ones lying around, when you go to do your spring cleaning/summer garage sale, consider putting those aside for us rather than haggling the difference between 50 and 25 cents with your neighbour for it. Or if you are a garage sale junkie, if you would consider picking up anything you happen to find on your rounds. It doesn't even matter what kind of shape it's in, I will gladly bandage it up and doctor it back to health. You can bring them when you come to Ottawa for the wedding and I will put them on the shipment.

 

(Additionally, as I don't have a house anymore, if anyone has an idea where I can store all of these until I can get them crated and shipped, and/or cardboard boxes for packing that would be enormously helpful).

 

As for the kids, if they would consider asking their friends and schools to do the same, or if anyone happens to note when the libraries divest themselves of old books.

 

I will be posting a presentation by ICCV Nazemce with photos on the blog shortly, as well as be putting up some photos/video at the wedding. If you are wanting to make a donation to either (not tax deductible in Canada unfortunately - but Sheltering Wings is deductible in the States for my friends/family working there), I can take the cash and make the conversion to CFA for you when I get back there or euros are directly convertible there.

 

Thanks for taking the time to consider this. Looking forward to seeing everyone in the summer!

Lots of Love

Lisa