January 13, 2010 - Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Everyone who undertakes a long voyage has to complain about it for a while, so here goes. It was 30 hours of waiting, sitting and trying to sleep in uncomfortable positions. But we made it without any serious incidents (except getting taken by a mime at Charles de Gaulle Airport - maybe some other time) and so did our baggage.
We spent our first day here with the team at Uniterra in Ouaga. We had a chance to tour the city, and we are finally just beginning to understand the context in which we will be trying to get our projects underway. It is difficult to comprehend how few resources there are in Burkina for so many people. Still, the people are extremely pleasant, helpful and full of humour. The name of the country means "The Land of Men with Integrity" and the Burkinabé live up to their name very well (although the women have just as much integrity as the men). It has been delightful to meet the managers of the program here, but also to have a chance to speak to many ordinary people about their lives and also how HIV has affected them. No one understands when we discuss the issue of palliative and end of life care (there just isn't any) but everyone will tell you how HIV has affected their lives because of someone they know.
Today, we leave for our project areas. Pierre Allard is off to Bobo Dioulasso (the second largest city, in the western part of the country) and I am heading to Yako, a town in a rural area about one and a half hour drive to the north.
Everyone who undertakes a long voyage has to complain about it for a while, so here goes. It was 30 hours of waiting, sitting and trying to sleep in uncomfortable positions. But we made it without any serious incidents (except getting taken by a mime at Charles de Gaulle Airport - maybe some other time) and so did our baggage.
We spent our first day here with the team at Uniterra in Ouaga. We had a chance to tour the city, and we are finally just beginning to understand the context in which we will be trying to get our projects underway. It is difficult to comprehend how few resources there are in Burkina for so many people. Still, the people are extremely pleasant, helpful and full of humour. The name of the country means "The Land of Men with Integrity" and the Burkinabé live up to their name very well (although the women have just as much integrity as the men). It has been delightful to meet the managers of the program here, but also to have a chance to speak to many ordinary people about their lives and also how HIV has affected them. No one understands when we discuss the issue of palliative and end of life care (there just isn't any) but everyone will tell you how HIV has affected their lives because of someone they know.
Today, we leave for our project areas. Pierre Allard is off to Bobo Dioulasso (the second largest city, in the western part of the country) and I am heading to Yako, a town in a rural area about one and a half hour drive to the north.
The photo is of the EMUC/CECI offices in Ouagadougou.
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