The Wend Mib Tiri orphanage in Yako, Burkina Faso, is a project that began in 2010. At the time, it consisted of three dilapidated buildings without bathrooms, beds, or electricity, where a kind-hearted woman, Maman Albertine, and a few compassionate women from the village welcomed and tried to care for—despite extreme poverty—23 very young children. These children’s mothers had died during childbirth or from childbirth-related complications, and their families were unable to care for them.

The only available food was rice… rice for the older children, and rice water in baby bottles for the infants, until some charitable hands—villagers, the Catholic Church, or the Muslim mosque—would occasionally provide something more, including clothes.

Our encounter with this reality was shocking, and the first thing that came to mind was to commit ourselves for the long term to help these children grow properly through distance support and to find ways to provide them with a healthier and more dignified environment.

Over the years, many things have been accomplished, starting from building bathrooms and a dormitory, a fence, a small infirmary, a well with a pump, solar panels, and even a classroom for preschool and one for first grade.

Annual missions have brought the Burkina Kamba volunteer group to Yako, with doctors for routine check-ups, artisans to build playgrounds, cabinets, high chairs, engineers to oversee important works, and jack-of-all-trades volunteers.

Currently, it is not possible for this group of volunteers to return to Yako, which has been designated a Red Zone due to its proximity to border areas that have unfortunately experienced terrorist attacks. But the children, who are now about 50, must not be forgotten.

Most of them, by law, should now return to their families as they have reached the age of 5, but more continue to arrive. The flow seems unstoppable.

Therefore, our commitment continues steadily through distance support, an effort that has brought smiles and hope to our children for years.

Lenders

This project was carried out with the collaboration of these public body lenders or private company lenders

BnD private lenders