"The Ambassador Came to Visit Me!!"

Who gets to say that often?  Well, probably the ambassador’s colleagues, and friends, and family, but I mean outside of those people?  I am not sure if I will say it often or not, but, at least I will say it this time.  I am excited!

 It was a pretty quick visit that didn't last more than an hour, but it was nonetheless encouraging and supportive.  He shared a story with me and the Directrice of the boarding house about a young Burkinabe girl who was from a small village and last year I believe Michelle Obama had some sort of ceremony to encourage young girls and 2 Burkinabe girls were invited.  This was their first time out of their small villages, first time to go to the capital of their own country, and obviously their first time outside of their country!  One of the girls had a very difficult personal story, but despite the challenges of 11 out of 13 siblings passing away and also her father passing away, she was the first in her 5^th grade class.  She had aspirations of becoming a doctor so she could help heal other people so that death would not riddle their families as it had hers.  Being touched by the story, many people who were at the ceremony were ready to continue to fund the young girl’s education to ensure that her dreams were fulfilled.  What has explained to the American audience listening was that it was not a question of funding (although it is important), but more so a question of access.  So often young children in this country who work so hard to succeed in their studies are unable to continue on to middle or high school, simply because there is no secondary school in their towns.  Often at the middle school or high school cut off, the numbers for girls and boy change drastically because parents feel more comfortable sending their young boys far away to study.  Girls are at time targets and are more vulnerable.  Thankfully for the young girl, people pooled their money so that she could go to secondary school in a boarding school similar to the place where I work.

The Ambassador was not only excited for the house where I work, but commended the efforts of the community and the persons who work there for bringing access to a group of the population that is often left out.  To encourage us even more, he brought with him 2 boxes of brand new books to fill our empty bookshelves!  The house is brand new, so we are pulling things together little by little, but it surely has potential.  Thanks Ambassador for your excitement and support!