Burkina Faso is a small francophone country situated in West-Africa. With a population of ~16,241,811 people, Burkina Faso's citizens have an average life expectancy of 53.3 years and a literacy rate of 21.8%. 90% of the population lives off subsistence farming methods; farming only enough for your family to survive. With the heavy threat of droughts in the region however, this is not a secure situation. Gold and cotton are the main exports that this land-locked countries relies on. (For more information like this, check out the CIA World Factbook)
These are just just facts however, and I really have no idea what it is like to live in Burkina Faso. Yes, 90% live on substance farming, but perhaps that works for the population and they are happy with this situation. This placement is not about me journeying to Burkina Faso to impose North-American ideologies about development on these people, I am travelling there to listen, to learn and to be of assistance where I can. Development for me is about empowering people, not about giving aid and forcing development programs on people.
While in Burkina Faso, I will be working with a local development organization. For the January - April 2012 placement, I will be at an organization called SEMUS. I have no confirmation at this point for the second 8-month placement.
