What I Learnt in Burkina Faso

Procrastination, for the most part, has ended. My dissertation is well under way, and I’m getting closer to the end of the writing process each day. This is a GREAT feeling!

Since my work is on climate change’s implications for food security in Burkina Faso, the most important chapter (how people are adapting) is highly dependent on me going to Burkina Faso and seeing and asking people what they are doing. What started out as the most daunting task has now been completed!

Why did I even choose Burkina Faso as my study area, you may be wondering. It was one of those things that seemed like a cool idea at the time. During our dissertation proposal/defense stage, I had said I would look at the whole Sahel region in something more like ‘library research’ rather than field work. Our lecturers suggested that I look at Burkina Faso because they have tackled the problem of a struggling agricultural sector in a unique way, compared to other West African countries. At the time, I wasn’t really thinking about the fact that I didn’t know a single person in Burkina Faso, I don’t speak French OR their local language(s), and I wouldn’t know a single town to collect my data from.  Somehow I was able to overcome all of these barriers at the last minute and I just returned from collecting data in and around Ouagadougou (their capital city).

So what did I learn in Burkina? Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, but what they lack in wealth they certainly make up for in friendliness. I am now struggling to determine which country in West Africa, a region known by many as extremely hospitable to travellers, is the friendliest. In Burkina Faso you can find a complete stranger who is willing to sacrifice their time and work in order to help you with your research work. You may also find another complete stranger who is willing to let you stay in one of his vacant houses to ensure your comfort. It’s possible that this person may even turn out to be a Rotarian! You can find countless individuals who are willing to welcome you in to their homes or share a meal with you. You will find farmers who are willing to share information, freely. And despite the language barrier, everyone you meet will be willing to help and make you feel comfortable.

In terms of my research, everyone we met felt that climate changes were caused by “God’s wish” with many people seeing it as his wish and a form of punishment because people have been acting badly. While the rainy season started out okay this year, it is stopping early. People already have the sense that this year is going to be a poor growing season. Insects are affecting many people’s crops – caterpillars and beetles are killing many plants. Soil is degrading because people are forced to use the same land over and over again.  Because of these changes and more, its impossible to attain the same harvest yields that were possible years earlier.

This is a serious problem. The majority of Burkinabés derive their income from agriculture. The majority of Burkinabés do not have enough money to purchase imported food. So if they can’t grow, they can’t eat. I think you see the problem.

Ghana's NID

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m procrastinating.  I have been since exams ended 10 days ago.  It just so happens that research is hard, and often it’s not attention grabbing.  In light of this mood of procrastination, I have the opportunity to share with you my experience in Ghana’s National Immunization Day (NID).

In 1985, RotaryInternational launched PolioPlus, the first and largest internationallycoordinated private-sector support of a public health initiative, with an initialpledge of US$120 million. To date, Rotary has contributed over $1billion and thousands of Rotarians have become personally involved in campaigning for Polio eradication or participating in NIDs, like the one I participated in recently.

When I went to Uganda last year with a number of District 5050 Rotarians, I heard their stories of the NID in Ethiopia. While I had been hearing about NIDs for some years, this trip and the great things I heard had me realize that an NID was something I, too, would like to be involved in. As luck would have it, I happen to be in a country where NIDs happen each year. Yet another reason why Ghana was a great choice for my scholarship year!

Ghana’s NID was supposed to happen sometime in April. Unfortunately for me, the date was postponed to the day before a final exam and I didn’t think it was smart to leave studying during the crucial last hours before the exam. Fortunately for me, the date was postponed AGAIN, and the NID was held last Thursday!

At 5am, I left Accra with some of the RRC members for a small village about 2 hours away. We had paved roads for the first ¾ of the route, but from then on we were lucky we were in a truck that could take us through water soaked roads and marshlands. We parked at a school and went on foot from house to house, seeking children under age 5 to vaccinate.  This took us about 4 hours and we only did half the village!

It was funny to see how some kids reacted. Some would start crying before they saw us take out the ‘medicine’. Some cried after they tasted it. Some stood there with smiles on their face or mouths open, ready to receive the vaccination. Others ran away, only to return with the shouts of their mothers and the threat of being beaten (not in a child-beating, unacceptable kind of way). The newborns seemed annoyed that they had to be woken up for such a thing.

While Ghana is not a polio endemic country, its big brother Nigeria (along with Pakistan and Afghanistan) is. Borders are very porous in West Africa, and migration is common, especially with the instability affecting large parts of Nigeria. Ghana is a common destination for many in the sub-region. As such, the unofficial slogan of Ghana’s NID was “when Nigeria sneezes, Ghana gets a cold,” demonstrating how important it is to immunize all children in Ghana.

When you’re a child under 5 you, of course, have no idea what polio is.  For me, I have seen people in Ghana who have been affected by polio and I have an idea about what the disease can do. To be able to participate in a day like the NID, knowing that I have helped to prevent the crippling or death of Ghana’s potential future leaders, was one of the greatest privileges for me.  I felt so honoured to be able to participate, even if it was just for a few hours on one day.  Thank you Rotary!

On a related note, please check out District 5050s End Polio Now Flashmob - like and share so we can get 1,000,000 views!