Saturday, January 30, 2010

My Surroundings

January 30th - 3 weeks into the adventure and I am pretty settled in. I even found a fish market that sells frozen fish so not infested with flies and a market that sells good refrigerated meat at very reasonable prices. What is really expensive here is packaged chicken and canned goods. Another really expensive thing here are bed sheets - ridiculously expensive 1 flat sheet and 2 pillow cases cost me 15,000F CFA or close to $40 - I know what I want for Christmas.

Last night we went out for supper and a movie - the pizza was actually good but I regret it today - so much cheese and so very hot make for water retention and my hands are really swollen. The movie was a haitien produced movie and really far from Hollywood or any facsimile - difficult to describe in a blog but it was actually pretty funny even though the subject matter was serious as the title is "Est-ce que le Président a le SIDA?" and yes he did have AIDS - but the script and the acting were rather funny - think of how awkward a high school production can be and then you will have a fair understanding of what I mean- but then again you do what you can with the means you have. When I see an African movie I will tell you all about it.

Today a rather quiet day of reading, a little visit to the local market for fresh produce, an afternoon walk shaking hands of children intrigued by the nassara - some browsing on the internet to better understand the challenges of sustainable development.

I share here some pictures of my neighbourhood (I am the blue entrance that is fenced in) and of the local market. I include a picture of the Mosque which is less than 100 yards away and if you increase the size of the picture you will notice it has loud speakers so it can wake us all up at 4h30.
















 I am so excited I get to cook myself a nice steak with fresh carrots and potatoes with a nice glass of wine.
Hope everybody is having a great winter because today's temperature was 90F.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

January 26th

To my faithful followers please take notice that I have posted 3 blogs today now that I am back online but the dates are a little mess up chronologically - sorry about the confusion but if you want to follow by date read Jan 22nd blog first then Jan 24th and this one last that way it may make more sense (or not).

Not too much happened today - very short visit with my new employer and I start next Monday (office hours are from 7h30 to 3h30 pm) - early start but my new alarm clock gets me up at 4h30 am (the early prayers at the Mosque).

Went to get some prepaid units for electricity since I am just about out but now not sure how I put them in ??? That took about 1 hour since the line ups are enormous and people pay 2000F CFA at a time ($5). Then went to the telephone company to get an internet connection which again took forever as every step is either with a different person or even is a different building - and nothing is simple so there are a lot of steps. The technology is also old and inefficient.

Thought I would share with you a few pictures from Ouagadougou


Jan 22nd and 23rd

Today (Jan 22nd) the group of 10 (+ 1 who is accompanying his wife +3 kids) became the group of 4 (+1).


The day started with a group leaving for Bobo- Dioulasso, another group was heading to Ouahigouya to visit their ONGs headquarters, and Simon (remember Simon who tore a ligament 1 week ago) was heading to South Africa for an operation – while his wife and 3 kids are off to Bobo.

The move was not completely smooth but we could not expect it to be .... could we? Packed the car (but really packed the car) and off to our new neighbourhood (The «we» is that I am an immediate neighbour of Thérèse and Pierre who are here for 3 months)- once we brought our luggage in our respective houses I started to notice a few flaws in mine such as water pissing all over the place in the bathroom so I had to shut it off – no mosquito net for the bed which needs to be installed with a wood frame – no connection tube from the hot plate to the propane – no instructions on how to use the water filter – and now that it is night we all realized we had no electricity. Finally got electricity at around 9h00 pm only to realize that my fridge does not work. But as the Burkinabè say «pas de problèmes – il n’y a jamais de problèmes» i.e. no problem everything can be fixed in time, not too sure when that time is but it does come eventually… It is 10h00 pm and I am exhausted. 
 
January 23rd
 
A little rude awakening to the new neighbourhood – or should I say awakeningS as I am next to a Muslim Mosque with prayers starting at 4h30 am intermittently to 6 am – hope I get use to it.


My new home is really a lot better than I expected – I have a fairly large living room, a dining area, a kitchen , 2 bedrooms and a bathroom + large parking area and all fenced in. The furniture to date is a little skimpy – in the living room I have a sofa and 2 extra seats and a coffee table– a desk with a chair – 1 of the bedrooms has a double bed and the kitchen has the essentials with fridge, hot plate and propane and a small piece of furniture to put some dry foods.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 











I purchased some other essentials such as sheets, plates, casseroles, buckets, broom, cleaning solutions and a little bit of food. Then I met with a carpenter to make me some furniture – a dining table with 4 chairs and a commode for the bedroom so I can hang up my clothes. I should get the furniture in about 1 to 2 weeks. The prices are unbelievable – the total cost will be 75 000F CFA or $185 – not sure about quality of workmanship but I am sure it will do for the next 2 years. Next purchase will be an extra bed (will wait to see if I need it) and a night table for my bedroom.


The one inconvenience is the bathroom – the shower is part and parcel of the bathroom so everything gets wet including toilet paper and towel. By the way here the temperature of your water when you take a shower depends on the temperature of the water as you have absolutely no controls for hot or cold water - it is what it is.

Another challenge will be the dust – red dust. I washed the floors 4 times and dusted the coffee table 3 times and it is still dusty – one solution would be to close the windows but then I would suffocate of heat. So cleaning is a daily shore.

Today everything that needed fixing got fixed so I can take a cold shower and cook some food. I am in my new home for the next 2 years and hopefully will get use to it. The neighbours are all very nice and welcoming but the neighbourhood is really dark at night (no midnight strolling here) and garbage everywhere - since there is no garbage pick-up the city is infested with garbage, plastic bags everywhere - tires - paper etc... however everything comestible gets eaten up pretty fast by the animals who roam the streets (donkeys, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats) so it does not smell.

Electricity is also another interesting thing here - you need to prepay electricity units and if you do not keep a watchful eye on the counter you may very well find yourself with no electricity until you go buy some more units. I am sure that will happen to me a few times.

January 24th and 25th

hello everyone - I am finally back online but my connection is really slow so not capable of uploading to many photos.

Today (Jan 24th) was a fairly quiet day of laundry,cleaning, purchasing more essentials, visit to the local market to buy carrots, potatoes, lettuce ... We walked around quite a bit to get our bearings and our location is great – I am a 15 minute walk to work, to the bank and to a small Lebanese market as well as to a large outdoor market.





Jan 25th - I thought today I was going to visit my new employer IPD-AOS at 11h00 but plans have changed and it might only be tomorrow. But as I came out of my door this is what greeted me. But the picture did cost me 250F CFA ($0.50) -


Again today was filled with walking around to get our bearings and get known by our neighbours - it is definitely an adjustment to be here - the poverty is a bit overwhelming and some of the handicapped here are just so heartbreaking.
The outside markets are interesting to say the least - a maze of kioks with vendors selling their wares and a lot of the same things so how do you choose who to buy from is difficult as they all need your business. The meat is plentifull but not very appetizing since invested with flies - chickens are so skinny you are buying bones with a little bit of meat attached - the size of a chicken thigh is probably the size of my little finger - so I may become a vegetarian but there is not an awful lot of of choice. Will need to learn how to cook to keep healthy in the long run.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

January 20th and 21st

January 20th


Not a big day but visited another partner who takes care of young unwed girls that are either pregnant or those that escaped a forced marriage – in both cases they are expulsed from their families. The center “Fo CEB” Fondation du Cardinal Émile Bodyoula was fonded to help these girls reintegrate their families after having their child or negotiated out of the forced marriage – this process can take from 6 months to 2 years. They teach the girls different trades such as sewing, knitting, cooking, making soap or peanut butter.

In the afternoon we did nothing as it is very hot – so in our rooms with AC to cool off, do some laundry and a bit of administrative stuff for the office.




January 21st – last day at the VSO office as tomorrow we take over our houses. We had a press meeting with the National newspaper and met with those partners we had not yet seen – so I got to meet my new “boss” Mr. DIOP from IPD-AOS who seems very nice and open. Hope to start next week but they want us to take another week off to set up house. Things are really a lot slower here .... no pressure. Tonight we have a going away party as the group is separating to our respective cities and employers – and we will be celebrating Nathalie’s 30th birthday anniversary – so we hired live music, wine, cake etc...

I think all of us are anxious to get into our own things and have a break from the “group” – to always be with 11 adults and 3 children in just about everything we do is a little demanding when you are not use to it – but all in all the group has really been quite fantastic – all very good people.

I will be without Internet for a few days so will try to write my blog next week at which time I will send you picture of my new digs.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

January 19th -


Two blogs posted today so check out January 18th also.

Back at VSO BF offices at 9h00 and presentation on Organisational Development i.e. what our role is as a volunteer towards our employers – we are facilitators and not experts and they explained the fine line between the two concepts. Will tell you more once I try to put it in practice but we basically “coach” our employer on how they can accomplish things but do not do it for them so it has a lasting “durable” effect – easier said than done as they also have expectations on our capacities as “doers”.
Today’s session again was a half day so some of us decided to visit the Bangr Weoogo park which is near the centre of Ouaga – a tourist attraction for sure and really nothing too fantastic, at least at this time of year (probably a lot nicer when the rains start and a little greener with flowers) – but this sign should make you laugh (translation = your piss is worth gold so use the toilets).









We took the bus to get to our destination and the cost for a one way trip is a grand 150 CFA = $0.35 to travel across the city – and surprisingly enough the bus was not overcrowded and rather comfortable so to date my preferred method of travelling in city although the wait is unpredictable – as most things are here.
We are supposed to move in to our assigned quarters on Friday – can’t wait.

January 18th

Big day at the office - First we had a presentation on “gender and equality” given by 2 very well educated Burkinabè women – and the challenges are enormous to attain any sense of equality in this country. They have not only the usual challenges we (still) have in developed countries but they are confronted with their realities i.e. women are owned by men, literally; they have no rights to land; are not given the same opportunities to education and jobs; are often abused by their husbands or husbands family; have no real decisive power in the family or community – and if they are lucky enough to make some money it belongs to their father or brothers or husbands therefore they can never attain any financial autonomy - unless they are well educated and employed, and then they have a chance to become emancipated. But here all paid work is a mans world (contrary to us)so the government is putting in place some laws to help women in their battle of equal rights but due to ethnic cultures and the threat towards male authority these laws are not well enforced – they have huge challenges.
Second on the agenda was a visit to an HIV/AIDS day clinic which provides medical and psychological care to some 800 infected people with a staff of approx. 15 and limited financing – all of their services are free since the patients cannot afford the care or medication – but medication is not necessarily readily available especially if it is specialized. They also provide blood tests to assess if the person is HIV+ and all services are respectful of the patient’s privacy (albeit not guaranteed since clinic is fairly public). The staff seem super dedicated but confronted with the fact that their financial capabilities do not always permit adequate care.
Then in the afternoon we had a presentation of the National Volunteer Program of Burkina Faso which is put into place to help the youth and women find volunteer positions (paid a small subsistence allowance of 45 000 CFA/month = $100/month) to help them gain experience in their respective domain of education/expertise – financed by the government and the United Nations. This is a new program but its viability is still questionable due to uncertain sustained long term financing not yet put into place.
Today the weather has changed and it seems we are entering the “Harmattan“ - a season of high winds and sand storms coming from the Sahara. The sand clouds were fairly thick today – looks like heavy pollution – and we could hardly see the sun. The worst of it is supposed to be late February followed by extreme heat in March/April and the rainy season from May to August - should be interesting.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sunday Jan 17th - continuation of Saturday the 16th

January 16th – Le Jardin de l’Amitié – welcome diner After our visit to Bazoulè we came back to hotel to freshen up, rest and do whatever we do best which is sit around, do some internet activities and drink beer or soft drinks. We then got prepared for our Welcome Diner which took place at the Jardin de l’Amitié (centre-ville Ouaga). But a few mishaps prior to even getting there – One of our volunteers (Simon) tore a tendon playing soccer and spent the evening at the hospital for X-rays and crutches – never got the crutches and today is limping along... Also on our way to the event we crossed an accident which involved another one of our Volunteers (Jolianne) which was hurt driving her motorcycle on her way to meet us – she broke a finger and a few bruises but luckily managed only to get a cast and although shaken up seems to be OK. Just a few metres from there we nearly got side swiped by a car that ran a red light. I think I will wait before I decide to buy a bike or motorcycle and will walk as much as possible or take the green taxis. Finally got to our destination and had a wonderful evening with African entertainment – live music, dancing, professional acrobats and men on stilts dressed as clowns ... very entertaining and fun. During the day I had a good discussion with my Program Manager (Daouda) and it is quite evident that VSO Burkina Faso is operating with a much reduced budget since the merger CUSO – VSO. Burkina Faso was a CUSO Canada managed country and now they need to adapt to the VSO UK way of doing things which came with a drop in financial means for the volunteers as well as the office itself. They cannot afford a photocopier, which they badly need, but are forced by the UK to have an internet connexion that costs them 500 000 CFA a month (the cost of 2 volunteers). I would like to start a fundraising activity to help VSO Burkina Faso buy a photocopier and would appreciate all of those who read this blog – and your family & friends - to contribute in some financial way to meet this goal. PLEASE let me know if this is something that can be achieved and how much you would like to pledge - I will then get it organized through “Paypal”. I hope you will send me your comments with hopefully some pledges to make it happen. Thanks. I do not yet know the cost of a photocopier/printer/scanner but have asked the office to find out. Also when you leave me a comment on my blog please leave your name so I know who is who. Today not much will happen - a day of rest and relaxation by the pool - get photos organized and read a bit besides drink and eat. We eat very very well at this hotel/resort - the cook is excellent and might as well enjoy it while we have access to it.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

January 16th - visit Bazoulè

We had our second visit of Ouagadougou today and 1st stop was the Clinique du Coeur which specializes in heart diseases but also gynecology, dermatology, gastroentrology and general medecine - very well equipped and nice to know we can get quality care here - well staffed with doctors and nurses and excellent equipment.No pictures allowed. 2nd stop was Bazoulè which is a crocodile park where crocodiles roam freely and the tourist stay close to the guides. The crocodiles are fed live chickens to keep them away from the nassara tourists. Again we have a balmy 36C and I hear Montreal is also under warm weather at 2C. This crocodile park is also a village which grows onions, cabbage and tomatoes and water comes from the swamp - kids are absolutely gorgeous.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Confusion de date de blog

Le blog du 12 janvier est en fait celui du 13 janvier - j'imagine à cause du décalage horaire il a été posté le 12. Donc je vous doit des nouvelles d'hier (le 14)et d'aujourd'hui. Hier journée d'enregistrement à l'ambassade Canadienne avec une session de questions/réponses avec les représentants de l'ambassade. Je suis un peu confuse sur les informations recueillies à date car les gens de l'ambassade nous encourage fortement d'engager un cuisinier et un garde de nuit pour fin de sécurité mais les coopérants qui y sont déjà et ceux qui y reviennent ne nous le conseille pas - que faire j'imagine on verra une fois rendu là. Je n'ai rien fait du restant de la journée sauf faire une longue sieste - souper et encore dodo. Aujourd'hui nous avons une visite de la ville. On devait venir nous chercher à 8h00 mais il est déjà 9h00 et pas de bus encore. Je vous en redonne des nouvelles plus tard. Aujourd'hui visite de la ville - nous avons visité le CCF (Centre Culturel Français) qui va nous donner accès à une bibliothèque ainsi que des films, concerts, conférences etc... Du divertissements. Ensuite nous avons visité mon cartier ou je vais habiter et je dois être honnête tous les quartiers se ressemblent à première vue donc ce sera à l'expérience que je pourrai vous en dire plus. Nous avons aussi visité le marché artisanal et le Marina Market. Le Marina Market est le marché des nassara (blancs)et il y a à peu près de tout - donc je me suis achetée un petit rosé, du savon et du beurre de peanut. Cet après-midi nous avons eu une petite présentation de VSO Burkina et des partenaires ainsi que des défis à relevés - ensuite ouverture du compte de banque - là une expérience un peu plus difficile car rien n'est évident et les coûts se multiplent facilement. Pour un pays pauvre il y a certaines choses qui coûte relativement cher - mais nous sommes privilégiés alors il est difficile de se plaindre. De retour à l'hotel et je dois dire que la bière est bonne car il fait chaud et nous ne sommes pas dans les grandes chaleurs (à venir en avril, mai, juin). Ce soir on se traite au vin rosé - malheureusement je n'ai pas encore gouté à la piquette mais il faut dire que mon allocation de 50 000 CFA est complètement dépensé... J'ai l'impression que certaines de mes économies vont y passer au Burkina ... mais enfin il faut bien se gâter de temps à autre. La pauvreté ici est vraiment présente à tous les coins de rue, à tout les niveaux, et les femmes sont vraiment une classe à part avec plusieurs violences qui leurs sont infligées (excision, marriage forcé, polygamie malsaine, femmes veuves qui appartiennent à la famille et que l'on force à concubiner avec les frères de leur mari défunt, femmes battues pour corriger leurs comportements etc...)- et ceci n'est rien comparé aux femmes qui ont été expulsés de leur famille parce qu'elles sont enceintes ou handicappées malgré elles. Mais la pauvreté est extrême pour 90% de la population (hommes, femmes, enfants) et ça crève le coeur. Malgré cela les Burkinabè sont très sympathiques et d'une gentillesse extrême - priez pour eux et si vous êtes capable faite quelque chose pour eux.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Jour 4 - on commence de bonne heure dans le bonheur

je vais probablement vous écrire ce blog par étape car je m'y prend de bonne heure (5 heure AM) afin d'avoir une connexion internet qui a du bon sens - c'est affreux ici en temps normal. Impossible de dormir avec le vacarme des coqs et des ânes (je crois que c'est la saison de couplage pour les ânes car ils sont très actifs... pire que des lapins). Il est tôt mais le village à côté de l'hotel a bien commencé sa journée. 2e journée de ICT - on doit débuter à 8h00 et terminer vers 15h00 mais j'ai l'impression que le tout sera fini à 10h00 - je vous en donne des nouvelles. Session de formation ce matin fut passablement intéressante. Nous avons rencontré le Directeur du Pays Gervais Nadembega – qui a très bien prêché pour sa paroisse, nous a fait comprendre les enjeux de nos mandats et notre responsabilité de transférer nos connaissances de façon durable. Il a été touchant quand il nous a fait valoir que le fait que nous avions des emplois (si peu rémunérateur soient-ils) était considéré un privilège et que c’était très frustrant pour qu’un(e) Burkinabè qui avait une éducation supérieure d’essayer de faire changer et progresser son pays – certaines mentalités, certaines politiques, certains jeux de pouvoir non démocratique etc… Nous avons aussi acheté un cellulaire pour la grosse somme de 13 500F CFA ($30) et enfin nous pouvons avoir contact avec l’extérieur. On nous a fourni une puce mais le numéro de téléphone inscrit sur la puce n’était pas le bon alors il fallait déchiffrer le tout ce qui a pris un certain temps. Nous sommes retournés à l’hôtel vers les 15h00 pour ensuite faire une petite excursion au centre ville voir un marché d’artisans de bronze et de masque – et ceci en taxi vert. L’expérience du taxi vert – difficile à décrire mais je vais essayer. Sur la route il y a des taxis couleur verte que l’on arrête par la main et avec qui on négocie un prix pour nous transporter d’un point A au point B – alors il faut s’entendre sur le point B car ce n’est peut-être pas sa destination et il faut s’entendre sur le prix. Ensuite le taxi arrête pour prendre d’autres passagers qui sont sur la même route pour être plus efficace ($$) dans son parcours. Ce n’est pas important si nous sommes tassés comme des sardines. De plus le taxi n’est pas nécessairement modèle de l’année, et il est de toute évidence qu’un pare-brise qui n’a pas plusieurs fissures bien évidentes n’est pas la norme (et je peux vous dire que ceci cause un sérieux problème dans la conduite de nuit). Le trafic n’est pas un problème car le taxi s’en fou complètement et se faufile comme si il était un petit vélo – il n’est pas surprenant qu’il y ait plusieurs accidents, surtout causé par les « nassera » (les blancs), car impossible de conduire dans un chaos semblable quand on n’est pas habitué. La nuit c’est encore plus l’enfer car on se promène parfois sans lumière et le taxi doit se faufiler entre des ombres plus ou moins bien définis dans sa pare-brise. La visite du marché d’artisans fût par contre très intéressante – il y a des masques et des bronzes magnifiques – c’est certain que j’y retourne pour faire quelques achats.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

first day of In Country Training

Since we arrived we have been taking it quite easy - no stress except to make sure we are eating at the right time. Since Sunday we have visited the immediate surroundings, ate and slept. But finally I got water in my room to take a shower - a cold shower since there is no hot water. This morning we (a colleague Nathalie & I) visited a home to get the recipe of a Tô sauce but all we got to do in 1h30min was to take the core out of Baobab flowers and mash them into a paste, then realized the recipe is a little bit more complicated since some ingredients are prepared in advance (dried sardines, rotten paste of something, another type of dried fish, mouton, some yeast preparation), cut tomatoes and onions. Never got to see the whole process or taste it since we had to go for our training session. But how many people do you know that would invite strangers in a very warm and sincere fashion to intrude in their daily shores of preparing lunch for their family - just like that only after a few words being exchanged. These people are so nice, love their picture being taken and are absolutely without any pretention - au naturel all the way. First training session lasted 1hr - they took copies of our passport, gave us our integration allocation of 100,000F CFA (approx $250) and answered a few questions. The money is to be used to buy our essentials that are not included in our new home such as linens, pots& pans, drapes, cutlery etc... We have the afternoon off and it is so hot that I stayed put and wrote this blog to post later on. I bought an internet access card of 120 min. (2500 CFA = $6) but I only have 50 min. left and I did nothing really except read a few emails, sent a few and waited forever for connexion to send or receive .... So that is life here so far - relax, be patient, smile and be happy. Not a whole lot to say because I don't do a whole lot - but so far so good. Also will be easier to communicate once I have access to better internet where I can skype with those that are online. Stay tuned

Sunday, January 10, 2010

January 10, 2010 Ouagadougo introduction. Well we finally arrived at 3h00 am this morning (+5 hours to MTL) with a balmy 25˚C and were picked up by VSO Program Manager (Daouda) who was really nice and accommodating for us poor tired souls. We have been temporarily placed in a hotel (Noong Taaba = love one another) and my room is really rather comfortable in space (see pictures) with A/C but no running water so no shower yet and a mattress that is sooooo thin that I had to double up on it to finally fall asleep. Il fait environ 35˚C – très chaud alors notre marche pour visiter les lieux a quand même été assez courte pour une première aventure. Nous sommes à la périphérie de Ouagadougou dans la zone C de Ouaga 2000. Les gens sont super sympathiques et les enfants nous envoient la main avec un beau sourire – mais quelle pauvreté …. Il y a de petit commerce partout - cellulaires, réparations de toutes sortes (moto, bicyclette, ordinateur) – nourriture variée, maquis (petit café/restaurant), kiosk avec articles variés etc…. mais très peu d’activités commerciales. Nous (environ 10 coopérants) commençons notre formation mardi matin pour environ 10 jours et je serai muté dans ma demeure permanente à partir du 22 janvier en même temps que je commencerai mon nouvel emploi alors je pourrai plus vous en dire sur mon chez-moi éventuel seulement à la fin du mois.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

On my way to the unknown

Well I have not left just yet but my preparations are basically all done. I leave Friday January 8th at 7h00 pm and get to Ouagadougou at 2h35 am on January 10th with a stopover in Casablanca for approx 15 hours - just enough time for a little dodo and maybe a short visit. Burkina Faso means “the land of upright people”. It is landlocked with a population of approximately 15.3 million. According to the Human Development Index (HDI) it is the 6th most disadvantaged country of the world (187th of 192) – followed by Mali, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Niger (to put you sunbathers in a reality check the Dominican Republic is 90th of 192); average life expectancy is 52 years of age; the illiteracy rate is 78% with an average of 5 years of school. More than 80% of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Agriculture consists mostly of livestock but also growing sorghum, pearl millet, corn, peanuts, rice and cotton. Burkina Faso's natural resources include small deposits of gold. Drought, poor soil, lack of adequate communications and other infrastructure, a low literacy rate, and an economy vulnerable to external shocks are all longstanding problems. In 2008/2009 Burkina Faso was hit with the triple external shocks of increasing oil and food prices as well as the global financial crisis. More than half the population earns less than $1.25/day. Since 1991 the country has implemented substantial economic and social reforms with support from the World Bank, the IMF, and other donors. Much progress has been made in liberalizing the economy and developing the private sector. As a result, Burkina Faso has established a good track record over the past 10 years (1995-2005), on macroeconomic performance. However, deeper structural and institutional reform are still needed to support diversification of an economy still based on low productivity agriculture with a single major export crop (cotton), which makes it vulnerable to exogenous shocks (volatility of export and import prices) and fluctuations in rain fall. The country’s major challenges remain the unfavourable investment climate, including a cost of infrastructure (electricity and transportation), lack of skilled workers and a weak judicial system (corruption). In the wake of the world financial crisis, Burkina Faso’s external environment remains fragile. The weaker external demand and lower commodity prices are likely to be the main transmission mechanism of the global financial crisis to Burkina’s economy. In 2000, Burkina Faso became one of the first developing countries to prepare a full Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Donors have progressively aligned support to the PRSP. A third PRSP is scheduled to be presented in 2010 Key issues (among others) examined by the Government with the support of the World Bank include (i) how to better mitigate economic risks in the face of price, exchange rate and climatic volatility, (ii) how to identify new sources of growth and improve the investment climate, (iii) what reforms are needed for a more effective financial sector, (iv) how to increase the efficiency of government expenditure and ensure that it is pro-poor, (v) how to achieve effective decentralization, (vi) how to better protect the most vulnerable. While exact statistics on religion in Burkina Faso are not available and estimates vary widely, the Government of Burkina Faso stated in its most recent census (1996) that approximately 60 percent of the population practice Islam, and that the majority of this group belong to the Sunni branch, while remaining minorities adhere to the Shi'a branch, and significant numbers of Sunni Muslims identify with the Tijaniyah Sufi, or Salafi traditions. The Government also estimated that 24 percent of the population maintains traditional indigenous beliefs, 17 percent practices Roman Catholicism, and 3 percent are members of various Protestant denominations. Atheism is virtually nonexistent. A common proverb in Burkina Faso claims that "50% are Muslim, 50% are Christian, and 100% are Animist". This shows the large level of acceptance of the various religions amongst each other. Even for Muslims and Christians, ancient Animist rites are still highly valued. I will tell you much more in the months to come