Aid to Burkina

Use Everyclick.com as your search engine and raise money for Aid to Burkina!

phil — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:56:43 +0000

Check out www.everyclick.com – register your interest in Aid to Burkina (sorry – one of the icons is non-functional so choose the one that is lower down the picking list as this one definitiely works!)

If you then search using everyclick as your search engine you start raising

money for the charity. Not bad!!

Every penny counts

Sunday Sun Article about Aid to Burkina

phil — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:59:45 +0000

Here’s today’s Sunday Sun article about our work in Burkina Faso

Aid to Burkina raising funds for a new Eye Hospital

phil — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:50:18 +0000

Patient at the local Eye clinic outpatients deprtment

Over the last few years we have made friends with one of the local eye surgeons, Dr Diallo. In October he told us that 60% of his work is related to Diabetic eye disease which inevitably results in blindness. With the number of Diabetics scheduled to double in Africa in the next 10-20 years and with no strategy or funding in place to cope with this, the problem of blindness and the poverty that follows on from this is going to become a huge challenge to the limited health care system of the country. A retinal laser, which would help prevent blindness and slow the progression of the disease is not currently available anywhere in Burkina Faso. We are starting to raise funds for a phased approach towards building an eye hospital and buying the laser and other equipment that will help save the site of many people. If you want to help with this please get in touch with us by email info@aidtoburkina.org.uk – or use the Paypal button we are hoping to get up and running in the next few weeks.

Guinkere well

phil — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:54:00 +0000

Here is the latest video footage from Guinkere where we dug the well in October 2011. Click here to see more Guinkere Well

Just back from our latest visit

phil — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:08:56 +0000

Just returned last week from our latest visit to Bobo-Dioulasso where we spent 2 weeks with our friends Moise and Elizabeth Oubda. During our stay we visited Guinkere, the village where we dug the most recent well. The village people were so pleased with their new source of water, and the older women in particular, as they had to carry water significant distances during the dry season and this was very difficult for them. The village itself was quite poor, with a lot of ill health being evident in the children. We’ll attach some photos as soon as we get them sorted!

The Bana clinic has now opened and our new nurse Claudette has started working there. She seems to getting well integrated into the village community and people are speaking well of her. Her husband works many hundreds of miles away at present so this is a challenge for her and her young baby, but we ae hoping that her house will be completed soon (the rainy season put the building on hold) and we’ve upgraded it slightly to make life easier for her. An inside toilet will prevent her having to make a long walk at night to the toilet block, which despite the presence of the guard is a daunting prospect for someone living by themself.

Our daughter Bethany was left behind (!) at Bana to conduct her research for her Masters. She is looking at treatment seeking behaviours for Malaria and helping us do some market research into the local service users views of the clinic. early reports would suggest some people in the village don’t come to the clinic because they prefer to use traditional remedies first, others because they think the cost will be too high! Bethany is helping us correct those views.

Dr Diallo, the consultant ophthalmologist we have made friends with in Bobo received the Slit lamp microscope that had been donated to us. Unfortunately, due to problems with the plane flight, we were unable to see it before we left and we look forward to some photos being emailed to us in the next few weeks. Embryonic talks have begun regarding starting a Diabetes clinic / centre in Bobo. 60% of all Dr Diallo’s work is related to Diabetes, and because he does not have access to a retinal laser, there is no treatment he can offer. Thee is only one diabetes specialist in city of 500,000 – and with the prevalence of diabetes currently standing at 4% and rising, that means one doctor to advise 20,000 patients. No wonder life expectancy for some diabetics stands at less than 1 year after diagnosis. Provision of a clinic with a laser along with another diabetes specialist would be a huge asset to the city and we are currently looking into ways in which we may be able to help with this.

Pictures comning soon!

Fundraiser at The Pavilion Cantonese Resturant, Iveston, Monday 26th September

phil — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 14:39:55 +0000

Help support the work of Aid to Burkina by having a great meal and a good night out at our annual fundraising event! Tickets are £26 per head, tables of between 10 – 13 people available. Why not get your friends to come along and take a table? If you are interested in finding out more email us at info@aidtoburkina.org.uk

Faso Five-O

phil — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 09:22:49 +0000

Keith and Lynne Smith have been involved in work in Gorom-Gorom in North East Burkina Faso for many years, spending 6 months of the year in the UK and 6 months living as part of the community in Gorom-Gorom. Lynne provides dental care to the people in the locality, something which is entirely lacking otherwise.

If you would like to find out more about their work check out the link at the bottom of the page. If you would like to help with their work, Keith is running five 10km races and you can sponsor him and find out more by clicking here.

The village of Guinkere gets its first clean water supply

phil — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:23:28 +0000

The village of Guinkere is a small village about 80Km away from Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso’s second city, found in the South West of the country. We heard that they had frequent episodes of gastroenteritis, a condition that can easily be fatal in that climate, and the cause was thought to be their poor water supply which was often contaminated. Thanks to the generosity of a local business here in the UK we were able to drill a deep well in June 2011 for the village which will provide plentiful clean water all year round. Take a look at the pictures!

The new well at Guinkere

Drinking from Guinkere's new well

Guinkere

Nurse’s house can now be built thanks to generous gifts from Witton Park group of Anglican churches.

phil — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:37:10 +0000

Thanks to a very generous gift from Witton Park Anglican church and associated Churches at the end of May following their Lent Smartie tube appeal which raised £800 ! We are now able to complete the nurse’s house at Bana and the construction should begin on this final stage of the first phase of work within the next few weeks.

We’re really grateful for everyone’s help – thanks to everyone’s support.

Follow this link to see the latest update to Bana Clinic or check out our Youtube channel for more video updates (AidtoBurkina).

Our Nurse needs somewhere to live!

phil — Thu, 05 May 2011 18:58:00 +0000

2 years ago we started the Bana project. Initially, and slightly naively, we had thought it would be a simple matter of building the clinic and equipping it. But we had forgotten a few important ‘extras’ – like connecting the clinic to a water supply, building a waiting area and toilet block for the people travelling some distance for medical help, and a house for the Nurse to live in….. oops!

Today the new nurse, Claudette, went to be introduced to the village. She’s going to have to stay in the small guard’s house until we can get her new home built for her. At £2500 we’re not looking for a whole lot of money to complete the first phase of the project, but it’s currently £2500 more than we have in the bank! If you’re interested in helping towards this project you contact us on contact@aidtoburkina.org.uk and we can start providing quality medical services to a region that currently has not got access to medication as simple as aspirin.