Heal the World

"Penga ya Wende" or "God is strong!"

Heal the World — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

This year, along with all other nonprofit organizations, the NGO I work for has suffered unfortunate donations losses. The economic situation in America is being felt around the world, probably more visibly here in Africa. People's wallets are simply being threatened; with income cuts, job losses, and uncertain job security so we are becoming less likely to see a need and actually contribute to it. It's not a big deal to us, we see an organization looking for funds and we simply turn a blind eye. Don't lie to yourselves, everyone at some point ignores the beggar on the side of the road. The ramifications of our actions aren't even seen by us, but here on the ground in W. Africa, working for one such nonprofit, the ramifications of the countries fiscal situation is terrifying. Budget cuts due to lack of donations has cost the children at the school I teach something that has completely changed their lives. We (Heal the World, inc.) no longer have the funds to provide meals for the students at our Shalom primary school. Many might read this and simply think "Big deal, they're Africans they'll survive, they're used to starving." The problem is, I can't think that, I can't even see how someone could. Three days these kids went without food and the effects were clearly visible to me. No smiling faces, no obnoxious kids with constant energy, running around like kids should. They all simply sat through class, heads down, no energy to spare in the hot African heat. This great of an effect, and only after three days?! The budget was cut for the rest of the year!

This put a huge pain in my heart, and I was/am determined to do something about it! As soon as I got home I sent an email to my pastor, Pastor Mark Murphy, begging for funds, begging for offerings to be taken up. His heart was touched and he did just that. He pledged two thousand dollars for the school!!! Literally, I jumped with joy! All my prayers were answered, these kids would eat for months! Going back to the school and telling the headmaster the good news the reality of things hit me dead in the face. That $2,0000 would last a total of... 3 weeks. Three weeks!?

With this bearing down on my heart I contacted the Vice President of the organization who, needless to say, wasn't happy about the kids not eating either. We talked and shared ideas and finally agreed that my two remaining months of service to Heal the World would be better spent in America, advocating, raising awareness, and spreading word of the Shalom schools situation. A situation more dire than my words can stress. Many of the students in that school are orphans, orphans here in Africa simply aren't the same as in America. The orphanages or too few to meet demands, orphans here are more often than not left to fend for themselves.

With my remaining two months I am driving coast to coast speaking in as many churches, colleges and high schools as I can along the way! Running a campaign in the midst of the current economic situation people are less likely to give, so now more than ever I am going to show that a few dollars can make a difference. A donation of six dollars will feed a child for one month here! That's what I am pushing, I will feed the school one child at a time, one month at a time, until I meet my 30,000 dollar goal. $30,000 is the price of feeding the school for one year, and that's a heck of a lot of six dollars. The best part is that it doesn't just nourish their bodies but through Shalom school it nourishes their minds & spirits at the same time! I hope to bring this cause to as many peoples ears as I can, and hopefully my words and pictures will touch their hearts. This is my calling, this is Gods will, and as the Mossi people say "Penga ya Wende" (God is strong!).

Thanks everyone who reads my blog and has felt touched enough to donate! For those who haven't given, I once again ask for one more donation! Help Heal the World by sponsoring me through providing the gas and food it will take for me to tackle such a huge project! Please? Donate Now! http://healtheworld.org/donate.php

A new focus

Heal the World — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Poverty can be hidden, it can be covered, it can be pushed to the outskirts so it's not visible to the business class of a city, but it is still there. The reality of such tragedies hit me this week, and of all places here, in the capital city, in a sprawling urban metropolis, poverty can be seen at its worst. Well, in my imagination at its worst, but in the reality of things, those starving people living not two blocks from my house are the middle class of Burkina. Out in the villages, three, four hundred kilometers from Ouaga is where desperation is screaming at you everywhere you go.


Blaise's Barber Shop!

Looking at numbers Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, take for example their GNI per capita in 2009 was around five hundred dollars. Which means that when the national income is divided by the population it comes out to every person in Burkina makes around five hundred dollars a year. Not taking into account the huge disparity between the working class, (who makes around four dollars a week), and the business class. The Adjusted savings report really brings this into light. The gross savings (% of GNI) of each person in Burkina is how much they save to themselves per year. According to some statistics I've pulled up it is dwindling around five percent. Now, here's the simple task, what's five percent of five hundred? Twenty-five dollars is how much the "average" Burkinabe saves per year. Once again, this number does not reflect the actuality of things.

His wife and child.

This is my attempt to do just that. To show you the actuality, and desperation of Burkina's citizens. Take Sawadogo Blaise into consideration, he is my friend, my barber, and hopefully a pupil of Heal the World next year. His house is roughly one or two kilometers away from mine, within walking distance. Yet the difference in living screams at you. His neighborhood is nothing more than shacks, no electricity, no water, reeks of sewage. It is Africa pretty much. My brother Blaise has a single flashlight lamp to light his house every night, the batteries it uses consumes most of his income. He's a barber, and with haircuts costing up to 300cfa each (around 60-65 cents) making a living is no easy business. Especially when supporting a family.

In the picture above the width of his house extends about a foot on either side of that chair, it's smaller than my bedroom and houses three people. Here's some more pictures of his family and friends!

Another picture to represent how small his house actually is, its width ends just after the window on the left, and just before the window on the right. If anyone will take it upon themselves to help out Sawadogo please let me know, thirty dollars could feed his family for two months, or buy him that kerosene lamp. Take these stories seriously, every month I hope to give y'all the opportunity to help a local Burkinabe out! In return I'll send you pictures of the locals receiving your aid, and a letter from the man himself! God bless any who opens their hearts!

On to another important topic! The Thirty Hour Famine! The youth group I'm apart of here in Ouga is going to be fasting for thirty hours in order to help a village in dire need. I've seemed to have lost the email with all the information on it. I will post again shortly, or if anyone is interested just ask. Here's the gist of what's going on, in 2009 Ouagadougou experienced severe flooding, and with most of the houses being made out of the adobe material pictured above, most houses were swept away, villages destroyed in minutes. My youth group is attempting to help one such village. They're raising funds to help feed a group of widows and their children, drill a well to supply clean drinking water, and put on a medical clinic! My church, Bethel, has already donated two hundred dollars to the cause, and with the goal being 20,000 dollars, much more is needed! Once again, I'll be there camera in hand to document the happenings! If you want to help this village out I can give you the contact information of Hannah Greene, who is in charge of the event!

Last tidbit! I am sorry, but most of my blogs will include me begging for money! I can either live everyday oblivious to my surroundings, staring straight forward on my way to work, and ignoring all the desperation; or I can use my voice to call attention to such travesties that can be avoided. Personally, the later makes me feel better about myself. About the GNI statistics, I am no accountant, if I did math wrong just let me know! Lastly, thanks for any that help! God puts us all where we're at for one reason or another, and if you're staring at these words the let your heart feel them. Behind all the smiles in the pictures I post sadly lies a disguised truth, these people need our help, they need your help.

Your Worldview!?

Heal the World — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The children at the Shalom school are inspiring, and they have worked their magic on me. Without education their future isn't bright, or it wouldn't seem bright to us Westerners. In America it's stressed that if you don't finish high school then your future will be flipping burgers and digging ditches. Here finishing primary school is barely a goal, flipping burgers and digging ditches is a career, and anything more is a gift from god. When I get home from Burkina I plan on fund raising money for the Shalom school. I want those kids to have all the tools necessary for their education. Even though they'll most likely never have electricity, I want to fund raise enough money to spoil them in every other regard! Look around and be thankful for what you have. We are a a society privileged to the fullest. It takes coming somewhere like this, and working on a day to day basis with the people to truly be grateful. If you think you are, well think again.

The children.


Their situation.

That photo was taken at the Shalom school, that is their village, Rimkieta, in the background.

Renewed Enthusiasm!

Heal the World — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Okay, when I first came to Africa I pledged to blog at least once a week, which obviously hasn't come true. Here's what I've prepared in the way of excuses: We didn't get internet for the first two months; I forgot which email I used to set up with blog site; I am way too busy. Obviously the later isn't true, and in reality the reason for no blog in the last month is more from apathy than anything else. Due to sudden realization that time goes by faster if you're always busy I've decided to redouble my efforts in blogging and teaching. I've added two more classes to my schedule, outside of my normal students for Heal the World. I'll be teaching one class split into two units every Sunday, one unit focusing on grammar and basic English, and the other more abstract, focused on conversation through fun activities, from debates on international topics, to playing cards, to skits. Also, every Thursday I'll be teaching our guards Emmanuel and Jean Baptiste for an hour or two. Two of the nicest guys in the world, gave them a composition notebook and a pencil last night for our first lesson! It's going to be a big project, Emmanuel will have to learn how to write, and Jean Baptiste doesn't know much French, so crossing the language barrier is a little difficult.

Alright now, a look at the Shalom School. This is as much a synopsis for Heal the World as it is a check of progress for my own benefit. I plan on doing a weekly update on progression, however, my track record will test that theory.

Class 1: My most challenging, a class of grade 1 (kindergarten) rambunctious kids. They always bring me a smile and a headache at the same time! They have an attention span of about five minutes, so I cover three topics at once with them, I began with A,B,C's then colors, and now numbers. Friday I will start with days of the week and see how it goes. I've struggled with them now, but this new approach of five minutes on each subject for the whole fifteen minutes seems to be working. Memory retention for all the classes is minimal, so might spend a week just on review, going over the same things over and over again. Drilling is extremely boring, but anything else and they get too excited.

Class 2: They are a year two or three class that is doing extremely well for how young they are! I have taught them a number of adjectives and nouns, and pushing for verbs, however their applications of the verbs into forming sentences is minimal. Only two or three kids can do this. They can translate for English to French extremely well though, for example, they know the verb"to go"so when I write "I go to the school" on the board they say "Je vais á l'école". Their vocabulary builds everyday, and they have a ton of potential!

Class 3: This is a year three class that I am pushing hard! They are grasping, struggling as they might be, simple S+V+O sentences. Every week I teach them two or three more verbs and as many nouns and adjectives as I can fit in that go with the theme of the week! This weeks theme is all about the kitchen. They are learning the verbs to eat, to drink, and to cook. Every single week more and more of them get the grasp of forming sentences and speaking.

Class 4: My favorite class! They are the oldest, at year four or five they are the oldest in the school. They are quickly grasping English, and are always excited to learn! I was stretching my time limit with these guys a little too much though, I have to keep my time down to twenty minutes with them :(. The little time I have we always have a blast and the kids are learning quick! I teach this class and the class before it the same lessons every week, so they are also learning all about the kitchen. If I call on a student in this class randomly they almost always can do what I ask of them, whether it be translating or answering a concept check question!

Class 5: They are grade 0 (pre-k) and the cutest class with the shortest attention span. Keeping their attention for the entire class (fifteen minutes) is a nearly impossible task! Lots of singing the A,B,C's and fun counting exercises. If you want them to learn anything you almost always have to turn it into a song! These guys are amazing though, they are always trying to touch the white man, when I walk around the class room they all reach for my arms!

Class 6: Another grade 1 class, this one is the best behaved in the school! Eager learners they all willingly participate and are always smiling! They are an amazing bunch and never fail to inspire me! I wish I could give them more in the way of teaching, wish I would've gotten that extra 40 hour class on teaching young kids! They know their colors, numbers, and greetings. The biggest problem facing this class is disparity in learning ability. A couple of the students are extremely advanced, grasping topics immediately, while the others just copy the answers that those few shout out.

Oh, and to conclude this blog entry, we got a puppy! His name is Karé!

death. celebrity. life. try harder.

Heal the World — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 08:54:38 -0700

so. REALLY need to preface this. PLEASE take it for what it is - a comment on life in this world, and not a plea for sympathy.

i found out via a ct scan today (pictured) that there is a small polyp in my inner ear. for you doctors out there, you know that this is no big deal. a minor surgery, and viola. but i must admit that on my way to the hospital today, before my ct scan, i felt these thoughts of death coursing through me - similar level of nag that you feel when a telemarketer calls during dinner - but a bit more dark. i prayed and found comfort in the promise of salvation that i walk in daily - but then thought about my wife, our dog. my parents. brother. sister. it was odd. i didn't know what to expect. google, a great source of info (but sometimes knowledge isn't very comforting) told me all sorts of things the night before. i tossed for over an hour before my brain let me rest.

so to the point: in some delusion of grandeur, i actually felt for a moment, that this could be a really good thing. i though of all the interviews...here we come oprah! the guy with the brain tumor speaks his last wish and rallies america, no, the world, to build the university of west africa before he dies. and then i came to a sad end in my anxious thought process - why do we have to wait for someone from a "developed" country to die in order to care enough? am i wrong? do you think it wouldn't have happened? i am guessing anyone who reads this could imagine the snidbit before the commercial break "heal the world's last wish, back to you in a minute...have you tried colgate's new...". it bothered me. what really hit me, more than the idea that i could reach my dreams faster by starting to die quicker, was that why would my life somehow rally the troops more than the tens of thousand's of african ones that are mercilessly lost each day.

just a thought.

anyways. i'm not going to die soon (God willing). a minor surgery in dec. however, like all things in life. plenty to learn from the challenges of each day, both the mundane and extraordinary.

I'm Agree

Heal the World — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 04:27:05 -0700

It's funny how little words make big ripples in our hearts. I saw my inbox today (pictured), and read an email by one of our students, Roland, agreeing to our engagement to be a part of the Teachers College. This is no small commitment. 3 years, 1 of studying, 2 of teaching - the benefit (other than service to his country) - a free education at the University of West Africa. It's kind of a Teach for America flipped on its head. You don't need a masters degree to teach in Burkina, in fact you don't even have to finish high school (although for us you do). The real faith kick though, is that this university, of which we count the Teachers College as the beginning of, doesn't have any other faculties at the moment. It is a vision. One we are working towards, but one that is mountains away. But what does faith do? It moves mountains.

So Roland will go down as student 1 of the University of West Africa. With his imperfect English, our vision will become manifest. It reminds me of me. It reminds me of us actually...imperfect...but willing, guided and impacting.

here we go

Heal the World — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 05:14:50 -0700

I have taken a long hiatus from this. But I see the benefit to blogging. To process the day. To remember what God is doing around me, through HtW and I. No promises...but I want to make this a regular event. Hope some benefit comes from it...if even just for me.

We started the Teacher's College this week. An unceremonious start to a new era in our work - bringing what we have learned to scale. It could seem scary, taking on more - committing to more families, kids, smiles and disseminated thoughts. I once said to Patrick (VP comm.) - let's go big or go home. He was a bit taken back, but my perspective was and is that this work isn't worth sleepless nights unless it really reaches the masses. I hear Mother Theresa when she says she looks at the individual, not the masses - but that doesn't work for me. If I wanted to help the individual I would sponsor a kid, donate my clothes, etc. Which are all good things to do, and in fact if we all did that, I wouldn't have to look at the masses. But were not, so I do.

A friend who I argue with often likes to always find the exception to my point. I find his style of thinking honorable, but again - that doesn't work for me. I want printing presses, assembly lines, huge block apartments. I'm not talking about taking away the beauty of artisanal - but I am talking about a pen that costs 5 cents not 50 or 1000 bucks for that matter. Once everyone has a pen, I say cool - buy the Mont Blanc with the diamond floating in the top - but I say wait. Wait until we've clothed the naked, fed the hungry and educated every kid on earth - how about wait until we've achieved the millenium development goals???

Can you imagine how hard we would all work to end poverty if we truly denied ourselves everything beyond basics until the deed is done. I wish I could say I did this. I don't though. Why? I think I normally rationalize it as "work hard, play hard". I see the thought process...but am I right? Do I really need two weeks of vacation to prevent burnout...maybe. Not sure...yet. But maybe. I guess the that really frustrates me is that I could have those two weeks, maybe even a month like the French, but I can only have that without guilt if everyone pitches in to HtW. I literally feel guilty when I am on vacation. I still go, saying it's for family. I don't know though. I think I am rationalizing. Or I am just week and really do need it.

Sorry, we were talking about teachers college. So on Monday, shouting instructions over skype from Singapore to a West Africa cell phone, I gave instructions to the students through the mouth instrument of one of our local workers on how to sign-up for our online courses. These students will be the foundation of our ever evolving and strengthening model. They will be the start of what will actually allow us to make a serious dent in the abismal educational stats that we read in such places as the UNICEF's annual report, or the occasional NYT article. The students are high school graduates (a significant increase in standards vis a vis the local requirement for a primary school teacher), they will be giving training that is borrowed from a structure refined by Teachers Without Borders and reinforced by us through the likes of iTunes U/MIT OCW/etc. Not to mention guest lectures by live local and international education experts.

To us each of these students represents another 100. 50 for each year that they will teach for us before they go on to study at the University of West Africa. 1 for a 100, and then 100 for 1. As that teacher ages, those 100 will be the foundation of the workforce, taxpayers, contributors to a system, that by God's grace and through efforts such as ours, will lead to a harmonious symbiotic existence for the men and women of their society, young and old. God bless Africa. God bless the world. Give us strength. In the word of World Vision's founder, break my heart for what breaks Yours.

Everything I own is turning reddish orange

Heal the World — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

This was the month of “village iron chef” aka people who teach and live in Ouaga go out to villages and cook food mostly to entertain Peace Corps friends. It was fun and it was tasty. This trip’s highlight was not the cooking however but the 43-mile bike ride through the Sahel on the edge of the Sahara Desert.

Our whole route was a dirt road with little cover (desert) but with villages maybe every 15 miles. We stopped twice, once in Mani where we got some of the best yogurt I’ve ever had. Apparently the “polls”, (spelled for ease of pronunciation) the ethnic group that lives in the north of Burkina as well as some other countries, make some dang good yogurt. I’ll save you from having to wonder -- a sachet of yogurt and half an orange Fanta was not the best choice for a mid 40-mile bike ride snack in the desert. No real problems though until we were roughly 12 miles out from Tatarko when the Harmattan winds decided to pick up. So for about the last 10 miles or so we were riding straight into a head wind. Happily the dust was not bad at all so there was no problem with seeing or breathing.

In Tatarko we stopped and had a lunch of what was pretty much the saltiest rice I’ve ever had in my life. The resto was just beside a video club spot. Explanation time: When someone has a TV or something of that sort at a bar or what have you, they place one large speaker outside of their establishment and turn it up as loud as humanly possible. People here LOVE kung-fu movies. SO, the end of our biking day was met with really salty rice and really loud kung-fu sounds. I was dirty, sweaty, salty from being sweaty, dehydrated. My butt hurt, I couldn’t think and on top of that even if I would have been able to think I wouldn’t have been able to hear myself over the clashing of swords and kung-fu sounds of hands moving rapidly. All in all it was a good trip. It always feels good to do something physical, especially when most of my days are spent in classrooms.

Ben Roberts

Teacher, English Language Institute, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

A concert, a surprising class assignment, and a road trip

Heal the World — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

On December 20th, for some reason, Sean Paul (a famous singer for those who need a reference) came to Ouagadougou to put on a concert. His style can be described as a popish reggae. The concert was at the national football stadium “Stade du 4 Août”. This is a very large venue and I expected the place to be packed. Then we got to the concert and remembered that we’re in Burkina and no one has any money. The lowest-priced tickets were 5000 CFA (US$10), a great deal for a Sean Paul concert but still way too expensive for the population here. One advantage to there being no people was that we could walk right up to the stage.

The concert itself was OK. There were no warm-up bands. It was pretty much just the main event. Sean Paul does not speak French, and Burkina Faso does not speak English. This little situation made it quite comical when Sean Paul would yell for the crowd to “put your hands up” and “jump” and asked questions like “do you love Sean Paul?” All questions and commands were promptly responded to with a resounding “quoi?” (What?). Stop talking in English and sing.
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On to brighter subject, like scaring my students to within an inch of their lives. It was not on purpose. I was checking their listening comprehension and oral skills. So I called each student up and asked them simple questions: Write your name, name a factor of education, what is a job for a woman, and what do you want to do after school?

My students were so petrified that I could see them visibly shaking while I was asking them questions. They were not even being graded on this exercise. I think maybe they thought I would yell at them or something for not being perfect. One girl was so worried she crossed herself when we finished.
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For Christmas I took a trip down to Ghana with some friends. The difference between Ghana and Burkina Faso, where development is concerned, is staggering.

The stark contrast between the two nations is captured perfectly at the border crossing. There is similar land on either side of the border, similar size villages on either side of the border, and one major difference --- different countries. In the Burkina immigration office there is one officer seated at a desk armed with a pen and a large notebook so he can handwrite all the names and passport numbers of people leaving and entering the country. On the Ghana side (even at 4 in the morning) there are at least six immigration officers with four computers with a passport scanner for processing people entering and leaving Ghana.

Ghana is at least 30 years ahead of Burkina and that could be due to many things, one of the largest factors being access to an ocean. A small bag of water in Burkina cost 50 CFA (roughly US10 cents), and in Ghana a small bag of water cost about US6 cents. Burkina, while one of the poorest nations in the world, is pretty much the most expensive nation in West Africa.

Ben Roberts
Teacher, English Language Institute, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Oh Burkina

Heal the World — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

I've been teaching in the Burkina Faso school system now for three weeks. The three schools that I teach in are private. I don't really think that means much more than they cost more to go to. One of my classes has 62 students in it while the other two each have about 20.
Some of my students do quite well in class and actually appear to belong there. The others are incredibly far behind and to be honest I don't have a clue how to catch them up. I see each of my classes for three hours a week one day during the week.
The large gap in ability is thanks to the system these students are coming up in. You can completely fail English every year and as long as your other subject scores are good then you move up in level. That means you move up in every level, including the subjects that you fail.
Spent the weekend up in the North again . . . The landscape is changing rapidly. Sometime this "winter" I'll get back up there so you can see what the dry season really looks like. Also had to ride the bus back after sundown -- slightly un-nerving. Not nearly as bad as my trip up which consisted of a driver who was much more in love with the horn than the breaks.
He was a big fan of laying on the horn from about a mile away from his target. Once we were roughly 10 feet from whatever it was we were passing (mostly donkeys) he would rapidly turn then immediately over correct at about 50 mph in a Greyhound-size bus. Good times, especially on unpaved bridges with 30 or so foot drops to either side.
Ben Roberts
Teacher, English Language Institute, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso