Holidays of peace and prayerfulness. A devout Muslim prays five

times daily. If possible, pray in a mosque, and on Holidays are very important to your sponsored child Friday do so with common prayer and a sermon. also and family. The most important ones have religious requires that Muslims make a pilgrimage, called the Hajj, significance: to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime. January 1 Islamic holidays include Ramadan, the holiest month New Year’s Day of the Muslim calendar that commemorates the month Date varies Muhammad received the revelations that became the Ramadan Koran. Eid al-Fitr is a joyous feast celebrating the end of March/April* Ramadan and the month of fasting. Al-Hijra celebrates the Easter Islamic New Year. May 1 Labor Day is the term used to categorize the plethora of localized indigenous throughout the world. December 25 Christmas Animists live in a world dominated by a complex interplay of spiritual powers. The manipulation of such powers *date varies through magic, to benefit humans, is subject to strict rules, including rituals, sacrifices, and trance. Animists believe in Burkina Faso that when people die their life force (soul) leaves the body, Population 16.4 million Roughly half of the people of Burkina Faso are Muslim. joining the invisible world of ancestors. The invisible world Capital City Another 40 percent follow indigenous religions, and 10 is also populated by nature spirits of the wind, rain, forest, percent of the population are Christian (mostly Catholic). animals, and earth. Many indigenous adherents in Burkina Official Language French Faso celebrate the Yam Festival each August, during which Per Capita Income US$670/year Muslims are followers of Islam. Islam is an Arabic word yams, the first crop to be harvested, are offered to gods meaning “submission to the will of Allah (God).” Muslims and ancestors as a way of giving thanks to the spirits. Youth Literacy Rate 47% male/33% female believe that Allah’s will was revealed to the prophet Access to Safe Water 96% urban/74% rural Muhammad more than 14 centuries ago and was Christians are followers of Jesus, a carpenter and a Jew captured in the Islamic holy book, the Koran (Qur’an). from the city of Nazareth in present-day Israel. Christians Under 5 Mortality Rate 102/1,000 live births Together with the Sunnah, a collection of sayings believe that Jesus is the only son of God, born of a virgin Source: The State of the World’s Children 2014 (UNICEF) attributed to Muhammad, these texts provide a firm woman (Mary) in a stable in Bethlehem. His story is told in basis for religious and social life for all Muslims, including the New Testament of the Christian holy book, the Bible. rules for diet, dress, hygiene, and more. Islam is a religion Burkina Faso is a completely landlocked West African country. The country lies

Additional sources include the CIA World Factbook and State Department websites. about 600 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and is nestled between Mali, Niger, Benin, , Ghana, and the Ivory Coast (Côte d’ Ivoire). Slightly larger than the state of Plan International USA is part of a global organization that works side by side with communities in 50 developing countries to Colorado, the country is also known as Burkinabe. Burkina Faso is one of the poorest end the cycle of poverty for children. We develop solutions community by community to ensure long-term sustainability. Our countries in the developing world. The region consists of mostly wooded, grassy level of community engagement, long-term outlook, and constant focus on the needs and priorities of children is unique among international development organizations. Our solutions are designed up-front to be owned by the community for generations to plains atop a large plateau. Only a small percentage of the land is cultivable; as a come, and range from clean water and health-care programs to education projects and child-protection initiatives. result, crop yields are extremely poor. The climate of Burkina Faso is tropical and varies greatly with the hot desert winds that accentuate the dryness of the terrain. Promising Futures, Plan International USA Community by Community 155 Plan Way • Warwick, RI 02886 The dry season lasts from mid-November to mid-April; the rainy season lasts from 1-800-556-7918 • planusa.org June to September. Unfortunately, in recent years drought has been a persistent problem for the people of Burkina Faso. A Brief History support the capacity building of community and institutional structures in charge of education. Burkina Faso (known as Upper Volta until 1984) has had a turbulent political history. The Mossi people have a Maternal and child health care long and rich culture among the people of Burkina Faso. The Mossi tribe began in Gambaga and established itself This program is dedicated to supporting a responsive as a well-organized kingdom in the late 1300s, moving health-care system, which will ensure the good health to the present-day capital in the late 1400s. The Mossi of young children. It focuses on trying to eliminate kingdom had a strong military force that defended the the main causes of death in children such as acute land for more than 300 years from warring tribes to respiratory infections, diarrhea-related diseases, and the east in present-day Mali. Most Europeans did not malaria; immunization of all children under 5 years of hear of Burkina Faso until the late 1800s, when the age from major diseases; and pre- and post-natal care. French began to colonize the territory. France captured Ouagadougou in 1897, and the colony of Upper Volta Safe drinking water and sanitation food, and the length of the fallow period has become Language was established 20 years later as an official colony of the shorter. The end result has been a dramatic decrease in French government. Roughly 40 years later, the people Plan seeks to ensure that all inhabitants of villages have the fertility of the country’s soils. The average villager French is the official language in Burkina Faso, but the of Burkina Faso gained independence and political sanitation facilities, as well as access to a safe drinking lives outside the cash economy as a subsistence farmer, majority of the population speaks Moore or other tribal freedom but, as with many developing countries, the water point within less than 1,000 meters. growing most of his/her own food. Most households languages. The common languages such as Moore, country faces economic, social, and cultural difficulties. have goats, sheep, and chickens. Wealthier families may Dioula, Gourmantche, and Fulani are spoken with These challenges have led to a series of coups d’etats, Protecting children against the also have a few cattle. Livestock is mainly viewed as a greater frequency in the rural areas. It is very likely that the most recent occurring in 1987. The vast majority effects of HIV form of savings. A family will sell an animal (or use it as you will encounter a language barrier in communicating of the population is illiterate, so active political life is collateral) when cash is needed. with your sponsored child, as the majority of the Through this program, Plan focuses on promoting HIV enjoyed by an elite educated minority. The masses children do not know enough English to write a letter. voluntary testing and counseling, raising awareness of are only consulted when the weight of their voices is Those who cannot write will be assigned community the spread of HIV, while working with associations of Family Structure needed, especially during election years. workers and volunteers who will explain your letters and people living with the disease and affected children. Most sponsored children and families live in an help the children compose their responses. extended family environment. The eldest male is the Plan’s work in Burkina Faso covers Here are a few phrases in Moore that you might head of a family consisting of his wives and children, Economic Security want to use in your correspondence with your four core areas, all of which are as well as his brothers and their families. Children are Agriculture is the base of the economy in Burkina Faso. sponsored child: rooted in the rights of the child: the responsibility of their mothers and live with them More than half of the population works the land as Ney yi beogo Good quality education until they are teenagers. Although it can be difficult either owners or day laborers, and principal exports Good day Maternal and child health care to improve individual economic prospects within the include livestock, cotton, and peanuts. The primary If kiemame? Safe drinking water and sanitation context of a large family structure, the extended family agricultural practice is slash and burn, in which the land How are you? Protecting children against the effects of HIV is also seen as a source of social security. All families is cleared of vegetation and debris is burned. The soil, have a distinct division of labor: women are responsible If zaak raamba? fertilized by the resulting ash, is then cultivated for a How is your family? for raising the children, cleaning, cooking, fetching Basic education number of years until the weeds become too oppressive water, and marketing produce; men are responsible for Wend na taase or the harvest is no longer viable. The farmer then shifts Goodbye This priority program aims to improve access to quality farm work and also participate in construction projects; to another location and repeats the process. Fields are formal and nonformal education. A great number of and young children are expected to assist in these tasks. Puus neba faa konma children have been enrolled in schools thanks to an laid fallow for seven to eight years, during which time Say hello to everybody increase in school infrastructure building projects, the soil will be naturally regenerated. However, as the repairs, furnishings, and supplies by Plan. We also population has increased, so has the need for more