BGMC Passport
Passport to Burkina Faso
Get your BGMC Passport for Burkina Faso ready by opening the download below!
Hi, kids! Are you ready for another virtual world tour?
I'm about to blast off for Burkina Faso and hope you can go along. I need your help, and so do the children of Burkina Faso. There are SO many kids in that African nation who know little or nothing about Jesus. With the help of our missionaries and our BGMC offerings, we can share the good news of Jesus with thousands of kids!
Don't forget to print out your BGMC Passport Binder. You can see above what the passport for this month looks like. I've added lots of information below that you can place in your passport binder and read along the journey. For starters, look at the map below to see where we're headed.
1-2-3 and away we go!
Map of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso Flag
Amadou (ah-mah-DOO)
"Kibaré!" (kee-bah-RAY, "How are you?") Amadou
says to the boys crowded around the foosball table. "Lafi," (lah-FEE, "Fine") they all answer, except
the two who are quickly turning the handles that make the soccer "men" kick the
ball and score. Beef kebobs sizzle on a grill. Two men straddle a bench and
play checkers. Under a nearby tree, two women braid the hair of another woman.
Her three little ones chase each other in the sand. This small restaurant is a
popular gathering place for the people in Amadou's village.
Village Life
Most of Burkina Faso's people, called Burkinabé (burr-keen-ah-BAY), live in small villages. They grow their own food and raise animals, such as cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs. Many farmers grow cotton to sell. Everyone helps. The entire family works in the fields and cares for the animals.
Women and girls also take care of the house, laundry, and cooking. Families are usually large. Amadou has eight brothers and sisters! They live in a small mud hut with a thatch roof. Father and the boys sleep in one area, and Mother and the girls in another.
Amadou's Day
Every day, it's Amadou's job to fetch water. He loads plastic jugs on a donkey cart and goes down the road to a water pump. After filling all the jugs, he brings them home to his mother.
In his free time, Amadou likes to hunt birds and small animals with a slingshot. In this way, he helps to feed the family.
Sometimes Amadou goes with his family to the market, where he often sees his friends and plays foosball while his mother shops and his father sells the extra crops from his garden. On rare occasion, someone will bring a TV and VCR to the village. With power from a car battery, everyone in the village gets to watch a movie!
Time to Eat!
For Amadou, there is nothing better at the end of the day than sagabo (SAH-gah-bo), which is corn, millet, or sorghum cooked into a thick porridge. Different sauces are made with peanuts, okra, or plant leaves. Another favorite of Amadou's is beancakes-cooked beans that are mashed, coated with flour, and fried in oil. (See the Winnie's Recipe download for instructions on making beancakes.)
When the family has guests, or for holidays, they kill a chicken or guinea fowl or even a goat and eat rice with it. Most of the year there are fruits and vegies to eat too. A special treat for Amadou is a warm cola purchased from a street vendor!
[Open Winnie's Newsletter below for the full story.]
