smile... it can't rain forever...

Well, it's still raining so I thought I'd better write about some things that make me happy...

Top 10 Things that I Love about Ouagadougou!

10. Yoghurt. I don't know of anywhere else in Africa that loves yoghurt so much. Some places have home-made yoghurt in a bag. Other places sell tiny, imported tubs from France, but this is the only place that mass produces it's own yoghurt (flavoured, sweetened or natural) that you can buy in any store that has a fridge. Awesome.

9. Honesty. Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary who gave this country it's current name "Burkina Faso" which literally means "land of men with integrity". And it holds true today. I feel safer here than anywhere I have been on this continent. Of course, I still need to be a shrewd bargainer in order to get a good price, but I have no sense of the anyone being out to get me. One thing I have noticed is how genuinely happy people are to help, whether it be with advice or directions, they off er it freely and are happy to see you on y our way with just a thank you. Corruption here is minimal compared to anywhere else in the region and people are not afraid of the police.

8. Mangoes from Heaven! The sweetest, juiciest, tastiest, hugest mangoes all come from this country and they are in season NOW.

7. Have I mentioned how many bicycles are here?

6. W omen. Another thing that Sankara tried to instill in his countrymen was a profound respect for women. In a famous speech, he said

"You are our mothers, life companions, our comrades in struggle and because of this fact you should by right affirm yourselves as equal partners in the joyful victory feasts of the revolution. We must restore to humanity your true image by making the reign of freedom prevail over differentiations imposed by nature and by eliminating all kinds of hypocrisy that sustain the shameless exploitation of women."

And it wasn't just words. He campaigned to end female circumcision, changed the law so that women to request divorce, encouraged contraception, condemned polygamy, created a ministry of women with a woman in charge of it in addition to the appointment of women to positions throughout the government, and made female rights a central priority of the government! It shows today. Women here walk straighter, ride their own bikes, own and run business, look you in the eye and speak without fear.

5. Photos. People aren't angered by the taking of photos. If they don't want a photo taken of them, they smile and wave their finger, signaling no. That's it. No yelling. No demanding money in exchange, etc.

4. Salt. There is a great deal of variety in the kinds of food available on the streets of Ouagadougou, (all of which I love) and it struck me the other day that with almost all of them, you add your own salt- the one serving you will put a little pile on the side of your plate and you mix it in to your own taste. I have no idea why, but it sure is different!

3. Beauty in the dust. I like the architecture here. The people appreciate beauty, and though they have no mountains and no ocean, they make beauty appear.

2. There is a tremendous sense of cooperation here. The people know that they don't have much and that if they are going to get ahead, they need to work together. The literacy programmes are proof of what can be done with very little when people are motivated. Burkina has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world due to a lack of primary schools and the amount of poverty (less than $2 a day). However, the rate of adults who enroll in literacy classes is very high. As a class, they develop trust amongst themselves and often work together to develop an income generating project.


1. Smiles. These people have brilliant, sincere smiles making a flat dusty land with few natural resources one of the happiest places on earth. When I think of Ouagadougou, I think of the smiles. And it is contagious.

ps- Most of today's photos came from the net (flickr.com)