Bobo and beyond

I went away with Jane for the weekend to Bobo Diolassou, the former colonial capital of “Upper Volta” as Burkina was called. There were some georgeous Art Deco style buildings, some in better states of repair than others (the one on the left is the colonial market enclosure which has been surrounded by other market stalls which has extended the market outside its boundaries; the right is the railway station). The main reason we went was for a break for both of us.

Last December a car breakdown stopped us overnight in Bobo and we had such a good rest there we went back to the same mission guesthouse to catch up on our sleep and explore more. We had also got such good bargains at the market and at the supermarket meat counter there last time we were hoping for more of the same. Unfortunately the market was visibly much emptier of vegetables and staples (hopefully only because of the timing at the beginning of the rainy season and not indicative of a longterm lack). We did buy a few “unknown” local spices we found there we hope to try out and both enjoyed finding our way through the labyrinth of a big African market again finding unexpected treasures and unusual items in dark corners. Ouaga’s burned down years ago and has never been replaced, with business spread among several smaller markets.

We've both been under strain so this weekend we tried to forget all that and enjoy a trip to the Banfora Cascades not far from Bobo. The climb up the hill over the rocks was good exercise, and we saw lovely streams, rock formations, trees and some wildflowers. Quite a contrast from the dry north of Burkina!

Rain here at last!

The bad news: still waiting to have that window leak fixed by my house owner so every rain someone needs to be there to keep changing the wet cloths underneath it - the good news is that we’re reminded of that because there’s been regular rain! The heat is still there when clouds dissipate, but nights are starting to get a bit cooler.

I just got back from a long weekend away and on the 4 hours’ drive it was refreshing to see the green fuzz along the road and the grain already foot-high in some fields. Noundioua, our class president at IMS with a wife and large family back in his village is one student who will be going home the holidays starting this Friday - originally to help his wife and children with the planting as well as his many church responsibilities but now to help out in the fields since their crops are already starting to show as well.

Unfortunately, it seems that country-wide this may not be enough, since with some grain being sold to other countries (where they’re paying higher prices) and the effects of last year’s difficult climate I’ve heard that reserves may be low and that there are regions that have already almost finished all the food they have (with months to go to a hoped-for but not certain harvest) so there looks like difficult times ahead. Add to that Touareg refugees streaming in from the country north after action against their villages, and it doesn’t look too good … so please pray for meetings taking place at the moment with government, relief agencies and missions.