Burkina Faso People

Burkina Faso and Millennium Challenge Corporation: Investing in People by Promoting Girls’ Education ...

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world, is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people that promote economic growth and elimination of extreme poverty. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso 2000 Post Report

Burkina Faso is one of the most densely populated statesof West Africa. Most of the 11.6 million people live in villages. Burkina Faso is composedof about 50 distinct ethnic groups, but ethnic friction is rare. The Mossi constituteabout one-half of the population and are the major ethnic group in the capitalOuagadougou. The Mossi claim descent from warriors who migrated from Ghana to present-dayBurkina Faso and established an empire that lasted for more than 800 years.Dioula-speaking people, including the Bobo and Senufo, live in the southwest; Lobi,Dagara, and Gourountsi in the south. Fulani (also called Peulh) and Touaregs, a nomadicdesert people numbering a few thousand, inhabit the northern regions. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

The government of Burkina Faso continues to wage a serious campaign against this widespread practice. The campaign, based on informing the people of Burkina Faso about health problems posed by excising a woman, is led by a National Committee to Fight Against the Practice of Excision (CNLPE) with Burkina’s First Lady as the honorary chairperson. The First Lady actively supports the campaign. ...

Finally, the National Committee has established a 24-hour SOS telephone hot line about the practice. People can use it to report cases. If the excision has not yet occurred, Committee members visit the families. If it has already occurred, the parents are served notice to report to the police, as is the excisor. ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

The Peoples’ Republic of China is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. A significant number of Chinese women and children are trafficked internally for forced marriage and forced labor. Chinese women are at times lured abroad with false promises of legitimate employment and then trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to destinations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America, while Chinese men have been trafficked for forced labor to Europe, South America, and the Middle East. A large number of Chinese men and women are smuggled abroad at enormous personal financial cost and, upon arrival in the destination country, are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or other forms of exploitative labor to repay their debts. They often face exploitative conditions that meet t ... [Read More]

Country Commercial Guide

The telephone has made inroads in Burkinabe daily life, especiallyamong civil servants in the capital, but much business is still conducted face-to-face.Meetings may involve a large number of people who speak formally and at length on a givensubject. Meetings between a handful of people usually conclude with the formal exchange ofbusiness cards. Organizational hierarchies are widely respected, and accomplishing a taskor getting information quickly requires approaching the appropriate person. ... [Read More]

Public Diplomacy Activities

Our mission is to tellpeople living in Burkina Faso about America and American values such as democracy and freeenterprise.   We call this public diplomacy because our goal is to reach the publicwith this message.  We do this through a variety of mechanisms -- movies,conferences, discussions, and debates at the ACC; educational and cultural exchangeprograms that bring U.S. citizens to Burkina Faso and that send Burkinabé to the U.S.;educational advising to encourage qualified Burkinabé to study in the U.S.; library,CD-ROM, and internet resources made available to the public at the IRC; informationdistribution and book discussions at the IRC; and English language instruction at theALC.  We are also responsible for explaining U.S. policies to the press and the mediain Burkina Faso. ... [Read More]

Press release of October 3, 2003

"The EUCOM Excess Property program is an excellentexample of the U.S. military's humanitarian work," said Ambassador Holmes. "TheEmbassy looks forward to working with EUCOM and the Burkinabe government in the years tocome for the benefit of the people of Burkina Faso." ...

Since 1998, EUCOM has donated over $357,000 in excessproperty to benefit the people of Burkina Faso. Through its Humanitarian AssistanceProgram, EUCOM has also funded over $405,000 in building projects such as schools andhealth clinics. ... [Read More]

They talked about the numerous universities in the U.S. versus the two local national universities. They mentioned the existence of community colleges and the many private universities in the U.S. Versus the few emerging private colleges locally. They also talked about accreditation institutions, the diversity of curricula, the extensive use of new technologies, the organization of student life on U.S. campuses, the funding of U.S. universities by not only state resources but by the private sector and universities alumni, the educational advising systems, and the financial aids and scholarships. All these aspects have no common ground with what is going on in the local higher education system. Burkina Faso has a lot to emulate from the U.S. higher education system and they are in the process of doing so. It took as much time for the speakers to make their presentation and to answer to commen ... [Read More]

Special Self-Help Program

Our Embassy uses this money to fund projects that: Improve economic and social conditions at the grassroots level; Support high-impact, quick-implementation activities that benefit a large number of people; Involve a significant local contribution in cash, labor, or material; Are within the ability of the local community to operate and maintain; Are in direct response to the initiatives and aspirations of the local community; and Whenever possible, contribute to income-generating or sulf-sustaining activities. ... [Read More]