Burkina Faso ENVISION HANDBOOK ENVIRONMENT PHOTOGRAPHY Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook 1
Burkina Faso Contents 3 INTRODUCTION About the site Meet the team 5 GENERAL INFORMATION Team costs Intern costs Housing & food Airport & Arrival Information Visas Money Communications Health & vaccinations 8 PACKING LIST Suggested Dress Code 9 MINISTRY Site Ministries Schedule 10 CULTURAL SENSITIVITY 11 CONTACT INFO 2 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
MINISTRY PHOTOGRAPHY Introduction ABOUT THE SITE Burkina Faso is a place of extreme poverty where the hope of Christ is more satisfying than bread or water. Envision Burkina is working alongside the Burkina C&MA National Church to assist them in many different ways. We look for ways to plug in American teams and interns to assist the National Church in this very poor country. Our work teams and interns have been involved in building/roofing churches, schools, and pastors homes. Teams and interns have also been involved in bush evangelism, drilling of wells, supplying funds for drilled & hand-dug wells, dental and medical work, ESL camps, youth camps, and the list of possibilities goes on and on. The opportunities of impacting this country with the love of Jesus through these hands-on ministries are boundless. Come and join us for an exciting and rewarding ministry adventure! 3 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
MEET THE TEAM Site Coordinators John and Betty Arnold began as Envision site leaders in the summer of 2012. John grew up as a third generation missionary. He was raised in Cote D Ivoire, West Africa and was fluent in the native language before English. He met his wife at Toccoa Falls Bible College. Betty became a believer after graduating from high school and immediately knew God was calling her to something odd, but did not know what right away. She told her parents that she would go anywhere but Africa. John has a heart for bush evangelism, helping with the building of wells, roofing churches and pastors homes, and working with American work teams. Betty loves entertaining and often has a house full of people. Joanna Gregg serves as the Envision Site Associate in Burkina Faso. She s been in Burkina since 2011, but was born in the state of Colorado. She is passionate about supporting the national church and equipping them to make disciples. She enjoys playing games with friends, traveling, and snuggling any babies she comes across in her travels. 4 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
MINISTRY PHOTOGRAPHY General Information TEAM COSTS The general cost is $690 per individual on the ground in the country for 8-10 days. The incountry expenses cover meals, lodging, laundry, and in-city transportation. For trips beyond 10 days, it is an additional $50/day per person. Airfare excluded. All teams are required to pay a project fee to cover the cost of ministry while in the country. These fees need to be sent to the Envision Office three months before your trip so that we can prepare. This is a list of ministry options and fees: Hangar, $4,500-$4,750 (for 2 vehicles). Any team over 9 people will be an extra $600 for a 3rd vehicle. Handicap Bikes, $400 each. This includes a visit to a ministry for disabled people to do bike distribution. Drilled Wells, $7,600 each (teams are required to purchase at least one well when coming on a team). Mileage for well trips is $750 for one trip. Camps, $1,500-$3,000 depending on the size/type of camp. INTERN COSTS The general cost is $1,500 per intern on the ground in the country for one month. The incountry expenses cover meals, lodging, laundry, and in-city transportation. Airfare excluded. 5 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
ENVIRONMENT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUSING & FOOD The Guesthouse has hot and cold water, kitchen facilities, filtered water, screened and glass windows, fans, linens and towels, laundry service, and 220v electricity with European style plugs. A/C units are available for an additional charge. There are breakfast items in the guesthouse, but you can also bring instant oatmeal, bars, etc. to supplement. The guesthouse has instant coffee and tea bags, but you are welcome to bring your own. If you travel to the bush, accomodations will be outdoors, with cots, sleeping bags and natural bathrooms. Please bring your own toilet paper and flip flops for bucket baths. Meals are provided, but please bring snacks. If you have allergies, make sure we are aware. We cannot cater for dietary preferences or allergies. You will need to bring your own food choices if you cannot eat what is served. We ask that no one with peanut allergies comes to Burkina. Peanuts are a main crop, and due to limited medical care, this is not advised. AIRPORT & ARRIVAL INFORMATION Please schedule your flight to arrive in Ouagadougou (airport code OUA). We recommend Air France/Delta, Brussels Air, or Turkish Airlines. When you land, you will need to present your passport, yellow health card, boarding pass, checked baggage receipt and Burkina Faso phone number to fill out a disembarkation card. Make sure you have all your documents above easily accessible. Do not give your passport to anyone, unless it is a uniformed officer. Do not pay anyone. The porters will take your bags all the way to the car and then they will be paid by the person who meets you. Do not take pictures of airports, government buildings or officials while in Burkina. Keep your camera packed in your carry on. As a matter of courtesy, try to remember to use your right hand when handing anything (i.e. passport, documents, luggage keys, money) to someone, as the left hand is considered unclean. 6 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
VISAS If your passport expires within six months, Burkina will not issue you a visa. To apply, go to Travel Document Systems (www.traveldocs.com). You can also go to the Burkina Embassy in the U.S. (http://burkina-usa.org/the-embasy/visas/). This is cheaper. It is important to let the Embassy know you will be traveling in Burkina. Before you go, register at https:// travelregistration.state.gov/. Write tourism or vacation for reason for visit. For number of entries, choose multiple. Our local address is: Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), 06 BP 9049, Ouagadougou. The cost of your visa is not included in the trip. Please allow plenty of time to get your visa. We also suggest sending it by certified mail. MONEY Please bring spending money for souvenirs, gifts, snacks. Bring denominations of $50/100 (newer bills), and we will help exchange these. If you serve for 10 days in January-May, there is opportunity to go on an overnight safari to see a herd of elephants. It costs $125/person. COMMUNICATIONS We will let your families know you have arrived safely as soon as possible. While we have wifi, internet speeds vary and sometimes do not work. Let your family know if they do not hear from you right away, they should not worry. HEALTH & VACCINATIONS The Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) has requirements for travel in Africa. Recommended: 1. Yellow Fever (mandatory) 2. Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B 3. Typhoid 4. Tetanus 5. Oral or Polio booster injection (if you have had less than 5 lifetime doses) 6. Vaccine for Meningitis Malaria Prophylaxis It is strongly advised to take a malaria prophylaxis while in Burkina. This is a medicine, not a vaccine. Depending on the type, you will begin taking it before your trip and continue for 7-30 days after returning home. Doctors in Burkina recommend Doxycycline. Please ask your doctor to determine the best fit. COLLAGE 1 COLLAGE 2 7 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
Packing List Clothes (see below) Shoes Flip flops (shower shoes) Modest swim suit Sunscreen Bugspray Hand sanitizer Toilet paper Lotion Chapstick Eye drops Malaria meds Prescription meds Preferred meds for pain, allergy, digestion, nausea Work gloves and shoes Hat Flashlight, extra betteries Snacks Alarm clock Camera Small water bottle (Hydro Flask recommended) Bible, journal, pen Spending money in USD European plug adapter SUGGESTED DRESS CODE Despite the intense heat, the Burkinabè culture is very modest in regard to clothing. We request that you respect local sensitivities and dress conservatively. Loose fitting, lightweight, cotton clothing will be the most comfortable. For those that are a little cold natured, a light jacket may be nice in the evenings or on the airplane. Women need to wear skirts well below the knee for in-city ministry and ankle-length skirts for bush ministry. You may want to bring loose fitting pants or capris pants for non-ministry related activities. You may also want to bring basketball type shorts to wear in the guesthouse or under your skirts for work projects. Sleeveless shirts are acceptable, but no mid-drifts. Men should wear casual dress pants and short-sleeve shirts with collars for church. At the construction site, t-shirts and jeans or workpants will do. Work boots, if desired. 8 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
MINISTRY PHOTOGRAPHY Ministry Envision Burkina partners with the local Alliance church to help them reach goals they cannot attain on their own. The following are options for different ministry opportunities and emphases for your short-term trip. Well Drilling This is a 1-2 week trip to the bush to drill wells with our partner organization, Friends in Action. During this time, the team will drill anywhere from 1-8 wells, depending on how long each well takes. Hangar Trip This is a four-day bush trip to construct a hangar for a church planted by a Burkinabé pastor. During this trip the team will also have the opportunity to play with children, interact with the men and women in the village, walk around the village, visit with the local pastor and participate in evangelism two different nights. Handicap Ministry This is a ministry started by a Burkinabé pastor to reach this unreached people group. When we visit the ministry, teams are able to distribute handicap bikes and visit the farm where the handicap and widows have gardens and raise pigs, sheep, goats and rabbits. If interested, teams can also spend time repairing handicap bikes or do a food distribution. Orphanage This is a day-trip to visit one of our partners who runs an orphanage and widow ministry. The team will have time to play with and hold the children. The team will also tour the orphanage and widow ministry to learn more about the ministry and it s desire to help the surrounding communities. Depending on when the team goes to the orphanage, it is possible they can participate in a TOMs shoe distribution. 9 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
Schedule TEAMS (BUSH) A week in the life of a team serving in the bush looks something like this: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Arrive in the evening, basic orientation Load trailer, orientation, rest/pack for the bush, initial debrief Leave for the bush Set posts in the bush, play with kids, evangelism, debrief Complete hangar, play with kids, visit local pastors, evangelism, debrief Return to the city, evening debrief Visit orphanage, debrief Handicap ministry in the morning, market in the afternoon, debrief, then dinner out Rest, pack, final debrief, and depart TEAMS (WELL-DRILLING) A week in the life of a team drilling wells looks like this: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 INTERNSact Info Arrive, basic orientation Orientation, leave for bush, start drilling Drilling Drilling Drilling Drilling Return to city (unless a 2-week trip) Market, lunch out, pack, final debrief, and depart Summer interns schedule will primarily be dictated by the schedule of the team here at that time. Plan to follow team schedule, with additional times for Sabbath and discipleship. Non-summer interns: Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Church, English club Sabbath French, prep for English class, English class French, disicpleship group, guys Bible study for WIRED, English conversation gathering French, Prep for English class, WIRED French, girls Bible study for WIRED, English class Time for prep for English or Bible study, other ministry 10 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
MINISTRY PHOTOGRAPHY Cultural Sensitivity Burkina is located in West Africa, with Mali to the North & West, Niger, Benin &Togo to the East, and Ghana & Cote d Ivoire to the south. Burkina is about the size of Colorado and has a population of about 17 million. Burkina Faso s high population density and limited resources (it is a landlocked country) have resulted in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Burkina is consistently in the top five poorest countries in the world. Ninety percent of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, which is difficult due to the harsh climatic conditions. French is the official national language but there are also about 60 different tribal languages. Jula is the trade language and is used to communicate between the different ethnic groups. The religion for the country is broken down into three major groups: Islam 50%, Indigenous Beliefs 40%, and Christian 10% (mainly Roman Catholic). Burkina is generally very open to the gospel, although we do face opposition, especially from the witch doctors. Burkinabé understand the need for blood sacrifices as this is a part of their animistic practices, and when we tell them that the last sacrifice has been made for them, they relate to this Good News. They want to be free from the fear of the evil spirits and celebrate the protection found in Jesus. The C&MA entered Burkina Faso in 1923 and has been serving the church there until today. The sun in West Africa is much stronger than almost anywhere in North America. Being in a sub-saharan region, it is hot and dry for most of the year. March through June sees highs in the triple digits and lows barely dropping below the 90s. It is extremely hot! The rainy season lasts from June to October. Be prepared for mud and storms. A light jacket may be appreciated during this time. This is not the best season to minister in the village area, because most people are farming and quite busy. Building is also hard, but not impossible. This is, however, an excellent time for student ministries and we have our national youth camp during this time. It is cool and dry from November through February with highs in the 90s and lows in the 60s and 70s. This is when the Harmattan wind blows in from the Sahara desert. Everything is dusty, and there is no rain. The nights are quite chilly. Some may prefer blankets and longer pajamas to sleep in, especially in the bush. 11 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook
ENVIRONMENT PHOTOGRAPHY Contact Info EMAIL: BURKINA@WEAREENVISION.COM WEBSITE: WWW.WEAREENVISION.COM/BURKINA-FASO 12 Burkina Faso: Envision Handbook