Burkina Faso (MNN) — The African Union has suspended Burkina Faso following a coup in the country last week. The suspension will remain until constitutional order has been restored. Mutinous soldiers removed the president, saying he hadn’t done enough to quell extremist violence.
Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach says, “One thing this does is restrict the travel of anybody that would need to come to our ministry. I think the bigger picture is it just hurts the poor, the common people that are not involved in big business and in politics, that kind of thing.”
CWO’s work in Burkina Faso
Yoder says the coup shut down the internet, but communication with CWO staff has since returned. The ministry runs a mobile medical clinic in Burkina Faso, providing care for those who otherwise couldn’t afford it.
They also provide education for young women, something often lacking in the country. Learn more about CWO projects in Burkina Faso here. Local staff operate all programs, so CWO hasn’t stopped any programming during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the threat of extremist violence looms large in Burkina Faso. Recently, CWO staff at the school went through risk management training to help protect the students. Yoder says, “When the girls went back to their villages for Christmas break, we had 12 students who could not return because of those actions of extremists. It’s just not safe for them to travel. Many of our girls, their families are displaced. They’ve left their villages. In some ways, these girls look at the Village of Opportunity is as a home.”
“Again, that just opens the door for us to share Christ’s love with these ladies.”
Pray many people would encounter the love of Jesus through CWO’s ministry.
The header photo shows Burkinabe soldiers patrolling after the coup. Photo courtesy of VOA News, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
