Burkina Faso (MNN) — Unrest appears to be dying down since Burkina Faso replaced the governors of all 13 of its regions last week.
The landlocked African nation has been facing various upheavals since February when youth protested to the controversial death of a peer. Since then, protests over economic downturn and industrial woes have helped add to the death toll.
Dean Yoder with Christian World Outreach is in Burkina Faso now. "The day before I arrived, 19 people were killed and 60 arrested because of continued unrest," reports Yoder, who says damage throughout the country has been significant.
Unrest has been great, and you can pray that the revamped government may help ease some qualms for the nation's sake. However, Yoder says their ministry has been able to make it out unscathed.
"Even though there's been destruction, looting, damage to stores, and burned marketplaces, we have not experienced any difficulty or anyone trying to attack our facilities," explains Yoder.
CWO has no fear that the new governor appointments will change their safety status, either. In fact, they are right on schedule with a building project for their ministry.
CWO works with girls in Burkina Faso who are notoriously overlooked. Young females seldom have the opportunity to get any sort of education or vocational training in the nation, so the ministry has stepped in to help change their fate.
A vocational school is being built currently for the girls to learn skills like sewing, cooking, hygiene, cosmetology and agriculture. The girls are given an education and the skills necessary to produce income–a necessary essential, especially for keeping them away from trades like prostitution if anything happens to the men in their families.
"This is allowing them to bring dignity to themselves and feel self-worth as well as to hear the Gospel and accept Jesus," Yoder adds.
The vocational school is halfway finished, and the girls are able to meet in the completed portion. Despite the significant violence in Burkina Faso, the building project is scheduled to be done within the next two months.
At this point, Yoder's biggest prayer is for continued safety. "We need prayer that God would continue to protect us, protect our staff, protect the girls at the school, and protect the school itself."
Pray that as a result of this safety, girls would be able to learn about trades and about Christ in peace.
