Literally translated Burkina Faso means “home county of people with integrity” – and is one of the poorest countries in the world with an average per capita income of approximately 300 Euro per year. There are practically no natural resources, no tourism and due to civil war in the neighbouring country Ivory Coast being a mercenary soldier is own of the few possibilities to earn an income – with the sad effect that thousands of orphans live in the city of Po, in which the Atta Oudie school is located. The school fees in the primary school amount 25 Euro and for the secondary school 47 Euro per year. In addition two Euro per year come for the nutrition of a child( the remainder is carried by the state) as well as 73 Euro per year for a teenager. Many parents cannot afford even these fees appearing small to us – let alone the orphans or half-orphans.

With 27 Euro per year we get a child off the road, nourish and train it. And with 120 Euros we can support a teenager whose only other perspective is to become a soldier.

On the one hand the Padma Trust tries to support as many children in need as possible. On the other hand we initiated an ambitious project: as the country does not have any raw materials or industry, we furnished a computer room and trained local teachers in order to develop abilities which can be vital for the childrens’ future work life: 10-finger-writing, handling computers in general and office applications, preparing presentation slides and web pages.

Burkina Faso is a republic located in the Sahel		The school complex consists of three buildings

School books are a rare property – and three or four pupils share a desk which is actually suited for two		Our local partners – in the center of the picture you see the founder of the school.

The project is managed byt Manfred Gahr. Here youu'll find further impressions.(PDF)