Return to Yako and Progress in Gobila!

After a great weekend trip to Banfora, we have returned to Yako and have rejoined Lynn and the other local teachers to continue our work in the schools! On Monday morning we had the opportunity to visit the school in Wedkiungo  and see a grammar lesson. Although there were some glitches with the lesson, it provided a great opportunity for discussion about improvements that can be made in the future. After doing prep work , making a run to the m;arket,  and preparing dinner, we attended a meeting held by the staff for students at the orphanage who have been performing well in school. The end-of-semester grades had just been returned, and four students ended up ranking in the top five of their classes! These students were given some small treats and snacks as well as the gifts that the rest of the students were given to encourage them:  small stuffed Koala pencil-toppers (from Andree, who is from Australia) and bookmarks with encouraging Bible verses. The kids seemed to appreciate the gifts and hopefully they will be encouraged to continue their good work for the rest of the school year!

On Monday night we also received exciting news from Lynn about Burkina Faso Outreach’s school in Gobila! Over the weekend there had been a meeting for the state’s department of education. Test and grade results had come in, and the school at Gobila was found to have some of the highest scores in the state! Eric, a teacher and director of the Gobila school, was invited to speak in front of the group to explain what they are doing differently to get such great results! This was very encouraging because Lynn has been working to transfer more and more of the responsibility and leadership to the local Burkinabe staff. Having leaders from the public school system look to the staff for advice is a huge encouragement for them!

On Tuesday there was no school due to a Muslim holiday, so we were able to travel out into the bush to visit Angela’s support child, Rasmata. It was an amazing experience to be able to see her home, bring some small gifts, and meet her family, who is also being helped through the support program.

Overall, we’ve had some very fun and productive start to the week! Tonight we’ll be going back to the school at Gobila for a community outreach event!