Begin Your Journey to Burkina Faso
The Burkinabé way of life is made up of fascinating contrasts. For
example, Burkina is one of the most impoverished nations in the world, yet
it is also one of the most culturally sophisticated. Located in the middle
of West Africa and landlocked on a savanna plateau between the Sahara Desert
and the coastal rain forests, it is one of the smallest countries in West
Africa but also the most heavily populated. Its flat, arid and scrubby land
offers minimal natural resources. Eighty-six percent of the Burkinabé
live on less than two dollars a day. Yet amidst such barren conditions thrive
not only Africa's largest population of elephants but a sophisticated and
world-renowned cultural scene which includes a film festival rivaling the
likes of Sundance and Cannes, known as Fespaco.
Burkina Faso is a relatively new name for an area that was once known as
Upper Volta. The name was changed in 1984 when a young left-wing socialist
named Thomas Sankara took the reigns of the government after nearly twenty
years of coups and counter-coups following decolonization from France in 1960.
Sankara implemented numerous socialist policies, including immunizing every
child against measles and yellow fever, training home-grown doctors for every
rural village, building over 350 schools, reducing ministerial privileges
and overspending, and starting a railway line to the Niger border. A hero
to many and an enemy to others, Sankara was assassinated after just three
years in office. His close friend and advisor, Captain Blaise Compaoré,
took over after Sankara's death and remains president today.
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest nations in the world. It suffers from
an infertile landscape, a lack of natural resources, a primarily subsistent
agricultural economy, overpopulation, low literacy levels, high HIV/AIDS rate,
and a host of other problems. Despite all these overwhelming challenges, the
Burkinabés remain patient and hopeful. They established a constitutional
democracy in the early 1990s and have been making real economic progress for
the past few years, at times reaching 6% annual growth in GDP. Their mining
and manufacturing industries have experienced growth and their agricultural
prospects are looking up. But the backbone of the Burkinabés’
way of life and an integral element in their optimistic attitudes is their
belief in themselves and each other. Their strong sense of identity and self-respect
in the face of overwhelming hardship is evident to any fortunate traveler
who witnesses Burkina Faso's fondness for cultural traditions and its respect
for the future of African arts.
Burkina Faso 
