Projects in Burkina Faso

Heal the World currently runs two long-term projects in Burkina Faso, an English Language Institute and a primary school. Both are in the Burkina capitol, Ouagadougou (pronounced "wä-gä-?DU-gü") .

Heal the World English Language Institute (ELI). Our ELI opened in summer 2009 with an initial class of 120. We plan for the institute to provide a four-year course of instruction in English to secondary school students who intend to use English in business or to further their education at the university level. The goal is to bring students to a proficiency level that will enable them to pass the internationally recognized Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), which is an admission requirement at most English language universities for non-native English speakers. Heal the World also intends to make English lecture content from United States universities available in Burkina Faso within the next few years.

French is the official language of Burkina Faso, however English is useful and often a competitive advantage in jobs dealing with foreign companies, governmental and non-governmental organizations. There also are several English-speaking nations among Burkina Faso's West African neighbours, including Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Shalom School. Heal the World has been supporting and helping build this primary school since 2007 in cooperation with a German non-profit group called (in English translation) "Whatever It Takes" and a local Burkina non-profit organization, "Woman, Children, People and Health."
We have built three classrooms and provide ongoing support for teachers' salaries, daily lunches and classroom materials. Shalom School currently has more than 200 students in kindergarten through third grade.

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