Our Work

Good Health and Well-Being

Burkina Faso has among the highest mortality rates for children under 5 and for mothers. The country also has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world. This is a result of the high incidence of infectious diseases as a result of the climate, along with the unavailability of healthcare in most remote villages. 

KAFO and MSN completed construction of the Sandia Millogo Health and Social Promotion Center (CSPS) in 2022, which has led to a dramatic improvement in the well-being of the community. The CSPS includes a primary care facility, a maternal and child facility, a pharmacy, a warehouse, an incinerator, housing for healthcare workers, and latrines. Healthcare workers are busy around the clock providing wellness checks, vaccinations, preventive care, and care for those who are sick or injured. Medicines are readily available and training is provided by the District Medical Office, as needed.

There is a management committee in place in Konkourona to ensure that the CSPS continues to deliver the care needed and that the small fees charged for care support salaries, repairs, and replacement of medicines, supplies and equipment.

KAFO and MSN plan to continue to support community efforts to improve healthcare by:

• Construction of a vaccination and training center
• Construction of showers and additional latrines
• Construction of a diagnostic laboratory
• Implementation of community health and wellness training

Quality Education

At Konkourona Primary School, things look very different than they did when KAFO and MSN were founded in 2019. Together, KAFO and MSN built 3 new classrooms, an office, housing for teachers, a library, and a middle school. Our goal is to improve the quality of the education so that every child graduating passes the annual Certificate of Primary and Elementary Studies (CEPE) so they can progress to middle school. 

KAFO and MSN plan to continue to support community efforts to improve education by:​

• Providing each student all necessary learning materials and supplies
• Renovating existing primary school classrooms, the kitchen and latrines
• Building a pavilion for primary school lunches
• Providing scholarships for education beyond primary school
• Constructing a high school and a technical school, and the kitchen, pavilion for lunches, latrines and wash areas needed to support the schools
• Constructing housing for middle school, high school and technical school teachers
• Supporting training for teachers
• Constructing athletic fields for students

Gender Equality

KAFO and MSN are committed to gender equality. Historically, education of boys was prioritized when family funds were low, which provided few opportunities for girls to learn so that they could choose occupations to support themselves and their families. Marriage of girls at age 13, often to older men who had lost wives in childbirth or to infectious diseases was common up until 2019.

Girls can now attend middle school, high school, technical school, college and graduate school with the support of KAFO and MSN. They now have many more options for their livelihoods.

In addition, many jobs have been created for teachers, healthcare workers, support staff and more as a result of development activities in Konkourona. KAFO and MSN are equal opportunity employers, basing hiring decisions on qualifications.

Clean Water and Sanitation

The climate in Konkourona is tropical, with two main seasons: a rainy season from May or June until September, and a dry season from September through May or June. Temperatures range from approximately 82 to 108°F (28 to 42°C) during the day and dehydration is common. There is limited sanitation available, so open-air defecation is practiced, which can contribute to the spread of infectious diseases.

KAFO and MSN drilled a well and constructed a water tower in 2021 to provide clean, running water to the health center that was being built. Additionally, water fountains were constructed throughout the community for public use, and faucets were installed at the school and at the homes of the teachers and healthcare workers, and running water was installed in the KAFO headquarters.

A second well was drilled and a tower was constructed in 2022, at the site of the planned education center to include the middle school, high school, and technical school. Water from this site was used for construction of the middle school and will supply the administration building and wash area. An evaluation of the need for addition water supplies will be conducted as part of each new project to gradually add new capacity to the village.

Open air defecation is widely practiced in Konkourona, since there were no other options until recently. Latrines were constructed for the houses built for primary school teachers and healthcare workers, the health center, and the middle school and the community is encouraged to use them when it is feasible. An evaluation of the need for latrines will be conducted as part of each new project to gradually add new capacity to the village.

Affordable and Clean Energy

Access to electricity was rare prior to initiation of development efforts by KAFO and MSN in Konkourona. Solar panels and batteries have now been installed in the new primary school classrooms, housing for teachers and healthcare workers, the library, the KAFO headquarters, the health center buildings, and to power the pumps used for the water towers. In addition to being convenient for the teachers and healthcare workers at home, the ability to use electricity in the public buildings has yielded many benefits:

• Use of classrooms for tutoring and studying after dark
• Use of computers and printers in the library and KAFO headquarters
• Pumping water from the wells
• Operation of healthcare equipment and the vaccine refrigerator
• Use of the pharmacy after dark

An evaluation of the need for electricity will be conducted as part of each new project to gradually add new capacity to the village.

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Many formal and informal jobs have been created as a result of development activities in Konkourona. There are teachers, healthcare workers, cleaning staff, construction laborers, a library manager, a pharmacy manager, security guards, and more. Opportunities for further, sustainable growth will be explored with each new project.

Sustainable Cities and Communities

Leaders in Konkourona are committed to establishing an inclusive, safe, sustainable and resilient community. All citizens are invited to join MSN and participate in development opportunities, providing healthcare, education and clean water for all. Threats to the safety of citizens are raised as concerns to the village elders to be dealt with expeditiously. Sustainability plans are in place for all development efforts to ensure repairs can be made, as needed, and will continue to be created for each new project. MSN will continuously monitor the overall environment in the community and work together on continuous improvements.

Responsible Consumption and Production

A majority of the citizens of Burkina Faso work as subsistence farmers who make an average per capita income of approximately $832.90 each year, according to World Bank data from 2022. Responsible consumption and production is a core value in the village, as community members carefully conserve what they harvest at the end of each rainy season to make their food and income last throughout the dry season and the beginning of the next rainy season, until crops can be harvested again.

Citizens have few personal possessions and they take good care of those they have. Clothing is washed by hand and used until it is worn out, at which time it would be used as rags for cleaning.

Careful conservation of resources can also be seen in management of books and learning materials in the schools. Citizens pay a small rental fee at the beginning of each school year, which is given back to them if the books and learning materials are returned in good condition at the end of the year.

There was no landfill or trash removal service in the village until the CSPS was opened in 2022, generating medical waste, because citizens reuse what they own completely before it is no longer useful and is discarded, most likely in the family fire used for cooking each day.

Life on Land

KAFO and MSN have planted 1100 native shade and fruit trees so far to restore the environment, protect against desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss. Opportunities to continue planting trees will be explored with each new project.

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

KAFO and MSN believe that education is foundational to building peace, justice and strong institutions in Konkourona, and significant investments in providing higher education are in progress. In addition, MSN partners with Good Deeds Day to deliver peace training to primary school students.

Further, MSN partners with the government of Burkina Faso on basic infrastructure projects, like construction of schools, the library and the health center, and planting trees to ensure consistency with standards and accountability.

The continued operation of MSN in Konkourona is probably the greatest tool for bringing peace, justice and strengthening to the community though. It is through this organization that the people come together to create the futures they want for themselves and their families. MSN is committed to including everyone who would like to participate in the Association membership and meetings, and to making opportunities to receive services or employment open to all, regardless of their race, color, national origin, disability, or age.