Traveling from Ouagadougou to the Bush
I just returned from an amazing adventure in Burkina Faso West Africa. On my trip, I encountered a very different experience than I had when I visited twelve years ago. The video in this posting was taken while riding out of Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, into a remote village to visit a unique shaman. The days were long, the weather was hot, and as always, the magic of Africa was present. Although we were surrounded by abject poverty, the smiles on the children’s faces and the warm reception that we received from the village people was unbelievable. My heart was so deeply touched at how happy people can be with few physical possessions. We spent hours under a mango tree waiting to see the shaman. Throughout the day, we watched villagers passing by, including many herding their livestock. Once the shaman arrived, it was an overwhelming pleasure to be in the presence of such a deeply connected spiritual man.
Survival of the Fittest
It’s hard to imagine how these people survive, and more importantly, how they remain so incredibly happy in this place where there is no relief from the heat, the dust, and the trash that is spread everywhere! There are pigs running around the streets; goats, donkeys, and dogs running helter-skelter. On our way out to this amazing place, I experienced how people do business. You will see them selling bread and bananas and rice cakes at the toll booth where we had to stop, and you will see how we go from the city, to the suburbs, to the place where we are literally driving our van on bike paths.
Here is a photo of some boys who we met in the village while we were waiting under the mango tree to see the shaman. They were so happy to have their picture taken, that they kept coming around. We later were invited to join their village in a small celebration with boiled potatoes and millet beer as we sat and shared time with them. The longer we stayed, the more people gathered, and it became quite a community celebration. We ended up going out into this village for another visit later that week, after our trip to Dano, and got to see these boys again. The joy of their lives as they played, wrestled, and ran through the millet fields was delightful to see. It’s incredible that these young people survive in this horrific environment while maintaining a very high degree of connectedness to the land and to their community.
