The orphanage in Burkina Faso has been established in 1981 by a blind pastor Guigma. Attending the funeral of a woman, Guigma heard the sound of a crying baby coming from the grave. Apparently a living child was being buried together with the deceased mother. The local animist religion holds the child responsible for the death of the mother during childbirth. That is why the child in Burkina Faso receives a 'punishment': it is being neglected and allowed to die. Pastor Guigma decided to take care of the little baby himself. The baby became the orphanage's first orphan.

The orphanage's aim

As time went by, the orphanage grew. Its aim is to provide a shelter for orphans and other vulnurable children, such as those that are the result of incest and that, as a consequence, are rejected by their family. The orphanage as we encountered it in 2014 contained about 40 children below the age of 12. Many of them, as became clear soon enough, should not have been part of the orphanage at all, since they had families in the immediately surrounding villages. The orphanage currently holds about 40 children, but has room for more, should the means allow it. Since the orphanage does not receive substantial support from the government, it is difficult to keep it running well.

What we want

Foundation "De Mangoboom" wants to turn the orphanage into a place where children can grow up safe and sound. This is why we are working on a number of changes, the most important of which are:

• Improving the day-to-day care of the children.
• Improving the nurrishment, so that children become and stay healthy.
• Improving hygiene, so as to reduce the chance of illnesses and infections.
• Making sure the children receive good education, e.g. by facilitating their attendance to the local school.
• Transferring good norms and values, as far as these agree with the local culture.

The main concern of foundation 'De Mangoboom' is to provide a better and more hopeful future for the orphans in Burkina Faso.
The foundation is rooted in Christian love. Jesus was concerned about the weak and he loved the children. We want to show the children in the orphanage this same love.