I realized I have never really explained much about the health system in Burkina so I figure its about time. Not sure how interested everyone is but am guessing that at least my fellow public health students would like to know some background info. I also figure I can start including some of the acronyms we all use here into my blogs now. Don't hold me responsible if any of this is incorrect since all of my info is from meetings and discussions held in French and there always are possibilities for misunderstandings!
Back in the day, Burkina's health care system was completely state-funded following a top-down approach and not very efficient or affective. In 1987, following the Bamako Initiative, the Ministry of Health went through a huge restructuring to decentralize the health care system and bring a great deal of power to the community level. Instead of all of the money coming from the national government, communities are now expected to help support their local health centers through cost sharing with the goal of greater sustainability. Along with normal health services, there also is a focus on community outreach and preventive health care.
There are national, regional, and district hospitals throughout the country, but the first place that Burkinabe go for health services is their local CSPS (Centre de Sante et Promotion Sociale). There are currently about 1200 CSPSs around Burkina Faso. The idea is that they serve around 10,000 people each though this is not always the case. The CSPS is a general health clinic, maternity, and pharmacy and they all should provide preventive and curative services including prenatal consultations, nutritional consultations (baby-weighings), vaccinations, and family planning.
The staff at a CSPS includes several nurses appointed and paid by the state. There also are community-selected and paid employees that include the pharmacists, guards, janitors, ambulance drivers, etc. The head nurse usually has three years of education past high school and passed exams to reach a specific certification. He (or very rarely she) is called the Major. Other nurses often complete a two year program and certification. Some are specifically trained as midwives to deliver babies and give pre-natal consultations. Others are trained for immunization programs. In reality, most nurses provide a wide variety of services and have to fill in for each other often.
There often are community health agents and village midwifes selected by the community to help the CSPS with programs such as vaccination campaigns, educating the population on a variety of health topics, and encouraging villagers to utilize CSPS services.
The CSPS is overseen by a community-elected board called the COGES (Comite de Gestion--Rural Health Center Management Committee). Elections should be held every two years and nobody is allowed to serve more than four years. Committees are usually made up of six community members and the major. The COGES is the link between the community and the CSPS. The COGES makes money by charging consultation fees, evacuations (ambulance rides to the hospital), and medication sales. They then use this income to pay their staff other than the nurses, provide general upkeep of the CSPS, and purchase more medications. The idea is that this will keep a continuous stock of supplies at the CSPS instead of waiting for the national government to send new medications and constantly running out. There are still frequent ruptures of stock at many CSPSs but it probably is still more effective to have the community overseeing this than waiting for the state to handle any problems.
If anyone has any specific questions, I can try to find some answers though everything is still a bit blurry to me even though I've gone through lots of training and three months observing the operations at my CSPS!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Organic Undies
When I visited the US embassy back in early November, the ambassador mentioned a deal they helped broker with Victoria Secret for organic cotton. I recently heard that the organic bras and underwear made with cotton from Burkina Faso are now available. Check it out! They also have tanktops!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Babies
I’m not really sure what to call this blog or what to really write about but I want to share a few stories to help paint a better picture of what my experience here is like. I haven’t written much about my neighbors, the family whose compound I am living in, because I have been trying to figure out more about them and make the connections of who is related to whom. After three months living with this large extended family, I still haven’t figured it all out but I can give you a general idea.
The patriarch of the family is an elderly, blind man who along with his wife lives in a home that shares a wall with mine. I believe it is several of their sons and families that live in the compound. There also are two other older women that are somehow related. The kids tell me that there are four different fathers that live here but I can’t really keep them straight because I don’t spend a lot of time with them and only can identify two, one who is the traditional leader or chief for our neighborhood. Several of these men have more than one wife and there is at least one women living in the compound whose husband is away working in the city and hasn’t returned for at least a year. This is not all that uncommon in Burkina Faso as many people (especially men) migrate for work and may only return to their families once a year or less often. Anyways I think I have counted that there are eight mothers in the family ranging in age probably from 20 to 50.
The newest mother gave birth in January to a beautiful baby girl that I love to hold and play with. It has been fun to see how she is growing into her role as mother but also makes me realize how different our lives are as she is a year younger than me and has had very little education. She is the only woman in the family that speaks any French though and we still struggle to communicate. She brought her baby, Lohaimato, in for her first baby weighing last week and I was excited to record that she is a healthy weight. I hope to say the same when I leave in two years and when she will complete her monthly weigh-ins at the health center. The other mothers all have children ranging in age from a few months to late teens. The oldest girl in the family is 19 and finishing up middle school; its not uncommon for youth to start school when they are older or to repeat grades. She is the child of relatives that live in a different village though and has been living with her extended family for the last five years to attend school. Her brother also lives in the compound and is the teacher at the madarasa (Islamic school) in my village.
Another woman in my family gave birth in my family last week, two days before I left for IST. This is the first wife of the man whose second wife gave birth in January. Another girl! By reading the woman’s health card I learned that this was her seventh pregnancy, she already has two older children that I play with, has had three children that have died, and has had one miscarriage. She does not know her age but I can’t imagine she is much over 30. It is so sad to hear about how many pregnancies she has had. I have read about Burkina’s high infant mortality rate but its not the same as when I meet women that have lost multiple children.
I guess the delivery went well and she walked home with the baby a few hours after giving birth. Again this is not unusual here! Thankfully most women are now giving birth at the health center though this wasn’t the case only a few years ago. Part of the increase is due to education and part because the government now subsidizes a good chunk of the cost to the health center. It now costs 900 CFA (about $2) for a normal delivery.
The day after the baby was born, several of the women called me over to see it and tell me it was sick. According to Bissa and Muslim tradition, babies are kept inside for 7 days after birth and no visitors are welcomed until the baby-naming ceremony and baptism when they are a week old. Therefore I was surprised that they wanted me to see the baby. They were concerned because her body was hot and they didn’t know what was wrong. The family knows I work at the health center and assumes I am a medical professional even though I have said I am not a nurse. I pulled out my “Where There Is No Doctor” book to try to learn why a newborn might have a fever. My immediate response was to go to the health center but they wanted to wait to see if it would go away. My book said that a fever over 103 degrees was a sign of an infection so I took the temp and it was at 104! They had the baby all wrapped up in clothes and fabric like they always do with infants. I told them to take the clothes off and try to cool her off by putting wet clothes on her head and showed her a picture from the book of this. They didn’t want to since this goes completely against what they are used to doing. They asked about giving her cholorquine, an anti-malarial they purchased at the market. I convinced them that it wasn’t a good idea since it would be too difficult to measure how much to give such a tiny baby and I didn’t think malaria was the concern. I didn’t know what to do but was so scared for this one day old baby, especially after reading about how many of the mother’s other children had died. I was worried I might be over-reacting and letting my American culture to always go to the doctor influence my advice to the family. They didn’t want to go in so I went to get advice from my midwife. She said the baby probably had an infection and needed antibiotics right away so I went home to tell the family. By having the older children translate this to the mother and agreeing to go with mom and baby to the health center, I finally convinced them to go.
I didn’t realize at the time what I was agreeing to by saying I would go with. We walked to the health center and I found the midwife who had already gone home for the evening to come back and see the baby. She wrote out prescriptions and the mother handed me the sheet. I was confused but walked to the pharmacy with her. When it came time to pay there was some confusion and I told the pharmacist she was paying. He asked her in Bissa for the money and from what I could understand of her response she thought since I told her to go and said I would come too, I would being paying for the medications. I agreed to pay for the medications because she had brought no money. It totaled about $7, a very little sum but probably what they would pay for two weeks of food here and what I spend in a month in village. Its not a big deal that I paid but it is so representative of situations I constantly face in village.
Multiple times in a day I am being asked for things: clothes, food, money, bike, a relationship, etc. It makes me uncomfortable and I am never sure how to respond. I want to help people but know that me giving them things is not sustainable and is not going to help them in the long run. Peace Corps’ philosophy is to work with the community, not to just give stuff. So many NGOs (Non-governmental Organizations) come to Africa and drop off huge quantities of goods and then leave. This is not how Peace Corps works and is definitely not what I want to do while I am here. I know that many of you at home would be willing to donate money or items to my community but if I give it to them, they will think I am just like any other NGO. There may come a time in the future that I do ask for donations after I have been here longer and have been able to start projects along with the community but not at this point. I hope that this makes some sense to all of you living in the land of consumerism. I work so hard in village to show that I am trying to live at their level. I purposefully don’t buy soda or treats in village because I don’t want to seem like I have a lot of excess money (and the cokes are warm so not so refreshing!). I do buy what I need and enjoy treats that I get in Ouaga and from care packages (and I LOVE my care packages!!!!) but I don’t want everyone to know about these delicacies because I can’t share with everyone and I don’t want to perpetuate this idea of the rich American. I do try to share occasionally but its hard to find a balance. I am rich by their standards even though my Peace Corps stipend attempts to have me live at their level. For people that have no jobs, any income is more than they are used to.
Last week I also met with a group of villagers to discuss the community’s needs related to health. I thought for a long time about what question to ask to start our discussion and finally decided on “What can we do to improve the health of the community?” I expected answers such as educate the population on specific health topics such as malaria, hygiene, HIV/AIDS or increase the number of outreach visits to other villages served by the community. The group I spoke with brought up a lot of things including those I had expected but when it came down to deciding on the most important thing, they told me they needed a hanger for people waiting at the health center (can’t think of what we call this but its like an awning or a picnic shelter at the park). When pressed on how this would improve the health, no one could explain it to me but they were sure that it would and that it was needed. I was obviously very frustrated and felt that the color of my skin and my nationality were sending the message that I would be able to buy things for them instead of work with them on projects. The discussion was basically left at that once I started asking what we would do together to build this and they realized I would not be paying for it on my own.
So back to the new baby…they put her on an IV anti-malarial treatment along with antibiotics and she spent the night at the health center with her mom and grandma. I stopped by the next morning before I had to leave village and her fever was down. I am really hoping that she is happy and bigger when I see her after three weeks. I posted a picture from the day she was born and will try to take another when I get home. I believe I made the right decision to pay for her medications because she really needed it and I was worried about her family waiting to take her in. I may also have been able to show them that it was important and necessary to get care before it is too late. At the same time, I am afraid that I taught them that if they wait long enough and I am scared enough for the health of their children, I will take the kids in and pay for their care. I don’t want to be pessimistic but its hard not to be sometimes when you are constantly asked for stuff.
I would love to hear comments and opinions from you guys—former PCVs, others that have been in similar situations, and friends and family that may struggle to relate to what I am going through. What would you have done? What can I do in the future to encourage utilization of the health center without involving money? What are your thoughts?
The patriarch of the family is an elderly, blind man who along with his wife lives in a home that shares a wall with mine. I believe it is several of their sons and families that live in the compound. There also are two other older women that are somehow related. The kids tell me that there are four different fathers that live here but I can’t really keep them straight because I don’t spend a lot of time with them and only can identify two, one who is the traditional leader or chief for our neighborhood. Several of these men have more than one wife and there is at least one women living in the compound whose husband is away working in the city and hasn’t returned for at least a year. This is not all that uncommon in Burkina Faso as many people (especially men) migrate for work and may only return to their families once a year or less often. Anyways I think I have counted that there are eight mothers in the family ranging in age probably from 20 to 50.
The newest mother gave birth in January to a beautiful baby girl that I love to hold and play with. It has been fun to see how she is growing into her role as mother but also makes me realize how different our lives are as she is a year younger than me and has had very little education. She is the only woman in the family that speaks any French though and we still struggle to communicate. She brought her baby, Lohaimato, in for her first baby weighing last week and I was excited to record that she is a healthy weight. I hope to say the same when I leave in two years and when she will complete her monthly weigh-ins at the health center. The other mothers all have children ranging in age from a few months to late teens. The oldest girl in the family is 19 and finishing up middle school; its not uncommon for youth to start school when they are older or to repeat grades. She is the child of relatives that live in a different village though and has been living with her extended family for the last five years to attend school. Her brother also lives in the compound and is the teacher at the madarasa (Islamic school) in my village.
Another woman in my family gave birth in my family last week, two days before I left for IST. This is the first wife of the man whose second wife gave birth in January. Another girl! By reading the woman’s health card I learned that this was her seventh pregnancy, she already has two older children that I play with, has had three children that have died, and has had one miscarriage. She does not know her age but I can’t imagine she is much over 30. It is so sad to hear about how many pregnancies she has had. I have read about Burkina’s high infant mortality rate but its not the same as when I meet women that have lost multiple children.
I guess the delivery went well and she walked home with the baby a few hours after giving birth. Again this is not unusual here! Thankfully most women are now giving birth at the health center though this wasn’t the case only a few years ago. Part of the increase is due to education and part because the government now subsidizes a good chunk of the cost to the health center. It now costs 900 CFA (about $2) for a normal delivery.
The day after the baby was born, several of the women called me over to see it and tell me it was sick. According to Bissa and Muslim tradition, babies are kept inside for 7 days after birth and no visitors are welcomed until the baby-naming ceremony and baptism when they are a week old. Therefore I was surprised that they wanted me to see the baby. They were concerned because her body was hot and they didn’t know what was wrong. The family knows I work at the health center and assumes I am a medical professional even though I have said I am not a nurse. I pulled out my “Where There Is No Doctor” book to try to learn why a newborn might have a fever. My immediate response was to go to the health center but they wanted to wait to see if it would go away. My book said that a fever over 103 degrees was a sign of an infection so I took the temp and it was at 104! They had the baby all wrapped up in clothes and fabric like they always do with infants. I told them to take the clothes off and try to cool her off by putting wet clothes on her head and showed her a picture from the book of this. They didn’t want to since this goes completely against what they are used to doing. They asked about giving her cholorquine, an anti-malarial they purchased at the market. I convinced them that it wasn’t a good idea since it would be too difficult to measure how much to give such a tiny baby and I didn’t think malaria was the concern. I didn’t know what to do but was so scared for this one day old baby, especially after reading about how many of the mother’s other children had died. I was worried I might be over-reacting and letting my American culture to always go to the doctor influence my advice to the family. They didn’t want to go in so I went to get advice from my midwife. She said the baby probably had an infection and needed antibiotics right away so I went home to tell the family. By having the older children translate this to the mother and agreeing to go with mom and baby to the health center, I finally convinced them to go.
I didn’t realize at the time what I was agreeing to by saying I would go with. We walked to the health center and I found the midwife who had already gone home for the evening to come back and see the baby. She wrote out prescriptions and the mother handed me the sheet. I was confused but walked to the pharmacy with her. When it came time to pay there was some confusion and I told the pharmacist she was paying. He asked her in Bissa for the money and from what I could understand of her response she thought since I told her to go and said I would come too, I would being paying for the medications. I agreed to pay for the medications because she had brought no money. It totaled about $7, a very little sum but probably what they would pay for two weeks of food here and what I spend in a month in village. Its not a big deal that I paid but it is so representative of situations I constantly face in village.
Multiple times in a day I am being asked for things: clothes, food, money, bike, a relationship, etc. It makes me uncomfortable and I am never sure how to respond. I want to help people but know that me giving them things is not sustainable and is not going to help them in the long run. Peace Corps’ philosophy is to work with the community, not to just give stuff. So many NGOs (Non-governmental Organizations) come to Africa and drop off huge quantities of goods and then leave. This is not how Peace Corps works and is definitely not what I want to do while I am here. I know that many of you at home would be willing to donate money or items to my community but if I give it to them, they will think I am just like any other NGO. There may come a time in the future that I do ask for donations after I have been here longer and have been able to start projects along with the community but not at this point. I hope that this makes some sense to all of you living in the land of consumerism. I work so hard in village to show that I am trying to live at their level. I purposefully don’t buy soda or treats in village because I don’t want to seem like I have a lot of excess money (and the cokes are warm so not so refreshing!). I do buy what I need and enjoy treats that I get in Ouaga and from care packages (and I LOVE my care packages!!!!) but I don’t want everyone to know about these delicacies because I can’t share with everyone and I don’t want to perpetuate this idea of the rich American. I do try to share occasionally but its hard to find a balance. I am rich by their standards even though my Peace Corps stipend attempts to have me live at their level. For people that have no jobs, any income is more than they are used to.
Last week I also met with a group of villagers to discuss the community’s needs related to health. I thought for a long time about what question to ask to start our discussion and finally decided on “What can we do to improve the health of the community?” I expected answers such as educate the population on specific health topics such as malaria, hygiene, HIV/AIDS or increase the number of outreach visits to other villages served by the community. The group I spoke with brought up a lot of things including those I had expected but when it came down to deciding on the most important thing, they told me they needed a hanger for people waiting at the health center (can’t think of what we call this but its like an awning or a picnic shelter at the park). When pressed on how this would improve the health, no one could explain it to me but they were sure that it would and that it was needed. I was obviously very frustrated and felt that the color of my skin and my nationality were sending the message that I would be able to buy things for them instead of work with them on projects. The discussion was basically left at that once I started asking what we would do together to build this and they realized I would not be paying for it on my own.
So back to the new baby…they put her on an IV anti-malarial treatment along with antibiotics and she spent the night at the health center with her mom and grandma. I stopped by the next morning before I had to leave village and her fever was down. I am really hoping that she is happy and bigger when I see her after three weeks. I posted a picture from the day she was born and will try to take another when I get home. I believe I made the right decision to pay for her medications because she really needed it and I was worried about her family waiting to take her in. I may also have been able to show them that it was important and necessary to get care before it is too late. At the same time, I am afraid that I taught them that if they wait long enough and I am scared enough for the health of their children, I will take the kids in and pay for their care. I don’t want to be pessimistic but its hard not to be sometimes when you are constantly asked for stuff.
I would love to hear comments and opinions from you guys—former PCVs, others that have been in similar situations, and friends and family that may struggle to relate to what I am going through. What would you have done? What can I do in the future to encourage utilization of the health center without involving money? What are your thoughts?
Pics
I posted pictures of my family, the health center, and a few from my house. Take a look!
Disclaimer: I wasn't sure how to spell some names so mostly wrote them phonetically. No promises that they are correct but there are so many variations on spelling for one individual's name that I figure its normal here!
Disclaimer: I wasn't sure how to spell some names so mostly wrote them phonetically. No promises that they are correct but there are so many variations on spelling for one individual's name that I figure its normal here!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
International Womens Day
March 8 is Womens Day, a holiday celebrated around the world including Burkina Faso though its often ignored in the United States. I first learned about the importance of the day when I was working with high school students from Ukraine and Russia on the 4-H FLEX exchange. Several of them told me what a big holiday it was at home and about their traditions for celebrating it.
I have been very excited for the day to arrive since I first got to Burkina over 5 months ago--can you believe its been that long? Of course I am always excited for anything that has to do with gender equality and feminism so it seemed like the perfect holiday for me! Pagnes --printed fabric sold in pieces about a meter and a half long -- are used by everyone here to make clothes, tie babies to your back, etc. Every year the government puts out a special pagne just for International Womens Day and its very popular. I have been seeing women and men wear outfits made out of the pagne from previous years and couldnt wait to get the 2009 pagne. This year the pagne design came in 3 different colors so it was a tough decision which I wanted to get! A few weeks ago my midwife, my counterparts wife, and I all bought matching 8 mars pagnes and I took mine to the tailor to get a comple made. Since March 8 fell on a Sunday, the holiday was observed on Monday with schools and other offices being closed so I wore my outfit that day. I didnt get a picture than but still want to get one of all my village friends and I in are matching outfits! Since people dont have a lot of clothes here they continue to wear the same pagen for several years until it is worn out.
On the actual holiday, there wasnt a whole lot going on in my village other than a big soccer game between two groups of women. Doesnt sound that unusual for the US but here women dont really play sports. I had been telling my neighbor girls that I wanted to play since I had played in high school but nothing ever really happened with that. I went with them to watch the game on Sunday afternoon and eventually decided to just go ask if I could join in. A couple hundred people showed up to watch the game and it was a lot of fun. I think everyone really loved that the one nasara in village was playing! I found it difficult since the field was basically a sandbox and it is so hot and dry here already without trying to run through loose dirt and sand!! We all were pretty bad at playing but had a good time making fools of ourselves!!
Just before I left village I found out that the Minister for the Promotion of Women is coming to my village to put on a big event at the end of the month in honor of International Womens Day. Everyone is very excited for the fete and was talking about what a great time it would be. I am very disappointed to have to miss this since I still will be in training at the time. Maybe next year....
I have been very excited for the day to arrive since I first got to Burkina over 5 months ago--can you believe its been that long? Of course I am always excited for anything that has to do with gender equality and feminism so it seemed like the perfect holiday for me! Pagnes --printed fabric sold in pieces about a meter and a half long -- are used by everyone here to make clothes, tie babies to your back, etc. Every year the government puts out a special pagne just for International Womens Day and its very popular. I have been seeing women and men wear outfits made out of the pagne from previous years and couldnt wait to get the 2009 pagne. This year the pagne design came in 3 different colors so it was a tough decision which I wanted to get! A few weeks ago my midwife, my counterparts wife, and I all bought matching 8 mars pagnes and I took mine to the tailor to get a comple made. Since March 8 fell on a Sunday, the holiday was observed on Monday with schools and other offices being closed so I wore my outfit that day. I didnt get a picture than but still want to get one of all my village friends and I in are matching outfits! Since people dont have a lot of clothes here they continue to wear the same pagen for several years until it is worn out.
On the actual holiday, there wasnt a whole lot going on in my village other than a big soccer game between two groups of women. Doesnt sound that unusual for the US but here women dont really play sports. I had been telling my neighbor girls that I wanted to play since I had played in high school but nothing ever really happened with that. I went with them to watch the game on Sunday afternoon and eventually decided to just go ask if I could join in. A couple hundred people showed up to watch the game and it was a lot of fun. I think everyone really loved that the one nasara in village was playing! I found it difficult since the field was basically a sandbox and it is so hot and dry here already without trying to run through loose dirt and sand!! We all were pretty bad at playing but had a good time making fools of ourselves!!
Just before I left village I found out that the Minister for the Promotion of Women is coming to my village to put on a big event at the end of the month in honor of International Womens Day. Everyone is very excited for the fete and was talking about what a great time it would be. I am very disappointed to have to miss this since I still will be in training at the time. Maybe next year....
Monday, March 16, 2009
Internet Access
Just a quick note that I am at IST -- In-Service Training -- for the next three weeks so will have good access to the internet every few days. If anybody is interested in emailing me, now is a great time!!
I have a couple blogs to type up and post but will do that later after I catch up on e-mails. Also I have taken a bunch of photos to load up when I have a lot of time and a faster connection! Get excited!
Happy Saint Patricks Day tomorrow!!!! I plan to wear a green shirt and enjoy a cold beer to celebrate!
I have a couple blogs to type up and post but will do that later after I catch up on e-mails. Also I have taken a bunch of photos to load up when I have a lot of time and a faster connection! Get excited!
Happy Saint Patricks Day tomorrow!!!! I plan to wear a green shirt and enjoy a cold beer to celebrate!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
FESPACO
I am back in Ouaga after a short week in village to enjoy FESPACO, the huge international film festival held in Burkina Faso every two years. This is the fortieth anniversary of the festival and I felt like it was something I could not miss since I probably will be back in the States before the next one. There are over 300 films from around the world being shown in theatres throughout the city during the weeklong festival. There are a variety of theatres ranging from new stadium style air conditioned places selling popcorn and soda and others being outdoor seating on cement benches. I have only seen one film so far but hope to make it to one or two more today. There are tons of volunteers in town so it has been fun to catch up with them and meet new people as well as run errands in the big city. There also is a market for the festival and I enjoyed looking at arts and crafts from around West Africa. I made a few small purchases though so much of what I saw are things I would want to take back to the U.S. so will wait to purchase later on.
The film I saw was called Ouaga Battle so takes place in Burkina Faso. I am happy to have seen a film from here since Burkina is actually well-known for their film industry though it is fairly small. The movie was about rival hip-hop groups and had lots of interesting dance scenes. I felt like I understood most of the dialogue which was French and a little Moore with French subtitles but still struggled to understand the overall film. It was shown in an outdoor theatre on the far edge of the city so was enjoyable to sit outside under the moon and stars and watch a movie. The director of the film was sitting near us and asked us what we thought after the movie. Its not everyday you get to meet the folks that actually create the movie you just watched!
My Rough Guide to West Africa informed me that FESPACO was started by the government of Burkina Faso in order to break free from the colonial hold of France and the French film industry. I guess its fairly uncommon to have a nationalized film industry and Burkina has been fairly successful. Along with the festival, the government also provides equipment to crews producing films and there are several film schools in the country.
The film I saw was called Ouaga Battle so takes place in Burkina Faso. I am happy to have seen a film from here since Burkina is actually well-known for their film industry though it is fairly small. The movie was about rival hip-hop groups and had lots of interesting dance scenes. I felt like I understood most of the dialogue which was French and a little Moore with French subtitles but still struggled to understand the overall film. It was shown in an outdoor theatre on the far edge of the city so was enjoyable to sit outside under the moon and stars and watch a movie. The director of the film was sitting near us and asked us what we thought after the movie. Its not everyday you get to meet the folks that actually create the movie you just watched!
My Rough Guide to West Africa informed me that FESPACO was started by the government of Burkina Faso in order to break free from the colonial hold of France and the French film industry. I guess its fairly uncommon to have a nationalized film industry and Burkina has been fairly successful. Along with the festival, the government also provides equipment to crews producing films and there are several film schools in the country.
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