{"id":35479,"date":"2021-03-02T13:04:05","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T04:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=35479"},"modified":"2021-03-11T10:26:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T01:26:46","slug":"vomk-report-145","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2021\/03\/02\/vomk-report-145\/","title":{"rendered":"BURKINA FASO: CHRISTIAN CHILDREN RETURN TO SCHOOL YEARS AFTER TERRORIST ATTACKS"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”35462″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”The Coronavirus delayed the return to school of many children around the world this year, but for Christian children in Burkina Faso, their return comes after a much longer wait. Jihadist groups attacking Christian villages have forced 40,000 Christians out of their homes over the past three years. Those attacks have turned thousands of school-age Christian children into refugees and kept them out of the classroom. Now, a special Voice of the Martyrs program has enabled 1,104 of those children, some who are 19 or even older, to return to the classroom and complete their grade school educations. A plan to drill three wells to ensure their access to clean drinking water is currently underway.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cOur focus has been on three groups of children,\u201d says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley. \u201c<\/span><\/span>First, 350 Christian o<\/span><\/span>rphans\u00a0<\/span><\/span>who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>lost their parents in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>terrorist attacks<\/span><\/span>. Second, 500 pastors\u2019 children who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>have been unable to attend school due to the violence. And third, 254 children from Christian families who lost everything due to persecution<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Representative Foley says Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u00a0<\/span><\/span>contributed\u00a0<\/span><\/span>15,000 USD\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>schooling<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>project\u2019s 73,000 USD total budget, with the remainder of the funds coming from Voice of the Martyrs Poland<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and other\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Voice of the Martyrs organizations\u00a0<\/span><\/span>worldwide<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”35502″ img_size=”600×600″ alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>main objective of the project<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>has been\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>get\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>children\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of persecuted Burkina Faso Christians\u00a0<\/span><\/span>back in school<\/span><\/span>\u00a0as\u00a0<\/span><\/span>quickly\u00a0<\/span><\/span>as possibl<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>M<\/span><\/span>ost of these\u00a0<\/span><\/span>children<\/span><\/span>\u00a0ha<\/span><\/span>ve<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>been out of school for one year, and many\u00a0<\/span><\/span>have been out for as long as<\/span><\/span>\u00a0three years<\/span><\/span>, due to the jihadist attacks that forced them from their homes,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Their<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>parents\u00a0<\/span><\/span>have\u00a0<\/span><\/span>had to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>prioritize other needs\u00a0<\/span><\/span>like food and shelter.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Local churches\u00a0<\/span><\/span>across Burkina Faso have been helping\u00a0<\/span><\/span>them\u00a0<\/span><\/span>as much as possible, opening their homes and sharing their food. But providing education to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>these Christian refugee\u00a0<\/span><\/span>children was simply\u00a0<\/span><\/span>beyond their capacity.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/span>That is one of the seldom-noted\u00a0<\/span><\/span>long-term\u00a0<\/span><\/span>results\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of persecution:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Children of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christians in situations like this are unable to complete even grade school levels of education, and this\u00a0<\/span><\/span>causes them to fall to the lowest level of society, while the children of their persecutors rise to the top. It becomes a vicious cycle.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0That should not happen, especially when the Christians are\u00a0<\/span><\/span>families of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>martyrs who died\u00a0<\/span><\/span>because of their\u00a0<\/span><\/span>faithful witness to Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley points to the example of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christine<\/span><\/span>, a<\/span><\/span>\u00a0widow.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201cChristine<\/span><\/span>\u2019s husband was a pastor\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in Burkina Faso\u00a0<\/span><\/span>who was<\/span><\/span>\u00a0killed\u00a0<\/span><\/span>by a group of jihadists\u00a0<\/span><\/span>immediately\u00a0<\/span><\/span>after\u00a0<\/span><\/span>he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>finished leading\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Sunday\u00a0<\/span><\/span>worship at\u00a0<\/span><\/span>his\u00a0<\/span><\/span>church<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Christine wrote, \u2018<\/span><\/span>From that moment, we were refugees in our own country. We\u00a0<\/span><\/span>couldn’t<\/span><\/span>\u00a0take anything with<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>us. We lost everything.<\/span><\/span>\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Now,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>we have been able to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>get all eight of Christine\u2019s children back in school to complete their grade school education. The eldest is 23, the youngest is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>6. Christine wrote, \u2018O<\/span><\/span>ur life has changed. We received your gift for our children<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and they can go<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to school. We stopped crying; we have hope<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”35476″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Christina, the wife of a martyred Burkina Faso pastor, and six of her eight children displaying the school supplies received from Voice of the Martyrs. Shown next to Christina are (left to right): Cl\u00e9mentine (23), Youssounoukoa (18), Enriate (13), Eudoxie (11), Fani (8), and Izaac (6).” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”35475″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Christian children in Burkina Faso show the school supplies received from Voice of the Martyrs.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Due to the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Coronavirus outbreak,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a total of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>339,909 students\u00a0<\/span><\/span>nationwide\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in Burkina Faso\u00a0<\/span><\/span>were deprived<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of education, with\u00a0<\/span><\/span>2,512<\/span><\/span>\u00a0schools\u00a0<\/span><\/span>closed. Schools re-opened in November 2020, enabling most students to return to the classroom.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>But\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Representative Foley notes that\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>i<\/span><\/span>mprovement of the COVID-19 situation<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>generally\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in Burkina Faso did\u00a0<\/span><\/span>not\u00a0<\/span><\/span>mean improvement of the situation of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>persecuted\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christian families.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>T<\/span><\/span>hey\u00a0<\/span><\/span>still\u00a0<\/span><\/span>cannot return to<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>their home villages, and they have numerous needs<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>including access to clean water<\/span><\/span>. Sending\u00a0<\/span><\/span>their\u00a0<\/span><\/span>children to school\u00a0<\/span><\/span>significantly reduces\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>demands\u00a0<\/span><\/span>on\u00a0<\/span><\/span>them as\u00a0<\/span><\/span>parents and caregivers. This is because\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in our Voice of the Martyrs program we have be<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>n able to cover\u00a0<\/span><\/span>each\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of the 1,104\u00a0<\/span><\/span>child<\/span><\/span>ren<\/span><\/span>‘s school\u00a0<\/span><\/span>costs<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0which includes an\u00a0<\/span><\/span>enrollment fee, a PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) fee, a school uniform, and<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>one meal per day for the whole school year.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>That means one meal less each day that these Christian refugee parents\u00a0<\/span><\/span>have to<\/span><\/span>\u00a0find\u00a0<\/span><\/span>some\u00a0<\/span><\/span>way to provide.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>We also equipped e<\/span><\/span>ach\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>child<\/span><\/span>ren<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>with\u00a0<\/span><\/span>school supplies<\/span><\/span>–a<\/span><\/span>\u00a0backpack, notebooks, books, pens,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and crayons.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that the situation facing Christians in B<\/span><\/span>urkina Faso\u00a0<\/span><\/span>remains unstable<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>extremely\u00a0<\/span><\/span>dangerous<\/span><\/span>. \u201c<\/span><\/span>Unfortunately, the jihadists continue their attacks in new places<\/span><\/span>, especially in the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christian villages\u00a0<\/span><\/span>close to the Mali border\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u201cBut with many of these\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christian refugee\u00a0<\/span><\/span>children having been out of school for as long as three years, we agreed with the local believers that we had to get the<\/span><\/span>\u00a0children back into school now<\/span><\/span>. We\u00a0<\/span><\/span>couldn\u2019t<\/span><\/span>\u00a0wait\u00a0<\/span><\/span>any longer\u00a0<\/span><\/span>for the situation to improve. If we did,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a whole\u00a0<\/span><\/span>generation\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of Christians in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Burkina Faso<\/span><\/span>\u00a0could lose\u00a0<\/span><\/span>out on education and slide\u00a0<\/span><\/span>further into poverty and social\u00a0<\/span><\/span>disadvantage<\/span><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that while\u00a0<\/span><\/span>funding for\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the Burkina Faso schooling project is now complete<\/span><\/span>\u00a0for this year<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Voice of the Martyrs is currently seeking to raise 3<\/span><\/span>6<\/span><\/span>,000,000 KRW to drill three\u00a0<\/span><\/span>clean drinking water\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wells in the locations in Burkina Faso with the most severe water shortage and the highest number of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christian refugees<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cIn one\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>cities where we will be drilling a well, there are more than 80,000 refugees<\/span><\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>When information spreads that help is coming, everyone runs to line up. Unfortunately, the local<\/span><\/span>\u00a0official<\/span><\/span>s that distribute\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>help are mainly non-<\/span><\/span>Christians<\/span><\/span>. Every\u00a0<\/span><\/span>refugee\u00a0<\/span><\/span>must\u00a0<\/span><\/span>provide a<\/span><\/span>n ID card. That card allows officials to know who is Christian. The<\/span><\/span>\u00a0officials<\/span><\/span>\u00a0do not\u00a0<\/span><\/span>openly\u00a0<\/span><\/span>turn away Christians, but they say things like, \u2018<\/span><\/span>Oh,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>I need to confirm<\/span><\/span>\u00a0more information about your situation.\u2019 In this way,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christians are moved to the end of the line<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and often receive nothing<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>So<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Voice of the Martyrs\u00a0<\/span><\/span>has arranged to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>drill wells\u00a0<\/span><\/span>administered by local churches\u00a0<\/span><\/span>where Christian<\/span><\/span>\u00a0refugees<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>will not be turned away.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”35470″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Christian refugees in Burkina Faso access clean water from a well supplied by Voice of the Martyrs. The ministry has plans to dig three more wells for Christian refugees before the May dry season begins.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>well-drilling\u00a0<\/span><\/span>pro<\/span><\/span>ject<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is an expansion of one that Voice of the Martyrs began\u00a0<\/span><\/span>for Christian refugees\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Burkina Faso in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201c<\/span>To help the Christians\u00a0<\/span>refugees\u00a0<\/span>most effectively,\u00a0<\/span>our goal is to\u00a0<\/span>drill the wells before May<\/span>, which is\u00a0<\/span>the hottest and driest month in Burkina Faso<\/span>,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span>Foley says the Voice of the Martyrs Korea is designating donations made to its Families of Martyrs and Prisoners fund\u00a0<\/span>in March\u00a0<\/span>to the\u00a0<\/span>Burkina Faso\u00a0<\/span>well-drilling project.\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>ndividuals interested in\u00a0<\/span>donating\u00a0<\/span>can visit www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donation<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or give via electronic transfer to\u00a0<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s Families of Martyrs and Prisoners fund.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uad6d\ubbfc\uc740\ud589<\/span>\u00a0463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uc608\uae08\uc8fc<\/span>: (<\/span>\uc0ac<\/span>)<\/span>\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please include the phrase \u201c<\/span>FOM\/FOP<\/span>\u201d on the donation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”35462″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”The Coronavirus delayed the return to school of many children around the world this year, but for Christian children in Burkina Faso, their return comes after a …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":35464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}