KANGALA, Burkina Faso (AIMM/Mennonite Mission Network) – Mennonites in Burkina Faso are living out Jesus’ love through a large-hearted response to the devastation caused by lightning-induced fires in three villages.
Five days after the May 21 storm, leaders of Eglise Evangélique Mennonite du Burkina Faso (Evangelical Mennonite Church of Burkina Faso) visited communities that had lost homes, food supplies and their means of transportation – bicycles and motorcycles. Members of two Mennonite congregations were among those left only with the clothes they were wearing and their hoes. The three nearly simultaneous lightning strikes ignited fires late in the afternoon while most of the villagers were working in their fields, located at a distance from their homes.
“We cannot remain indifferent as we observe this picture of desolation. We want to express our compassion and bring aid at all levels – individually, as a community and internationally – to comfort those who have experienced this disaster,” reads the report written by four members of the Mennonite executive committee following their visit to the scene of the fires.
After consulting with local authorities who are coordinating grain collection, the Mennonite Church of Burkina Faso contributed an initial $600 and is encouraging each congregation to take a love offering for fire relief. Church leaders also committed to repairing five damaged roofs.
“As a result of our visit, the executive committee saw the immediate needs and decided to offer the modest means we had to the victims. We decided to help the whole village, but to also respond to the specific needs of our church members,” said Siaka Traoré, national president of the church.
On May 21, the provincial high commissioner summoned the nearest firefighters in Bobo Dioulasso to Kangala where flames were fiercest. Given the distance and road conditions, the 18-person team arrived seven hours later. After battling the inferno for close to four hours, they extinguished the fire the following day around 2:30 a.m.
In Kangala, 468 people are now without shelter. Because most of the homes were constructed in the traditional style with mud walls and thatched roofs, the walls remain. Given the season, thatch will be difficult to replace. Villagers must wait for new grass to grow long enough to be harvested for their roofs.
There are Mennonite churches in Kangala and Kotoura, a village less than two miles from Kangala. These churches grew out of the ministry of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission and the predecessor agencies of Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church Canada Witness.
The losses in Kotoura were limited to five homes. About 12 miles away in Fitiguedjassa, a mother and her two children died in the fires.
North Americans may contribute financially by sending a check with “Burkina relief” written on the memo line and mailed to: Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission, P.O. Box 744, Goshen, IN 46527.
