Build a High School in Konkourona, Burkina Faso

Fundraising for the new high school in Konkourona is continuing as the community focuses on construction of a diagnostic laboratory.  So far $50 out of a goal of $150,000 has been raised.  Once construction of the diagnostic laboratory is complete in 2026, construction of the high school will be prioritized.

High performance at the middle school level has been sustained for 6 years now, since the beginning of the partnership between the Konkourona Alliance Foundation (KAFO), Inc. in the United States and the Mami Siara Na Association of Konkourona.  Rates for passing the middle school entrance exam have soared from 4% in 2019 to over 80% today.  

There is a growing need for community members with higher education to fill the many jobs that have been created since we started such as teachers, nurses, accountants, water managers, office managers, a library manager, a pharmacy manager, etc.  

The Konkourona Alliance Foundation (KAFO), Inc. in the United States works with the Mami Siara Na Association of Konkourona (MSN) on all development projects with KAFO providing strategic direction and funding and MSN identifying community needs and mobilizing the community to help implement projects.  KAFO and MSN leaders convened at the end of March to discuss higher education needs for the village of Konkourona and 11 surrounding villages.  MSN leaders recommended that a vocational high school be built first to meet the needs in the region.  They identified the following possible courses of study:

• Welding
• Sewing
• Mechanics
• Hairdressing
• Carpentry
• Entrepreneurship
• Agriculture, dairy farming, animal husbandry
• Catering
• Community health
• Masonry
• Engineering
• Electricity
• Plumbing
• Hospitality
• Art
• Music

MSN leaders met with village elders to share their vision for the school.

A survey will now be conducted of the students to determine their interests to prioritize the classrooms to be built first.  An initial meeting was held with the builder to discuss the strategy and he recommended meeting with the Directors of similar schools that are running well.  Those meetings will be held in the coming weeks.