Still Sewing!

Well, the googly eye period has commenced. We are going to make it and the costumes are turning out beautiful, BUT I sure am tired.
I think I may have been a bit teched when I planned my trip over to see the girls so close to all this madness and mayhem. Oh well, too late now. I was just concerned about their being so impatient for my coming. Delilah and Stephanie have been hoping and waiting for a very long time for us to come to visit.
I'll check in again when my life slows down just a bit.

Aquaculture

I have a crazy neighbor who talked me into putting goldfish in my horse water trough last year. I thought "OK, fine. What can it hurt?" Well I got 6 multi colored gold fish. Remember how hot and dry last summer was?! Anyway, they died about one at a time over the course of many weeks. I wasn't too impressed. But my count was off by one. I figured one of the horses ate it. Then one day the trough was almost empty and I was cleaning the gook out of the bottom with a sieve. Lo and behold, there was my last gold fish and he wasn't a tiny little goldfish any more. He was almost pan frying size. Well I might be exaggerating a little. But let me tell you he was significantly bigger than when he was dropped in.
He is just black enough that he is pretty hard to see. I am not sure whether this has a bearing on his surviving so well or not.
Fall came and went. My friend told me I should move him. I researched by internet. I have one uncle who keeps goldfish near Indianapolis. His daughter told me "No, we just leave them in the little pond all winter." So I thought "What the heck. Moving him will be traumatic, why not just try leaving him?"
We had a pretty rough winter and unusually cold temps in February. I figured he was a goner. However, as soon as the water was completely thawed and things were getting warm and springy, there he was. He's very big now, probably at least 6 inches.
So next trip out to civilization-remember I am sewing like a fiend now-I am going to get him some buddies. I'll let everyone know if the dark ones do better than the gold ones.

Oh yeah, why keep goldfish in a water trough besides the cute factor? To eat mosquito larvae and other bugs. And it works too. Go figure.

Only in Michigan!

You aren't going to believe it! The lower peninsula has temps near 70* and is in a tornado watch. The upper peninsula is in a blizzard warning. And so the saga of the weird weather of 2008 continues.

Educational Sponsorships in Burkina Faso

updated 7/12/08

I have waited a very long time to post this because I really needed to verify a lot of things and I didn't want to post incorrect information.

There are some educational sponsorships floating around for Burkina Faso. Are they legit? I have no way to tell you that answer. What I can do is give you prices and other info from my experience and the knowledge of others in the country.

The system is quite complex and I can tell you this-If a child has not begun on time or has fallen out, it is virtually impossible for them to get back in. The illiteracy rate in the country is quite high. Well over 70% nationwide and about 83% for girls, especially in the villages.
So, anytime I see raggedy kids with educational sponsorship requests I have to be a little skeptical.

The national language is French so the children are taught in French except at the International School.

Ok, here are the prices:

Public school-about $3-$6.00 per year. In the villages especially this can be waved. These classes can be quite large. The children do need uniforms, supplies and backpacks. That can usually be gotten for under $15.00 I do know from my own experience that supplies can be hard to come by. Our kids appreciate the supplies as much as the sponsorship itself.

Inexpensive private school, sewing school etc-$30.00 or so annually. Most of the requests coming our way are in that range. Again there is a need for supplies, backpacks, uniforms etc. and the price is the same.

Fancy private school- $100-$300 per year. Don't forget supplies and uniforms. Still the same price.

Exclusive private school-more like American private schools midwest prices. $1500-$2500 annually. The president's of the country's kids go here as do many wealthier Burkanabe, ex pats and many of the other foreign folk who are living in the country.

International School of Ouagadougou- I don't know what to say about this place. Except what's up with this? It is a fancy prep school. It has to be quite small. The cost for it is well over $10,000 annually per pupil. I am assuming it is mostly for the diplomat's kids although who knows. Our tax dollars hard at work perhaps? I digress.
Suffice it to say if anybody asks for donations in the thousands you are being had. If you are donating, you need to ask what kind of school and where. If it is a public school in the village and you are giving more than $50.00 someone is taking more than their fair share of money for administrative costs.

Uniforms, etc-All the schools require a uniform. It is about $5-$7.00 per uniform. They really need backpacks, pencils, paper, etc. Sometimes the sponsorship programs promise to help the family with grain. That is legit. Just hold their feet to the fire and make sure that they are giving you a detailed account. These people are pretty needy and it is a shame when someone preys on American generosity and the good simplicity of the people.


Ok, it is obvious the cost of living is a lot less there. However, not on all things. Gas and food are costing in the same range there as here or more. So if you are a family making in the minimum range, the vast majority of your money is going to food and possibly gasoline. There is very little left. School sponsorships are very appreciated in the right circumstances.

I advocate the sponsorships heavily. They have made a big difference in our kids' lives. Just be very wise before writing out the check.

Keep checking back as this page will continue to be updated.

Adoption from Burkina Faso

(Note: page under construction) last update April 30, 2008

It has not been possible for adoption to the US from Burkina Faso in most cases. There has been no policy between the US and Burkina Faso. A few ex pats have been successful and I know of a family from the country who are now citizens of the US who adopted a nephew. I will tell you this, in all successful cases it was not easy, even for the family originally from Burkina.
Since the US has completely implemented the Hague we shall wait and see what transpires. Burkina does do adoptions. However, they are mostly to their own people, France and a few other European countries. Their understanding of adoption is quite different than ours in the US. My advice to you if you are seriously considering this is to communicate well with the Embassy before spending any money. They will tell you how things are going.
Very few US visas are granted so you will get a pretty good indication of the mood and status of things by one call to the Embassy. The number is: o11-226-50-30-67-23.

Kids to Adopt has announced it's pilot program. If you would like more info please visit: www.kidstoadopt.org I can not give any comment, because it is a pilot program, but they do appear to be handling things cautiously. There are some changes from what our experience was but that could be due to the Hague or because now an actual policy is being developed between the US and Burkina.

If you'd like to learn more about our story, please do read the blog from the beginning. We had a failed adoption that we turned into a sponsorship and it has turned out very well.

I will update this page as information becomes available.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho , It's off to sew I go!

This is me doing what I do every sewing season. This year the show is "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego"? I am working on Scottish beanies in these pictures. That is little Batly, the cat helping in the background. She is the kitten someone conveniently tucked into the hay bails one very blustery November day. We call her Batly because when she sleeps she looks exactly like a little bat. (or hairless mouse as the Burkanabe's call them)

Geralyn and Ellie Mae

Here is the other neighbor girl and her friend Ellie Mae. (as in Ellie Mae Clampet) Ellie Mae is loving every minute of this. She is the baby of the bunch and hasn't ever had her very own friend. She loves this arrangement.