Burkina Faso society: “If children are not prepared with values, our struggles today will be in vain…” (Grégoire Bado, Rehoboth-Ipéné)

At the end of this first edition, Grégoire Bado, first manager of the Rehoboth-Ipéné association, offers many reasons for satisfaction, not only in terms of mobilization, but also in terms of the message conveyed to the children and their encroachment on these campers. “In terms of teaching, all the planned themes were developed by people who really know how to communicate with these children, although these children have very different ages. They knew how to adapt these messages, to the point that I can say that we are satisfied with this first edition, despite our limited means (we had no budget, but God allowed in the end, we got people from everywhere)”, he expresses his gratitude, noting that the camp brings together young children, most of whom are close to the majority (18 years old).

“To change society, the world, we must focus on children, instill in them values ​​and prepare them to be the citizens of tomorrow. That is why we thought it appropriate to return to the base through this camp. It is open to any child, regardless of religion (the child can decide on a religion when he grows up), gender, social class. The goal is to help our children understand the meaning of patriotism and citizenship. We have only one country, Burkina Faso; whatever our beliefs, we belong to the same, only country, and we foster this meaning in the lives of our children,” presents Grégoire Bado.

The campers were therefore educated on various themes, among which is “You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world”. “This theme is developed by examples of people who have provided solutions in times of great challenges, in times of darkness. (…). Salt is very important; when it is not in the sauce, there is no taste. We want these children to add color to the family. We value the family and provide solutions to the country”, explains the first manager of Rehoboth-Ipéné.

A specialist from the Department of Basic Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages ​​sent by the responsible minister explained the module on citizenship and patriotism to the children.

“We also have a theme about the harm of drugs for young people. This theme was also raised by the head of the Ministry of Education, who explained to them all the details of this phenomenon and called on them to stay away from bad people (because society needs spiritually and morally good people to develop). We even wrote a resolution on drugs and promised to keep the children away from drugs. We will also prepare a report to submit to the Ministry of Basic Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages. We also have a theme about the use of social networks by young people; a double-edged sword. There is also a theme about sexuality, which was raised by a mamy (grandmother, editor’s note) of a famous structure; she talked about this topic with the children. We also have so-called bonfires (campers’ nights where they express themselves through programs of their own design: ballet, songs, drama, stories, etc.),” ​​said Mr. Badoo.

The intentions of the leaders of the Rehoboth-Ipène Association have already turned to the second edition in 2025, and at the end of this first experience they showed their desire to work for a better Burkina Faso. “We want a better Burkina Faso. We plan ten, twenty years from now, what kind of Burkina Faso do we want? All this starts with preparation from childhood. We must prepare the type of Burkina Faso we want tomorrow. If children are not prepared with values, our efforts today will be in vain. Therefore, we must return to our roots and invite all actors to say to themselves that from the age of 50, it is a loss if we do not prepare enough successors. That is why we intend to cast a wider net in this second edition, especially with the support of the Ministry of Basic Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages, which is already an ally, and to raise the age level to further raise awareness, declares Grégoire Bado.

“We have to help people enjoy life”

The campers were clearly delighted with each of their words and expressions. Thus, Blessing Marlowe remembered, among other things, that one should not smoke. “I also learned that social media is a double-edged sword and to be very careful with it,” she added. When asked if she uses social media, the camper revealed: “My mom told me not to use it, so I don’t use it.”

Prunelle Tiendrébéogo also shared her memories of the 2024 camp: “I learned that to move forward, you need teamwork, to work together. We were also taught to know about drugs, not to follow bad companies, to look for good friends, not to smoke with friends who meet behind the school after class, we must denounce this. I also learned to respect my parents, it is not good to say that they say don’t do that and you wait until they come out to do it, it is disobedient. We also learned about sex, to avoid watching pornographic videos because it is not good. We were also told to be wary of social networks and phones, which can cause problems and are not good for children (don’t watch TikTok). We can go to Google to learn, which can help us, but we can’t be too addicted to it either, we have to learn to think and let the brain work to find something,” shared Prunelle Tiendrébéogo. She hopes that fellow students, whether they are students or not, will participate in the second edition to learn life values. “It is a good camp, you have to be salt and light; wherever we go, there is always light because the Lord always follows us,” she said.

Anaël Coulibaly also returned home with many lessons. “I learned a lot, the values ​​of patriotism. We were also told about sex, that if we sell ourselves for money it is because money is worth more than us. And, we were also told about drugs, that if we take drugs we will never achieve our destiny. Our theme taught us that we are the salt and light of the world, so we must help people to taste life,” said Anaël Coulibaly, who firmly believes that “without patriotism, Burkina Faso cannot succeed, cannot move forward.”

The Rehoboth-Ipene Association was established in 2016 to help underprivileged children and the underprivileged, with the overall goal of awakening patriotic consciousness and promoting civic participation, civic values ​​and tolerance in order to leave a peaceful society for future generations. It also involves developing children’s moral awareness, critical thinking, and civic, social and patriotic consciousness.

For reference, “Rehoboth” (Hebrew) is understood to be the name of the well dug by Isaac in Genesis 26:22, which is the source of living water, meaning the open sea or “wide space”, while “Ipene” comes from the Lyélé language, which means “gift from God or Dieudonné”. Therefore, Rehoboth-Ipéné means “The Lord has now set us free and we will prosper in this country, a gift from God”, Grégoire Bado revealed at the end of the 2024 camp, which also prayed for peace in Burkina Faso.

O.L

Lefaso.com