15 erring recruitment offices penalized in 3 months    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    Mass food poisonings cast shadow over Indonesia's free school meals    Police fatally shoot man at Toronto's international airport    Saudia Group signs deal with Airbus for flyadeal's first wide-body aircraft    Saudi non-oil exports surge 14.3 percent to SR26.11bn in February    Ministry of Justice launches centralized court model to enhance judicial efficiency    Saudi Arabia elected chair of Asia region of World Meteorological Organization    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Super Max Verstappen scorches to pole with record lap in Jeddah    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Hope and shelter, amid the fighting in Burkina Faso
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 05 - 02 - 2022

For the last three years, a retired cook in northern Burkina Faso has been providing shelter for people displaced by armed attacks in the country, where the security situation continues to deteriorate.
Recent unrest in the capital Ouagadougou surrounding the military coup, is just the latest example of instability in Burkina Faso, whose citizens have been facing turmoil for over a decade. By the end of 2021, there were over 1.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in the land-locked West African nation, with the country's Centre-North and Sahel regions the worst affected.
Since November 2019, 85-year-old Lambda (not his real name), has welcomed more than 100 of his compatriots into his compound in the village of Tougouri after they fled their homes, offering them shelter, food, and even money to buy supplies.
"I worked as a cook for 45 years in the prefecture of Tougouri. With the savings I had built up, I was able to acquire several plots of land. Then I built several houses with the intention to rent them to get some income for my retirement.
I started helping displaced people as soon as they began arriving in Tougouri, in the Centre North region, in November 2019. I heard about armed men attacking and killing people in different villages, but I do not know who they were. What I know, is that many persons came here due to these attacks.
'Pitiful situation'
When they arrived, they were in a pitiful situation that saddened me, and I provided them with shelter in my houses, free of charge, before the humanitarian workers built additional shelters in my compound for them.
There are currently more than 100 people living here: sometimes, men go to work in a mining site before coming back. The fact that these people have stayed with us for more than two years without major incidents or tension, is a source of comfort and reassures me that I made the right choice to welcome them into my home. My motto is that people come before anything else in life!
Happy to help
I am happy to help them and feel myself useful by helping others.
However, sometimes what hurts me the most is to see IDP children who do not have food without being able to help them. I've often helped them with food or money, but I must admit that it's very little.
I call for the humanitarian actors to strengthen food assistance for displaced people and to build more shelters. I do not intend to take back my houses soon, but as the saying goes "even if the child does not cry, he needs his mother". This is to say that I am under pressure as I do not get income from the houses.
Can't give up
What is certain is that I can no longer give up, I will continue to support people in need because it is what gives meaning to my life. The reason why I helped them is that displaced persons are human beings like me, and what they are going through now can happen to me too. I couldn't bear to see them sleeping outside at the mercy of the cold and dust.
I have learned that you can get people's recognition and respect when you help them. I am grateful for the gratitude and appreciation shown by the people who now live with us. This gives me feelings and emotions that money cannot acquire." — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.