I Shall Pass This Way But Once

GOUDA, The Netherlands (MindaNews/03 April) -- A day before I left for Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, we agreed that we would meet on August 4 at 09:30 in the morning at the hotel lobby. That morning I woke up early and just drank a cup of coffee, afraid of being late for my appointment.

An hour passed but he still had not arrived. I was getting restless; to while away my time, I engaged in a conversation with the concierge of Azalai Hotel Independance where I was billeted. In his heavily French-accented English, he told me that the word azalai refers to the camel caravan routes between Timbuktu and the Taoudenni salt mines in Mali. The caravan sometimes consisted of 10,000 camels bringing salt - referred to as white gold -, as well as slaves, jewelries, etc. It constituted the trade route which linked West African cities with Europe and the Middle East in 300 A.D.

The caravan, he said, usually stopped right in front of the hotel. The hall of this fully refurbished four-star hotel has been named after the renowned Senegalese film maker, Sembene Ousmane, the man who since he arrived at the Ouagadougou African Cinema Week (now called Fespaco) had chosen to sleep in Room no. 1 instead of the duplex he had been given. The concierge captured my interest also because since my high school days I have always fascinated with Timbuktu which is regarded by many as a mythical place which I have been dreaming to visit one day.

My mind wandered between the rich history of Burkina Faso and the man I was supposed to meet. Did he really mean to meet me or did he just simply forget our appointment? I knew he was a busy man. Just as I thought the appointment had been cancelled, he arrived and greeted me warmly. I did not recognize him easily because he was wearing casual safari short pants and an ordinary white cotton T-shirt time unlike the first time I met him in London. I was dressed up for a business meeting. I thought we were going to visit Banque Agricole et Commerciale du Burkina (BACB) where he was working.

I met Wolfgang Heupel last February 2007 during the international conference on remittances in London. It was a brief meeting but we both learned that we were also involved in European Microfinance Platform (E-MFP), a network of Europe-based microfinance institutions. He was one of the key people who founded the platform and I lead the Working Group on Remittances. I was in Ouagadougou to attend the experts’ meeting of International Alternative Financial Institutions (INAFI) on the link between microfinance and remittances. I expected that we were going to talk on that day about INAFI and E-MFP and how we would strengthen the Working Group on Remittances where he was also listed as a member.

He told me he was going to take me around the city for a sight-seeing and I excitedly agreed. It was an easy ride passing through wide tree-lined boulevards. The road was full of motorcycle riders and bicycles. I told him that I noticed there are so many Western Union branch offices and banks in Burkina Faso when the country is supposed to be one of the poorest countries in Africa. Wolfgang answered quickly that Burkina Faso is not really that poor, if only things are done the right way. It has lush vegetation that farmers can plant to a lot of varieties of crops. There are thousands of Burkinabe migrants especially in Italy and France who send money home regularly, which explains why there are so many Western Union outlets in Ouagadougou.

Small and medium enterprises thrive and contribute in wealth and job creation in Burkina Faso, but many of them do not keep appropriate records and still operate in an unconventional manner. This means, while they have a great knack in running the business, they do not keep proper accounting and management records. They keep the information on their head and they usually manage the business alone. He told me the story of an illiterate man, a successful hands-on entrepreneur who is a running a large trucking business. He has no office and he does not have a bookkeeping system but he knows exactly how to manage the business profitably by jumping into the water and getting his feet wet. If he suddenly dies, there are no records of his business and no legal successors have been named to take over the running of the business. This lack of transparency in management and operations is a problem for banks. Wolfgang’s role is to support the capacity building and provide professional coaching to these small and medium enterprises so they can meet bank requirements and ensure continuity of the enterprises.

We passed through FESPACO, the site of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival. It looked impressive, something you do not quite expect in a resource-poor, landlocked, former French colony on the edge of the Sahara Desert. He showed me the main market and I sighed and said to myself that our market in Bansalan is far better than what I saw. The Grande Marché, which is in the centre of the town, remains to be rebuilt after a fire ravaged it in 2003. It was supposed to be one of the largest shopping centers in West Africa.

He kept talking while driving, but our discussion on microfinance was not the one that fascinated me and lingered in my memory. It was why he left his job in Germany and chose to live and work in Ouagadougou. He loved the place and the people. It seems to be very challenging for a European to be working in this place where there is massive poverty and lack of many amenities which can be found in Western countries. Wolfgang thought otherwise. He said he had everything he needed in Ouagadougou and he felt his life was far enriching than staying in Germany. His young son attends classes in Ouagadougou. He talked about the health services in the city. They are not at par with those of Western countries but it was adequate, he said. He bought food and groceries from the public market just like the locals and was happy to be able to live normally like anyone else.

His passion for Africa was contagious and I could not help but admire the man. We drove to several places while he related his own personal journey in this African country.
“Africa is my home and I wanted to stay here in Ouagadougou for as long as I can,” he said. When I heard this I thought I was talking to an African. He took me back to the hotel around 3 pm and we agreed that we meet again in Luxembourg two months later.

When I arrived in the Netherlands, I sent him a short “thank you” note primarily for the rich conversation we had. Wolfgang opened my eyes to the other side of Africa. I was touched by his humble and positive outlook in life and how he was taking life day by day. Apart from his position as microfinance expert and high level staff member of one of the largest banks in Burkina Faso, Wolfgang was a simple man at heart.

We did not meet in Luxembourg last November. I thought he decided not to come at all. I sent him a Christmas card but I did not receive a note back from him. One of those passing encounters, I said to myself. You meet a person and you never hear from him or her anymore. I did not attempt to contact him anymore.

Last March I received from E-MFP a glossy copy of the proceedings of the conference which was held last November. I browsed the pages and on the inside portion of the cover, I was shocked in disbelief to read:

“In memory of Wolfgang Heupel (1956-2007), who played a major role in the creation of the European Microfinance Platform and was highly devoted to the development of the microfinance sector.”

I couldn’t believe he was the same Wolfgang I had met last August, so I contacted Axel de Ville, the director of E-MFP. He was sorry to hear that I learned so late that Wolfgang contracted a tropical virus and died several days later. He died on October 17, which was barely two months after I met him.

I used to take pictures while traveling. I was carrying my digital camera but I never had a chance to take pictures of him nor the places I saw. But I remember him quite well, for what he shared with me cannot be captured by a camera. I closed my eyes and said a brief prayer for his eternal peace. I recalled our conversation and remembered a fragment of the poem that says “I shall pass this way but once; therefore, whatever good I might do, let me do it now, for I will never pass this way again.”

Wolfgang did not know that he had opened the doors for me to Africa -- to appreciate the people, its beauty despite its poverty, and the opportunities for development that remained unleashed. Burkina Faso was the first African country I ever visited. I am grateful that I met him and I know I will remember him vividly when I think of Africa. (Mindanawon Abroad is MindaNews' effort to link up with Mindanawons overseas who would like to share their experiences in their adopted countries.

Leila Rispens-Noel, a native of Bansalan, Davao del Sur, left for the Netherlands in 1979. She was a staff member of Mindanao-Sulu Secretariat for Social Action (MISSSA). Aside from being a wife and a mother of two grown-up sons, she works as programme officer in a Dutch development agency. She devotes her free time in supporting small development projects in Mindanao. Her passion is to encourage fellow migrants to harness the development potential of migration and to harness their skills, resources and talents for the development of the local areas. Visit her blog: http://diasporajourney.blogspot.com . You can contact her at Leila@rispens.tweakdsl.nl.

Out of Africa

In the past, I was not so keen about visiting any African countries because I felt it might just be too depressing for me to see countries poorer than the Philippines.

"Just imagine yourself as Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie doing her rounds among the poorest refugees in Africa. If that is not enough, imagine yourself being married to heartthrob Brad Pitt!" This was what my good friend Karl Gaspar said when I kept on postponing my visit to African countries.

I finally ran out of plausible excuses when my call of duty came. On the first week of August, my baptism of fire on Africa – the so-called "cradle of civilization," the second largest continent, and the home of the world's poorest countries – started in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. But to my surprise, the country was not that depressing as I imagined it to be. On the contrary, I acquired so much inspiration from the said visit that now I crave to see and learn more about Africa.

But that is going ahead of the story. I was invited by the International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions (INAFI International) to attend the Experts Meeting on Microfinance, Remittance and Development. The two-day meeting (August 2-4) went well with the discussion gravitated on how microfinance providers can develop remittance-based financial products and services in helping migrants and their families.

It was great to listen to the ideas of most of the participants who were microfinance and remittance experts. In fact, two representatives from the Benin Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed their full support to hold the INAFI Global Conference on Microfinance, Remittances and Development in their country, particularly Cotonou, on November 6-9.

Now, sort of my travelogue. My journey started from Amsterdam to Paris. The connecting flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport (Paris) to Ouagadougou took about six hours. Unexpectedly, it was raining when we arrived. It was a big disappointment for me since it had been raining almost the whole summer in the Netherlands where I live and was looking forward to a sultry African weather. As a matter of fact, I only packed light summer clothes and a sweater in case cold shivers my flesh while on the plane. The sweater proved to be the most useful thing I brought with me.

I stayed in Azalai Hotel along Av. du Président Aboubacar Sangoulé Laminaza just about 5-minute drive from the airport. It is a beautiful hotel with very rich history. According to Soukeyna Ndiayi Ba, INAFI executive director, the word azalai means "caravan," referring to the camel caravan routes between Timbuktu (a thousand-year-old settlement on the southern border of the Sahara Desert) and the Taoudenni salt mines in Mali. The route linked West African cities with Europe and the Middle East in 300 A.D.

"The caravan had a convoy of as many as 10,000 camels carrying gold and slaves from Ghana, Guinea and Senegal to the North of Sahara. On their way back, they brought with them some goods," Soukeyna added. I listened with much ado all the fascinating information she shared. The caravan, she said, usually stopped right where the hotel is located now. Now, I cannot imagine how the street looked like then thousands of years ago as it was crowded with camels and traders.

Later on, I gathered from various sources that Ouagadougou has a population of around 360,000 in 1985. It is the capital of Burkina Faso, formerly known as Upper Volta. The landlocked country is about eight times the size of The Netherlands and is located geographically in the Sahel.

Founded in the 15th century, Burkina Faso was the capital of the Mossi kingdom of Wagadugu (in 1441). About 250 years later, it became the permanent residence of the Morho naba ("great king"), the Mossi king.
Even today, the Morho naba lives in the city, though with much-depleted powers. In the late 19th century, the country came under French control and ultimately gained independence in 1960. However, it was only in 1984 that the borders of the country were finally defined.

But what amazed me were the wide variety of souvenirs available in the market, among them: wooden statuettes, bronze models, masks, jewelries, fabrics, hand woven blankets and leather goods and crafts, ranging from chessboards to ashtrays. They show a high level of craftsmanship.

Literally, the name Burkina Faso means the "land of upright people." The country is considered is one of the poorest in the world. The UN Development Programme, in its Human Development Report, ranks it 174th out of the 177 countries listed. An estimated 80 per cent of its population live on less than US$2 a day. And yet, you will find so many banks within the city. There is a Western Union office in almost
every block or several offices on every street. This shows that Burkina Faso receives huge remittances from Burkinabes living and working outside of their country.

Contrary to what I believe, Italy, and not France is the major destination of French-speaking Burkinabes who find jobs in agricultural sector. Burkina Faso is next to Mali in the top ten countries in Africa receiving migrant remittances. In the 1990s,remittances comprised about six percent of Burkina's gross domestic product. Although remittances to the country are hard to count, the World Bank estimated that in 1990 Burkinabès sent home US$140 million.

According to Migration Policy Institute, Côte d'Ivoire is the primary source of waged work for Burkinabes and hence of remittances. Burkina Faso is not at all disconnected from the modern world. Every two years, the friendly capital hosts the largest African film festival -- Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO).

After the INAFI meeting, I joined a group visiting a village about an hour-drive from our hotel. The small settlement is composed of clustered mud brick huts with grass roof and small grain stores. Inside the house, you can see several large clay jars and few clothes. Four women sleep inside the hut.

"What are those large clay jars for?" I asked one woman through an interpreter. We used them, she answered in their own dialect, to store vegetables so that they would remain fresh for a couple of days. (This readily reminded me of an article I read long time ago how a farmer in Nigeria refined an ancient technology using jars to keep spinach, tomatoes, onions and other perishable goods for longer periods.

This is something which can be adapted in our rural areas. I tried to find the article via the internet and this is the link: https://practicalaction.org/docs/agroprocessing/food_chain_29.pdf ).
Since it had been raining for the last few days, the fields were green and there were lots of activities. The women and young girls were busy plowing the field. "Where are the men?" I asked but nobody bothered to give me an answer. The weather was unusual because normally, I was told, it should be hot and humid by that time of the year in Burkina Faso.

The young woman, whose name I cannot recall anymore, said that only women sleep in the hut. I asked Soukeyna on our way back why the wife and the daughters sleep in one hut and the father in the other hut.
"The men have usually more than one wife, sometimes up to five," she revealed. "He usually sleeps in his own hut with one of the wives whoever is convenient."

It made me realized that these people need so little in order to live. Ranked by UN as the fourth poorest country in the world, Burkina Faso is a poor country even by West African standard. I wondered if they know what life is outside of their village. Do they read as to what people do, especially those from Western countries? Most children could not go to school beyond primary school. Their needs are small and life is laid back out there. You can breathe fresh air and people are not enslaved by time and the hustle and bustle of urban life.

Having said that, I want it to be known that I don't romanticize poverty. There is still so much to be done to improve the quality of life in the villages. Burkina Faso is poor but it is considered to be one of the safer countries in Africa. The people are very friendly. I came to know two young men although it was not easy to communicate because French is the official language which becomes a barrier in establishing friendship with the local people.

Before I left, two people gave me something: one gave me a necklace and a pair of earrings and the other, a jewelry leather box with my name embossed on the cover.

My recent sojourn was a good introduction to Africa and its people. I still have a secret wish though: to visit Timbuktu in Mali. Why Timbuktu? My father mentioned the place Timbuktu when I was still a child. I thought Timbuktu was just a product of my father's creative imagination. To me, the name alone signifies a mysterious place, a myth, an enigma.
Years later, I learned that Timbuktu indeed exists and it is a place of learning, wisdom and spirituality. I think I should really see the place. Soukeyna, who is based in Senegal, said that we will travel together to Timbuktu one day.

I can't wait for that day to come. With a childlike adventurism, I thought of joining an azalai expedition with thousands of camels up to the fabled city of Timbuktu. I want to see the salt mines and the ancient and endangered manuscripts dating back up to the 9th century.

"No, Leila, joining a camel caravan takes too long. We will go there with 4-by-4 wheel drive vehicle," said Soukeyna, who woke me up from my pleasant imagination. It is a dream though I hope it would come to reality in the near future.

But before Timbuktu, I have to see Accra, the capital city of Ghana in West Africa, first and then Benin come November. Asante sana ("Thanks a lot" in Swahili!) My African safari has just begun.

Pictures of Ouagadougou can be viewed at:
http://sunchild-outofthebox.blogspot.com/2007/08/august-1-6-2007-destination-ouagadougou.html