Barka Foundation Inc

BARKA FOUNDATION HAS FIVE AREAS OF FOCUS: -PROVIDE SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER, IMPROVED SANITATION AND HYGIENE EDUCATION (WASH) -HELP COMMUNITIES ACHIEVE GENDER EQUALITY -DEVELOP COMMUNITY RESILIENCE THROUGH FOOD SECURITY PROGRAMS -UTILIZE MEDIA AND THE CULTURAL ARTS TO STRENGTHEN THE CAPACITIES OF LOCAL POPULATIONS -EDUCATE US STUDENTS AND COMMUNITIES ABOUT AFRICA

ACTIVITIES IN THE WASH, MENSTRUAL HEALTH, AND MEDIA STREGTHENING ARE DETAILED AS FOLLOWS:WASHBARKA DEVELOPED A NEW COMMUNITY WATER AND HYGIENE PROJECT TO DRILL 20 WELLS IN THE COMMUNITY OF FADA NGOURMA, CAPITAL OF THE EASTERN REGION OF BURKINA FASO WHICH IS BEING SEVERELY AFFECTED BY A CRISIS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS DUE TO CONTINUING INSECURITY AND TERRORIST ATTACKS.THIS PROJECT IS PARTNERED WITH LOCAL ROTOARY CLUBS IN THE U.S.A. AND THE ROTARY FOUNDATION. LEAD CLUBS ARE MARBLEHEAD, MA, SEDRO-WOOLLEY, WA, AND OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO. 2021 WAS DEVOTED TO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND THE REVIEW OF BUDGETS AND PROJECT DESIGN BY ROTARIAN PARTNERS.MENSTRUAL HEALTHBARKA DEVELOPED AND BEGAN IMPLEMENTATION OF A REVOLUTIONARY PROJECT (AFRICUP: YA SOMA) TO INTRODUCE MENSTRUAL CUPS TO BURKINA WOMEN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE NATIONS HISTORY. AFRICUP: YA SOMA IS A PILOT FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY PROJECT DESIGNED TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR MENSTRUAL CUP ADOPTION AND MENSTRUAL HEALTH PROGRAMMING IN BURKINA FASO. OBJECTIVE 1: EXPLORE AND UNDERSTAND THE PROCESSES FOR IMPORTING AND IMPLEMENTING CUPS IN BURKINA OBJECTIVE 2: DEMONSTRATE FEASIBILITY, ACCEPTABILITY, AND DEMAND FOR CUPS OBJECTIVE 3: IMPROVE PARTICIPANTS MENSTRUAL, SEXUAL, AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH (MSRH) AND PARTICIPATION IN DAILY ACTIVITIES OVERALL, THE PROJECT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS. PARTICIPANTS WERE INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE MENSTRUAL CUP AS AN INVALUABLE TOOL THAT IMPROVED THEIR LIVES ACROSS MULTIPLE DOMAINS. MEDIA STRENGTHENINGA GRANT ISSUED BY THE US EMBASSY OF BURKINA FASO FUNDED A NEW STRATEGIC DIRECTION FOR BARKA FOUNDATION IN 2021: STRENGTHENING THE COUNTRYS MEDIA COVERAGE OF THREE KEY THEMATIC AREAS: WOMENS EMPOWERMENT, ANTI-TERRORISM, AND COVID-19 PREVENTION. FOR THIS PROJECT, BARKA PARTNERED WITH WHATMATTERS PRODUCTIONS AND SPACE COWBOYS, TWO AMERICAN FILM AND PRODUCTION COMPANIES WHICH LED WORKSHOPS TO STUDENT JOURNALISTS FROM ISTIC (INSTITUTE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DE L'INFORMATION ET DE LA COMMUNICATION) AND TELEVISION PROFESSIONALS FROM BURKINAS TOP THREE TV NETWORKS. PARTICIPANTS CREATED ORIGINAL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR NATIONAL BROADCAST. IN ADDITION TO THE INCREASING OF AWARENESS ON THE THEMATIC ISSUES FOR ALL BURKINABE, THE PROJECT ALSO HAD AN OBJECTIVE OF SHARING OF EXPERTISE OF AMERICAN PROFESSIONALS WITH COUNTERPARTS IN BURKINA FASO.

DONATED BUSINESS SERVICES TOTALING $22,000:ACCOUNTING, $8,000;BOOKKEEPING, $1,500; GRAPHIC DESIGN, $10,000; LEGAL SERVICES,$2,500