Our country, BURKINA FASO, experiences two major seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
In the Southwest, in the municipality of Bondigui, on the night of March 22 to 23, 2026, we had a first violent rain. This rain, accompanied by a strong gust of wind, tore down houses, uprooted fruit trees and destroyed tents and shops in the market. A personnea saw the roof of her house fly off. Two teachers from primary and high school also saw their sheet metal roof break apart!
Our community was not spared! Around 8 p.m., while we were in community relaxation outside our refectory, by a light breath of wind and the rumble of thunder, we felt the rain coming… In less than ten minutes, a heavy rain came with a very violent wind: we quickly took refuge in the refectory, worried about our buildings. Each one prayed within itself so that there would be as little damage as possible!
And here is Wiéga, the dog -whose name means ‘peace’-, already signaled some devastation to us!… On the west side of the refectory, a branch of the “néré” fell on our fence needing urgent repair because there is the exit door for our animals: we quickly erected a barricade of spiny tree branches. The wind knocked down almost all the unripe mangoes! Two trees were uprooted: the néré and the cashew nut tree. The néré gives us many of its fruits to make Soumbala, -condiment to season our Burkinabè meals-, and the cashew tree that attracts children from school and church to feast on its fruits and guarantees us its nuts to support our income generating activity (RGA)! Moreover, this tree hosts the fraternity of Catholic couples for their monthly meeting and it dampens the heat from the sun’s rays on our building: we called it the «refrigerator of our refectory» ! Moreover, we appreciate the beautiful melody of the birds that use it to rest, recover and continue their work of procreation.
We thank God because the Holy Spirit was strongly at work: he spared the refectory building! We will use all the fallen wood not only for heating but also to cook our “local magic” which is Sumbala! Although the wind caused damage, the rain water watered our trees and garden vegetables!
In community, we decided to plant four fruit trees to replace everything that was destroyed.
The community of Phariyago: YAMEOGO Edith and KAM Nathalie.
Published on 28 March 2026
