| View of the Mahadaga valley from the road just before it descends the mountain and continues into the valley. |
Our current assignment has us living and serving in Mahadaga, a rural village on the southeastern side of Burkina Faso, not too far from the border with Benin and Niger. The village is definitely "off the beaten path", making it a little more challenging to get to, especially during rainy season. But it's rural location also lends itself to some beautiful scenery: cliffs and waterfalls that dot the landscape and are the more beautiful for the stark, dry setting they are often found in.
A big "thank you!" to our friends and co-workers from the USA, Canada, Australia, Italy and France for some of these pictures!
Where is Mahadaga?
Burkina Faso is a West African country roughly the same size as the state of Colorado. It is a landlocked country bordered by Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. Mahadaga is a small, rural village in Burkina Faso that is located about 500 kilometers to the southeast of the country's capital, not too far from the borders with Niger and Benin. The closest post office is located about 50 kilometers away in the town of Diapaga.
Click on the map to see more general information about Burkina Faso.
Landscape and Scenery
Mahadaga is located on the border of the sub-Saharan region of West Africa known as the Sahel. As a result, the climate is hot, dry and arid, and drought is often a problem. During rainy season, an average of less than 24 inches of rain will fall, often causing much erosion and flooding, but also filling up the local streams and waterfalls and allowing crops to grow. From mid-October through the end of May, however, rain rarely falls, if ever. The dry season brings a hot, dry wind from the Sahara desert, known as the harmattan. With such extreme climate conditions, the landscape can be luscious and green in the rainy season, especially as the harvest time approaches, and stark and austere in the dry season, which is beautiful in it's own way.
Click on the photo to see more pictures of the landscape and scenery of Mahadaga.
Flora and Fauna
Burkina Faso has a lot of grasslands, and the area around Mahadaga is largely composed of wild bush country: a mixture of tall grasses and small trees. Mahadaga itself is known for its plethora of mango trees, but the area is also dotted with many baobab trees. Savannah grasslands in Africa does indicate the presence of wild animals such as elephants, hippos, monkeys, crocodiles and a variety of antelope. Though we don't get to see these critters every day, we do have the luxury of living fairly close to one of the country's wildlife reserves, Parque Arly. In town, however, it is much more common to see farm animals, such as cows, goats and sheep, though they may not quite look like the cows, goats and sheep you are used to from children's story books! We also have a variety of lizards and birds that are interesting to look at, and plenty of insects and other not-so-friendly critters!
Click on the photo to see more pictures of the flora and fauna of Mahadaga.
The People
There are two main people groups in the Mahadaga area: the Gourma people group and the Fuhlani people group. Mahadaga is located in the Tapoa, which is one of three predominantly Gourma provinces in Burkina Faso. As such, even though the national language is French, Gourma is widely spoken, even by non-Gourma people, especially in the rural market places. The Gourma people are traditionally animist and agricultural, especially in rural areas like in Mahadaga.
The Fuhlani people group is one of the largest remaining unreached people groups in the world. They are traditionally nomadic, so you can find Fuhlani all over West and Central Africa. They are nominally Muslim and typically very closed to the Gospel. Though you can find mosques and Islamic teachers in Namounou, a larger town 30 kilometers from Mahadaga, most Fuhlani in this area practice folk Islam, which is a combination of traditional beliefs and some Islamic tenets. Fuhlani women in this area are easy to spot as they tend to wear their hair in elaborate long braids decorated with silver coins. On festive occasions they will also wear a lot of make up and jewellery, giving them an exotic look. The Fuhlani do not generally grow crops. They are traditionally nomadic herdsman, investing their riches in cattle.
Click on the photo to see more pictures of the people of Mahadaga.
The Ministries
SIM began working in the Mahadaga area in 1953 after a couple of missionaries working in Diapaga, a town 50 kilometers away, took a motorbike trip into the bush country looking for an ideal spot to expand the ministry. For many years, transportation to Mahadaga was extremely difficult as there were no roads leading to the village! However, through prayer and perseverance, a church was eventually established in the area along with a health clinic. Today there are between 10 and 15 churches within the 15 kilometer radius that makes up the greater region of Mahadaga. SIM continues to work closely with the EE/SIM national church denomination and runs several ministries in the area, including Fuhlani evangelism outreach, a health clinic, and a ministry to the handicapped.
For more information about some of the ministries happening in this area you can also visit the Centre for the Advancement of the Handicapped website or visit our "What We Do" page.
Click on the photo to see more pictures of ministry in Mahadaga.
Our Home
When SIM first established a work in Mahadaga, the chief of the village gifted a parcel of land to the mission so that they would have somewhere to base their work. The land was originally an old market area that had been abandoned because people thought it was cursed. Thus the SIM Mahadaga mission station was founded. The mission station covers an area of about 1/4 square kilometers and houses all current missionaries serving in Mahadaga. There are 6 long-term residences and a guest house, along with several sheds and maintenance buildings. There are also several mango groves and other treed areas that make for a scenic, peaceful place to be and offer lots of room for children to play!
Click on the photo to see more pictures of our home in Mahadaga.
