New Bible House to grow Bible work in Burkina Faso

by freelance photojournalist Geoffrey Stamp

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The landlocked country of Burkina Faso has few natural resources from which to draw its wealth. Devoid of minerals or precious metals and totally dependent upon its neighbours, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Bénin and Ghana, for access to ports, the country focuses on culture and tourism to create a national income.

In this it has been successful – Burkina Faso is a veritable feast of West African culture. Tens of thousands of tourists and artists flock to Ouagadougou each year to attend a variety of artistic and cultural festivals, including the Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou (FESPACO) – Africa’s largest film festival.

“You may find it difficult to imagine now but one day soon there will be a building here that will be the centre of Bible activity in Burkina Faso.”

Well placed

The Bible Society in Burkina Faso (BSBF), based in the capital, is well placed to take advantage of this constant influx of tourists and interested locals, but its current facilities are rented and too small for the Society to be able to develop its work. That is why Opportunity 21 (O-21), a global UBS Scripture initiative, is helping fund the construction of a new Bible House.

“You may find it difficult to imagine now but one day soon there will be a building here that will be the centre of Bible activity in Burkina Faso,” says Paul Ilboudo, BSBF Director, standing on a piece of wasteland behind the International Artisan Exhibition Centre in a new suburb of Ouagadougou.

The site of the new Bible House may today be littered with burnt-out vehicles and other refuse but the impressive size and architectural style of the neighbouring exhibition centre set a standard that no doubt the new Bible House will maintain.

“We have waited too long to find our own premises – a few years ago we could have had somewhere in downtown Ouagadougou,” says Mr Ilboudo. “But I am not displeased about this location because every year tens of thousands of people flock to the exhibition centre to see displays of art and craft from across Africa. Then we will be at the heart of things. And this is a growing suburb.”

Storage space

The new facility will also allow Bible work to expand, housing substantial storage space, offices, a shop, a translation centre, a Braille development centre, three apartments for translators and visitors and a meeting hall with a 100-seat capacity.

The Bible Society wants the new Bible House to be attractively designed and reflect the importance of art and culture in the life of Burkinabés. In a nearby town called Laongo, there is an amazing collection of stone sculptures, carved by locals as well as internationally renowned sculptors. Mr Ilboudo is considering commissioning a stone sculpture from a local artist to stand in the new Bible House.

The Bible Society wants the new Bible House to be attractively designed and reflect the importance of art and culture in the life of Burkinabes.

But the building of a new Bible House, while key to the development of Bible work, is only one aspect of the BSBF’s plans for expansion. Mr Ilboudo, who only took up office in January, is a young man, full of ideas and enthusiasm for the Bible cause. He wants to take advantage of the growing interest in cycling and football in Burkina Faso to help raise funds and reach out to sports fans.

“We are just developing the work and getting ideas from other Bible Societies and the UBS about fundraising,” he explains. “The Roman Catholic Church is the majority church here…[but] the Bible Society was seen as a Protestant organisation for many years. I feel it part of my task to help awaken the Catholic church to the potential of partnership with the Bible Society, and being a Catholic myself, I feel I am well placed to take the work forward in this way.