Coming into poverty-stricken Burkina Faso

The word “Denan” is not only the name of a remote Ethiopian town: It also means “bitter” in the Somali language. But now, The Denan Project has medically treated more than 85,000 residents -- all for free. With our medical care and other efforts, we have brought a little sweetness to an embittered place. Now, we want to replicate our efforts in other parts of the world, where poverty and sickness reign.

Bukina Faso

Our next stop is in the Gaoua region in the impoverished West African nation of Bukina Faso, several times zones away from Denan. The Gaoua region, like the Ogaden region in which Denan is situated, is the poorest and most disenfranchised area in an extremely, destitute country. Near the border of both Ghana and the Ivory Coast, this remote and deprived area is rife with sickness and malnutrition. But there is a glimmer of hope and a startling vitality in its people. Attending to this hope, The Denan Project is in the midst of setting up a medical clinic in Gaoua. Starting in early 2009, we plan to provide free medical treatment to its residents – many of whom have never seem a doctor or a nurse in their entire life.