Innumerable Acts of Kindness – A Mother’s Day Celebration

This is Nignan Kakoira. She lives in Sia, Burkina Faso. She is the wife of the chief of the village. She is also the mother of three grown children and the grandmother of four children – three girls and one boy. 

As a young girl, Nignan wasn’t able to attend school. “If I had had the chance to be educated,” Nignan says, “I  would have liked to become a teacher or a doctor. But instead I am reduced to only taking care of my home and my grandchildren.”

Nignan’s day starts at 5:00 AM. “I must go very early to draw water,” she says, “because there is only one borehole for the whole village, and I have to travel a long distance to reach the borehole.” When she returns home, she has to quickly make breakfast so that the children will not be late for school.

“After the children have left for school,” Nignan says, “I have to look for some kindling in the trees for cooking. With the help of a long pole, I knock down the dry limbs of the trees and pile them up and carry them on my head to the house. I use this wood to cook the meal for the evening.”

When talking about her daily routine, Nignan says, “All this pain I endure is because I was not educated.” It’s this same belief that makes Nignan so hopeful and excited about the recent partnership with buildOn and her community. 

Along with the other male and female volunteers from the community, Nignan recently helped break ground on the new school in Sia – thanks to the funding of donors Mobile Beacon and the North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation. When asked about the need for this new school, she recalls the difficult learning conditions her grandchildren have faced. “Their classrooms are under straw huts that the community has erected. During the dry season, especially when it is very cold, it is difficult to convince them in the morning that they need to go to school. They always complain that it’s very cold in their classroom.”

“Thanks to the partnership we will have a new school building,” Nignan adds. “And these new classrooms will help the future of our children a lot. I don’t want my little sons to suffer like me.” 

It’s clear that Nignan gets immense joy out of knowing that her actions are building a better future for her children and grandchildren. “I am very happy because I was not lucky enough to go to school. But seeing that my grandchildren are so lucky to have this opportunity makes me very happy. We grew up in ignorance, but our children through this school will bring us light in our lives.”

Thank you to Nignan and all the selfless mothers around the world, who – day in and day out – make our families, communities, and world better through their innumerable acts of kindness.