Salvation Army's work to be officially recognised in Burkina Faso
Salvation Army's work to be officially recognised in Burkina Faso
20 June 2018
The Salvation Army's work in the African nation of Burkina Faso will be officially opened in August 2018 as a legal and registered ministry.
This approval follows consultation with The Salvation Army’s International Management Council, and a long period of preparation and exploratory work.
Captains André and Fatouma Togo, officers from Mali, are leading the work in Burkina Faso, including a corps in the capital, Ouagadougou. The captains were trained in the Democratic Republic of Congo Territory, and have served there and in Zimbabwe prior to being appointed to Burkina Faso.
The official opening, under the leadership of Commissioners Benjamin and Grace Mnyampi (International Secretary for Africa, and Zonal Secretary for Women's Ministries), will take place in Ouagadougou on 25-27 August 2018.
Included in the weekend’s program will be men’s and women’s rallies, a youth concert and an officers’ meeting.
In a country whose motto is “Unity – Progress – Justice”, The Salvation Army prays that its ministry will contribute to those aims in the years ahead.
Exploratory work
In 2011, Major Eugene Dikalembolovanga, at that time the Regional Officer in Mali, sent word to International Headquarters to indicate that a “national receipt” had been received from the authorities in Burkina Faso, which authorised The Salvation Army to preach anywhere in the country.
Later the same year it was reported that The Salvation Army had received registration in Burkina Faso. However, it was apparent that the local understanding of registration was not fully in line with basic requirements from International Headquarters, so work continued on developing registration documents that would satisfy the authorities in Burkina Faso and meet the requirements.
The Salvation Army was operating out of three centres in the country, and was growing at an encouraging pace.
By the autumn of 2012 it was felt that, once some outstanding matters relating to the Army’s constitution and funding issues had been resolved, a position would be reached to give official recognition to the Army’s presence in Burkina Faso.
Such legal matters take considerable time to resolve, but the way has now been cleared for the official recognition to take place in August.
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