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From the Ground · Burkina Faso

On the Hard

This is real. Before a single wall goes up, we've already been there — walking the land, working alongside a village, and putting the groundwork in place. These are photographs from that journey.

Where We Are Right Now

Hauled Out, Preparing to Launch

"On the hard" is sailor's language for a boat that's been hauled out of the water and set on dry land — where the real preparation happens: the hull is inspected, repairs are made, and everything is made ready before she launches and sails. That's exactly where Haven Harbor Heritage is today. We're on the hard: feet on solid ground, securing land, drawing up plans, and doing the unglamorous groundwork that has to come first — preparing for the day we launch and open our doors to children.

The photographs below are from our time on the ground in Burkina Faso — community work at a village school, bookbags and clothing shared with children and families, and the land we now own where Haven Harbor will be built. We share them for one simple reason: this mission is real, and we want you to see the proof for yourself.

A note of honesty: one of our photo storage drives failed, and we lost a number of images from this trip. What you see here is what we were able to save — real moments, shared exactly as they happened. We'll keep adding more as they come in from others who traveled with us.

About These Photographs

Why Some Faces Are Protected

You may notice that some children's faces in these photos are blurred. We want to be completely open about why — because these children are very real, and so are these moments.

When we first visited, we took these photographs openly and joyfully, with the blessing and warm welcome of the families we met. At the time, we did not fully understand the child-protection considerations that come with sharing images of children publicly online. Since then, guided by child-safeguarding advisors, we have chosen to obscure the faces of the children in our photos. Nothing about these images is staged or hidden — we are simply protecting the privacy, safety, and dignity of children who cannot consent to being seen by the entire world.

In doing so, we follow the principles and internationally recognized best practices set out in:

  • The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child — including every child's right to privacy (Article 16) and the duty to act in the child's best interests (Article 3).
  • UNICEF's Principles for Ethical Reporting on Children — the global standard for portraying children with dignity and care.
  • The International Child Safeguarding Standards developed by Keeping Children Safe.
  • Established humanitarian guidance on informed consent for the responsible use of children's images.

Protecting these children will always come before a good photograph.

On the Ground

Community & the Village School

Our outreach centered on a village school — where we came to meet teachers, students, and families, to listen, and to put something tangible into the children's hands.

A village school in rural Burkina Faso where Haven Harbor Heritage carried out its outreach
The village school at the heart of our outreach. We were welcomed here to meet teachers and students — and to hand 100 new backpacks directly to the children, one by one.
Rows of bicycles parked outside the village school in Burkina Faso
Outside the school, the rows of bicycles tell the story — here, hardly anyone has motorized transport. Most students walk or pedal, sometimes for miles, just to reach a classroom.
Metal shelves holding the village school's limited, well-worn supply of shared textbooks for every grade and subject
The school's entire stock of textbooks — every grade and subject, on a few metal shelves. There are never enough to go around, so students share, and many fall behind. Better learning resources are at the very heart of what Haven Harbor will provide.
Children gathered at a village hand pump filling water containers in Burkina Faso
Daily life: children sent to the village's manual pump to draw water for their families — often the first task of the day.
Hands-On Help

Bookbags, Clothing & Supplies

We came with more than good intentions. Backpacks for students, clothing for children and villagers — small things that say, clearly, you matter.

Jason Clark handing a new backpack to a student at the village school, with the teacher and community leaders looking on
Jason hands a new backpack to a student — joined by the school teacher (in red) and local community leaders. One pack, one child, one promise kept.
Jason Clark handing bags of clothing to mothers of the village in Burkina Faso
Handing bags of clothing to the mothers of the village — gifts carried across an ocean for families who welcomed us as their own.
A student receiving a new backpack from Jason Clark at the village school in Burkina Faso
Another child, another backpack — 100 in all, handed out one at a time, face to face.
Our Foundation

The Land We Own

Not a concept. Not a maybe. We've secured real, walled, paid-for property in Burkina Faso — each parcel with a role to play. This is the ground our future stands on.

A secured, walled lot owned by Haven Harbor Heritage within the city limits in Burkina Faso, intended for supply storage and logistics
Secured and walled within the city limits, this lot will serve as Haven Harbor's logistics and supply hub — the receiving point where donated goods, building materials, and essential supplies are stored, organized, and readied for distribution. It's larger than it looks here, and chosen with security and access in mind.
⚓Photo 9Another secured property
Caption draft: "More of the ground we've secured for Haven Harbor — photos coming soon."
The Place

A Glimpse of Burkina Faso

Most people can't find it on a map. So before it's a mission, let it be a place — with its own rhythm, color, and quiet sense of humor. This is the country we've come to love.

A man drives a donkey cart loaded with firewood through a busy city intersection in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, with a mosque and shops in the background
A donkey cart hauls firewood straight through a busy intersection in Ouagadougou — the nation's capital. Now picture that in the middle of Washington, DC! Here, the old world and the new simply share the same road.
A van on a rural road loaded high with sacks of cargo, seen through a car windshield in Burkina Faso
Public transportation, Burkina Faso style — a van stacked sky-high with cargo and passengers alike. The local "Greyhound," as we came to call it. You make do with what you have, and somehow it works.
Therese holding a village baby goat in Burkina Faso
Therese cradles a village baby goat. The animals roam freely here — wandering through the villages and, more often than not, right into your home!
A Burkina Faso village of thatched homes set behind cultivated millet fields
A village on the horizon, framed by fields of young millet. Most families here farm to live, and the rhythm of the seasons sets the rhythm of life.
Open grazing land dotted with trees and livestock under a wide sky in rural Burkina Faso
Wide, open country — livestock grazing among the trees beneath an endless sky. This is the landscape that surrounds the villages.

Help Us Launch

You've seen the groundwork. Now help us build what comes next — a safe harbor for children who have nowhere else to turn.

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