Menu
Couple working to build future for children of African village
McCOOK, Neb. — Tenielle and Barto Yelkouni know that Jesus Christ, an education and support for families are the only ways to give the kids in their African village any hope of decent, productive lives.
To keep girls out of prostitution and boys out of crime, the couple is raising funds to build a school in Sogtenghin, Burkina Faso, West Africa.
Barto says he wants the children to know they have a future “beyond moving to the cities, and falling in with the wrong influence.”
Tenielle and Barto and their daughters, of McCook and Sogtenghin, will share their African culture and the plans for their ministry during a fundraiser for their classroom project on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 5:30 p.m., at McCook Evangelical Free Church, 602 East 14th (south of Community Hospital).
The couple will sell African artwork, hand-carved African animals, handmade drums and hand-woven baskets in live and silent auctions. Barto will perform his music live, and sell CDs of his songs. People will be able to sample African cuisine and purchase spicy African seasonings.
Barto and Tenielle will ask for prayers for teachers for their school, good teachers who want to teach and share their belief in Christ, Tenielle said.
Tickets are $25 each in advance, or $30 at the door the evening of the event. For tickets or for more information, call Tenielle at (308) 345-2453 or (308) 340-0635; or contact the couple at theyelkounis@gmail.com.
———
The Yelkounis’ building goal is $35,000. Their ultimate goal is to teach the Bible and share the Gospel with the kids and their families.
The five-classroom schoolhouse will cost $35,000. Tenielle and Barto hope to be able to build in 2019.
“We’ll start with preschool and first grade the first year,” Tenielle said, and move students up one grade each year to fill other elementary grades.
Tenielle envisions one teacher for each classroom of 40-50 children, and one classroom assistant who is learning to teach. “We want to hire local teachers, which will provide economic opportunities for the community,” she said. Barto said, “We try our best to bring the community together.”
Ideally, they’ll teach in both French and in the local tribal language, Mòoré (pronounced moray). Students will attend class five or six days a week.
Parents will be charged a small fee for their children to attend class, Tenielle said, which helps the family feel invested in the school and in the education and future of their children. If a family can’t afford the fee, they may be asked to help within the school, such as with maintenance, “to take some responsibility … to become part of the school,” Tenielle said.
The literacy rate of the people of Burkina Faso is one of the lowest in the world. An education in Burkina Faso is a luxury almost impossible for families to afford. It may cost “only” $25 a year, but the average income per year in Burkina Faso is $578. As elusive as it is, an education offers the only chance a child in Burkina Faso has to rise above crippling poverty. Barto’s father sold beans and his goats to pay for Barto’s education, and part of his education was financed with sponsorships. “I feel thankfulness for my sponsors,” Barto says.
Barto and Tenielle will reach out to all the area villages’ children, to orphans, to those who are “forgotten,” to those who are “left behind.”
“They’re all so vulnerable. We feel in our hearts the need to reach kids who will have no opportunities without our school,” Tenielle said.
The Yelkounis hope to open up new opportunities … with an education, children can grow up to become teachers, and nurses, and business owners. Go into the military. Work in the ministry.
Barto says, “The school is desperately needed. Having a school will make a difference. It will give hope to the children, to their families.”