The 26th session of the Board of Directors of the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel began in Ouagadougou on Monday to enable the administrators and partners of the Foundation to examine its objectives, including desertification control in the Sahel. The weeklong proceedings will also hear the report of the different bodies and the modalities for fund-raising. The President of the Board of Directors, Monsignor Jean Pierre Bassène, said in 2006 the Foundation financed projects to the tune of 1.88 billion francs CFA. From 2000 to 2004, Burkina Faso benefited from an allocation of 2.99 billion francs CFA out of the 7.6 billion francs CFA earmarked for the financing of projects in nine Sahelian countries. The Jean Paul II foundation, whose headquarters is in Ouagadougou, was established on 22 February 1984 following the 10 May 1980 appeal launched in the Burkinabè capital by Pope John Paul II to come to the rescue of drought victims in the Sahel. It funds community projects in the field of rural development and poverty alleviation. The foundation covers Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Chad.
