Ambassador Dougherty presenting book donation to CELPAC in Tenkodogo.
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American Road Show Visits Tenkodogo
On Wednesday, November 30, 2011, Ambassador Thomas Dougherty and several members of U.S. Mission traveled to Tenkodogo, the latest stop in “The American Road Show,” which brings Embassy-based programs to communities throughout Burkina Faso.
The day’s first stop was at the regional office of the Ministry of Secondary and Tertiary Education, where the Ambassador met with 82 local high school students for an English Club activity focused on discussing the American Dream and encouraging students to define their own personal dreams. The Embassy’s political officer, Melanie Zimmerman, then talked to the students about “Growing up in America.” The students then participated in an Education USA information session and watched the film The Pursuit of Happyness.
The second stop was the “Centre de Lecture Publique et d’Animation Culturelle” where Ambassador Dougherty presented a donation of books in English and in French to this community library. Then the Ambassador and part of the delegation made official visits and did an interview show on radio Horizon FM in Tenkodogo.
Finally, the team visited a primary and junior high school outside Tenkodogo in the village of Gando. Ambassador Dougherty led a team to Gando to visit the school, make a book donation, and to meet the school’s director. The school’s architect, Diebedo Francis Kere, won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004 for the innovative, climate-appropriate design, use of local materials, and community-led construction. Mr. Kere was visiting the school at the time of the Embassy visit and personally conducted a tour of the site with the Ambassador.