we are sababu
A bunch of helpers and lots of kids eager to learn.
- We are here to enable kids from disadvantaged families in Burkina Faso to go to school for free.
- We do this because we believe that education is the only way out of poverty.
- And also because we want children to make use of their right to education.
Sababu has been established in 2009 by Mr. Mamadou Diabaté and Ms. Christina Reif as a non-profit organisation dedicated to fostering equal opportunities and cross-cultural dialogue.
Sababu Founder and Balafon Master Mamadou Diabaté
Mamadou Diabaté is a renown Vienna based balafon player from Burkina Faso.
In 2017 Mamadou was made Knight of the National Order of Burkina Faso for his personal merits and exceptional services to the nation.
Mamadou was the winner of the Grand Prix and Prix de la Virtuosité de Festival Triangle du Balafon held in Mali in 2012.
In 2011 Mamadou won the prestigious Austrian World Music Award.
Sababu Milestones
This is what happened so far:
- up to 2008 Sababu was just a private initiative of Mamadou Diabaté.
- In 2009 the non-profit organisation Sababu was founded by Mamadou Diabaté and Christina Reif.
- In 2010 the first three classes were opened in the newly built school.
- In 2011 there were already twice as much kids attending the Sababu primary school.
- In 2013 we opened 4th, 5th and 6th grade classes.
- In 2015 the school offers all grades of primary school education.
- In 2016 the first Sababu graduates left the school holding an officially recognised diploma with a success rate of 94,5 % – the fifth best result among 46 schools in Bobo Dioulasso.
- Also in 2016 we decided to establish an additional school offering all seven high school grades.
- In 2017 the city of Bobo Dioulasso donates 1000 m2 of land to the non-profit organisation Sababu for the building of the high school. Architects finished the plans for the new site.
- In 2018 more than 650 children started their new school year.
This is what's to come:
- In 2018 - 2019 we will focus on fundraising
- In 2020 we want to start building the second Sababu school.
- In 2021 the new school should open for the first high school students.
- By 2025 the Sababu High School should cover all seven grades and enable youngsters to get their end of school examination
Ongoing activities:
- Benefit concerts and percussion workshops for schools and companies held my Mamadou Diabaté and his musicians. You can book a concert or a workshop here.
Sababu Helpers
We are happy to announce that all Helpers now have the opportunity to introduce themselves in this section with a text, a photo, a logo or a short video.
Drop us a line and let us tell your story here.
Many THANKS
The very beginnings were mainly financed by the Lions Club International and the Lions-Club Graz-Joanneum who helped us build the first three classrooms.
The Lions Club International Foundation from Oak Brook (Chicago, USA) helped with the building of another three classrooms. The main helper on site was the Lions-Club Bobo-Nyoma in Bobo Dioulasso.
to the Initiative “Heinrich Staudinger für Afrika”
We are pleased that we were able to help build a school from a primary level to a secondary level and thus many children - especially many girls, get the chance for schooling, because education is the way to a better future! Soroptimist International Club Grieskirchen and Rotary Club Grieskirchen
