When my youngest went off to university in September 2012, it was time for a change. On January 31, 2013 I left my job of 20 years as a commercial litigator and on February 17, 2013 I moved to Léo (a small town in Burkina Faso on the border of Ghana) to volunteer with the Uniterra program as legal counsel to Fédération Nununa, a union of women shea butter producers with close to 5000 members. I had a leave for change assignment at Fédération Nununa for 3 weeks in 2009. My one year in Burkina Faso was extended and since April 2014 I have worked in Ouagadougou as legal counsel for the Alliance des Fournisseurs Burkinabè de Biens et Services Miniers (ABSM).

After two very full and interesting years in Burkina Faso I returned to Canada on February 26, 2015. These are excerpts from the blog I kept for my friends during that period in which I shared information I found interesting as well as my experiences as a Canadian volunteer living and working in Burkina Faso. I have learnt so much, although there have been bumps in the road (literally and figuratively), it has been a privilege to experience life here and be so warmly welcomed by the burkinabè.