Mail!

My new address at site:

ROUX Vincent
BP 73, Koudougou
Province du Boulkiemde
Burkina Faso, West Africa

If you send things by USPS write AIRMAIL and PAR AVION on the envelope or package.

Use RED pen to write on the package - superstitions are powerful.

Padded envelopes are a better way to send smaller items (and may be cheaper if you stuff multiple envelopes with the same stuff you would have put in one box).

Postcards tend to end up on the post office wall as decoration rather than in anyones mailbox, so stick it in an envelope to increase the chances of it arriving

I believe DHL delivers to Burkina Faso so its also an option.

I came across the blog of a PCT's parent who shared some very useful information regarding packages. I would like to share it with you in case you havent already seen it.

Here is the link to the post concerning the information on mailing packages

Link to mailing info

and here is the information if the link doesnt work.

Thanks to Mrs Rhodes and the PCV dad she got this information from.


"First of all, it is always cheaper to use the post office “flat rate” boxes as opposed to packing things in any old box you might have around. With the large flat rate box, you can mail as many items as you can stuff into the box and the rate to BF is $49. If you use your own box, the postage is based on the weight and that can be a lot higher. If you are mailing smaller items, such as CDs or DVDs, it’s good to use the flat rate 8½ x 11 inch envelope (throw away the jewel cases and just send the CDs or DVDs wrapped in paper or tissue to protect them). The flat rate envelopes cost $11.
As a rule, smaller packages generally get there faster than larger packages. When Sara first got to her site in Djibo last November, we and some of her friends were sending her boxes nearly every week. For the longest time she didn’t receive any of them, but then one day in February she got 11 boxes all at once. We figured out that the boxes were being stored in the postal center in Ouaga and when enough had stacked up to warrant sending a truck to Djibo, they all got loaded and delivered.

In the last few months, the delivery has been much faster. In fact the last two packages we sent her got there in two weeks, which is practically unheard of. I suspect now, with the rainy season in full force, it will begin to take longer.

Regarding the customs form, I’ve found that it’s the U.S. postal clerks who make a big deal about what’s written there and I don’t think the BF officials care or can even decipher the English on them. Usually I just write “dried fruit” or “snack foods” or something generic like that, even though the box is crammed with all sorts of other random things, and the postal clerk accepts it and sends it on. Other clerks are more demanding and want you to enumerate the items. Then I’ll write a quantity of 10 after each generic category and that seems to work okay. As for the dollar value, I put $50 regardless of the real value. When the boxes arrive in BF, I don’t think anyone cares what’s in them. They have never opened any of Sara’s packages and all of them have arrived just fine. And Sara has never been charged a fee to receive them.

Make sure the postal clerk finds Burkina Faso on the computer system and sends it there (Burkina Faso should be written on the receipt that you get), because it’s not a place they send packages to very often. One time the clerk I was using was about to send my box to Argentina, but I noticed the error and had it corrected. On the address on the outside of the box, I always write “Burkina Faso (West Africa)” as opposed to simply “Burkina Faso” so the U.S. officials will get a general idea of where it is going.

I hope this helps. Good luck with the post office. That’s the hardest part."

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