The Exponent - Purdue's Student Newspaper

“This will be ‘I Have A Dream,’ No. 2. It is going to be about how Africa can be changed, just like how Martin Luther King Jr. was talking about change and freedom in America,” Beba said.

The key to achieving his dream, and the reason his end destination is Chicago, is Oprah Winfrey. Beba, a 29-year-old senior at Armstrong Atlantic State University, plans to ask Oprah to donate funds for development in his home country of Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso, located in west Africa, has a population of around 16 million people and, according to the CIA Factbook, has one of the lowest GDP per capita incomes in the world. Beba hasn’t been back to Burkina Faso since he left home in 2004. He calls his walk “The Journey of Hope.”

“It shocked me when the only thing people knew about Africa was war and poverty. It shocks me when I see that we have everything that is needed to have better days, yet nothing is done ... I need Oprah’s attention; I hope she can help the agriculture and education field in my country because these are the bases of our economy and I cannot say the government has done a great job. They’re trying, but it doesn’t convince me, so I’m trying to add my contribution,” Beba said.

He is doing so by walking 1,000 miles and gaining support along the way. Beba started walking June 7 and plans on speaking to Oprah in Chicago on Aug. 6. He carries approximately 10 pounds of gear, including a backpack, walking sticks, a fanny pack and another pack strapped across his chest with compartments for his phone, camera and other such items.

“I thought about sending e-mails and letters every day for a year, but for me, it wouldn’t be eye-catching enough,” he said. “I need to do something that is going to catch the eye. So, that’s when I decided to walk.”

Beba has documented every leg of his journey in a diary that he writes in every night. He takes pictures, then uploads them to Facebook, where his wall is exploding with posts of well wishes and encouraging messages for him to read on his journey. Each day Beba updates his Facebook status with his location and approximately how far away he is from Chicago. His Facebook “About Me” states, “You can kill the dreamer, but you cannot kill the dream.”

Growing up in Burkina Faso, Beba never imagined that he would be doing something like this for his country one day. What is certain now, however, is that his “Journey of Hope” will not be his last endeavor of this magnitude. If successful with Oprah, Beba plans to travel back to Burkina Faso and help his mother start a free children’s school. Beba will stay in America, however, and raise funds to pay the teachers who will work at the school. Beba said that $50 pays one teacher’s salary.

“In my youth I never planned to help, to do something like this. When I got here, it was a different experience ... it pushed me into a direction where I started wondering, where I started having another philosophy about life,” he said. “It hit me really hard and I decided to do something.”

Beba’s confidence and excitement about his plan was almost palpable, as entering West Lafayette meant he is nearing his destination of Chicago. He plans on taking Interstate Highway 52 into Illinois, stopping in two towns on the way and walking into Oprah’s office on Aug. 6.

“This is my own plan. Nothing can change Africa but Africans,” he said. “It’s like the song lyric, ‘If you gotta start somewhere, why not here? If you gotta start sometime, why not now?’”

Beba encourages all to e-mail Oprah in support of his walk, and his dream. Interested parties can do so by visiting Oprah’s website, www.oprah.com.