Ouagadougou: At 40, Odette Kambou chose to join the ranks of the young people called up for the 2026 Compulsory Patriotic Immersion (IPO) program in Gaoua after obtaining her baccalaureate this year. A Franciscan Missionary of Mary nun in Dibougou, she is the oldest of the participants at the Tielkan CEG site. Her age, status, and background make her one of the unique figures in this immersion program.
According to Burkina Information Agency, in a group primarily composed of young people, her presence does not go unnoticed. But Odette Kambou has not chosen to remain in the background. She has voluntarily decided to share the daily life of the other recruits, to follow the same exercises, and to participate in the various lessons. For her, the IPO represents an opportunity to discover and experience values that she can then put into practice in her own life.
"I think it's a great opportunity for me and for all these young people. I really wanted to discover the values being taught to these young people, and to experience that myself in my own country," she explains. Since the start of her immersion program, Odette Kambou has been participating in the activities planned as part of the training. Drills, parades, group activities, and various modules fill her days alongside the other recruits. Security, knowledge of the Defense and Security Forces, and patriotic values are among the lessons she has learned. She specifically mentions love of country, responsibility, and integrity, which she considers values to understand and translate into daily life.
"We learn patriotic values like love of country. We also learn to be responsible and honest, knowing who we are and what the country expects of us," she emphasizes. After more than 20 days of immersion, the nun believes she has acquired knowledge that goes beyond the traditional school curriculum. This experience comes just a few months after she obtained her baccalaureate, an achievement that demonstrates her commitment to learning, regardless of age. "Here, we learned what we didn't learn in school," she testifies.
The close order, the songs, the drills, and the communal living are all experiences that encourage her to respect instructions, demonstrate discipline, and learn to live with others. Odette Kambou's participation stemmed first and foremost from a personal choice. She didn't want to observe the experience from afar, but rather fully experience it alongside the other recruits. "I think it's a very good thing, and I didn't want to be on the sidelines so I could live more fully as a patriot in my community," she maintains.
For Odette Kambou, her status as a nun is not an obstacle to participating in an activity that concerns the life of the nation. This collective experience inspires in her a simple message: prioritize understanding and living together. "If we are together, we will go far," she advises. Through this group life, she also says she is discovering the importance of cohesion and individual responsibility within a collective dynamic. For her, the values learned during this immersion are invaluable.
To those still hesitant to participate in the mandatory Patriotic Immersion program, or who perceive it as a constraint, Odette Kambou responds from her own experience. "Patriotic immersion is not a punishment. On the contrary, it is training for better living in Burkina Faso," she affirms. The nun thus encourages young people to overcome their apprehensions and take advantage of the lessons offered. To those who are afraid of this experience, her message is direct: "Don't be afraid." For the nun, being a patriot means, in particular, knowing one's country better, loving it, and being aware of what it expects of its citizens.
She also emphasizes the need to put the learned values into practice and to live them out in different aspects of life. With just a few days left in the immersion program, scheduled to end on August 26, Odette Kambou has a positive view of the initiative, which she considers "a very good thing for young people." For Odette Kambou, the success of this experience will not be measured solely by the exercises completed or the lessons learned during the training weeks.
Its success will depend primarily on the conscripts' ability to build upon these skills once they return to their respective communities. This is also what she intends to do. At 40, a nun, a recent high school graduate, and the oldest of the conscripts, Odette Kambou has chosen to experience the mandatory Patriotic Immersion program, transcending differences in age and background. Her commitment was noted during the visit of the Minister of Public Service, Mathias Traor, to the various IPO sites in Gaoua. At the Tielkan general education college, the minister observed her presence among the conscripts and presented her as "a model of commitment."