About Our Mission

About The Project

Fans For the Future is a non-profit initiative dedicated to improving the learning environment for students in a public school in Burkina Faso, located in West Africa. Our mission is to provide fans to classrooms that are struggling with extreme heat, ensuring that students can focus, learn, and thrive in a comfortable setting.

Meet the People Behind It

About Us

Yannis Ouoba and Chris Sam are students International Baccalaureate Students at the Internatoinal School of Ouagadoguou.

Yannis Ouoba

Founder / International Operations Coordinator

My name is Yannis, and I am an incoming senior in high school studying abroad in Burkina Faso from the United States. During a class project, I had the opportunity to visit a public school in Zone Du Bois, Ouagadougou, where I saw firsthand the challenges students face while learning in intense heat without classroom fans. That experience inspired me to create Fans for the Future, a project focused on improving learning environments by providing fans for classrooms. Working with my friend Chris Sam, we are raising funds through pop-up stands to help students learn in a cooler, more comfortable environment. I believe every student deserves the opportunity to learn in conditions that allow them to focus, grow, and succeed. Through this project, we hope to make a small but meaningful difference in the lives of students in Burkina Faso.

Chris Sam

Co-Founder / Community Operations Coordinator

My name is Chris, and I am an incoming high school senior at ISO. I am helping lead the effort by bringing my cultural understanding and awareness to lead the setup of our stands in Burkina Faso. My social networking and strong organization skills will help us gain more community support and connect the mission with people who want to make a real difference for students in Burkina Faso. I am proud to be a part of a project as I believe that improving educational facilities in Burkina Faso is very important for helping the country develop and produce future world leaders who are intelligent, thoughtful, and open-minded.

The Problem

While Burkina Faso is a country with a growing economy, the goverment has not been able to provide sufficient resources for public schools, especially in terms of classroom cooling. Many students in public schools must to learn in extreme heat, which can hinder their ability to focus and retain information. This project aims to address this issue by providing fans to classrooms that need them most.

The Solution

By installing even just 2 fans per classroom, we can create a more comfortable learning environment that allows students to focus and succeed academically. Increased air flow and circulation can make a big different in the devotion of students to their studies and lessons.

Why This Matters

Public facilities in many non-developed countries for primary education are often lacking in basic amenities like classroom cooling. This project aims to bridge that gap and ensure all students have the opportunity to learn in a comfortable environment.

Our Goal

We aim to raise a minimum of $440 (providing fans for 2 classrooms) and a maximum of $1,320 (providing fans for 6 classrooms) to purchase and install classroom fans at L'Ecole Zone du Bois Public School, creating cooler and more comfortable learning spaces for students who deserve every opportunity to thrive.