Ouagadougou - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?
Household help is very available, generally decent in expertise and costs around US $200/month for full-time. - Jun 2020
Household help is very plentiful. Maids, cooks, nannies, gardeners, drivers and day guards. Fewer than US$200 a month per person. - Oct 2019
Household help is very plentiful. Maids/cooks, amahs, and day guards/gardeners. US$100.00 - $200.00 per person/per month. - Jul 2019
Maids, cooks, nannies, and gardeners. US$100.00 - $200.00 per month. - Jul 2019
Most people hire a housekeeper and/or gardener. Many also have a cook, a nanny, or a driver depending on needs. It's relatively inexpensive (around 80,000-120,000 CFA/month). Most household staff do not speak English, and some are illiterate. - Dec 2017
Very inexpensive, often around US$150-$200/month for full-time nanny or housekeeper. Gardeners/day guards are often less, as are drivers. If you can find someone who does both, that can bring a premium. We've been very happy with our staff, who are both hardworking and friendly. Others have had different results. Be forewarned that only few domestic staff speaks English. - May 2016
Easily available and inexpensive. We pay less than US$200/month for full time housekeeper/nanny and about US$150/month for a full time gardener who also takes care of the pool. Few household staff speak much English. - Aug 2015
We had a fantastic housekeeper for about US$150/month. Guards and gardeners can start at US$80/month, nannies can earn up to US$240/month or so. - Jun 2015
When we arrived, we were quoted 50,000-90,000 (US$100-$180) for a full-time housekeeper. As we've done more research among the expat community, it felt that was too low. We've raised her salary and she is an exceptional help to us that is worth it! - Jan 2015
Good domestics are hard to come by. Many of the existing help get complacent working for Americans. We went outside the pool and found great staff. The going rate for full-time nanny or housekeeper is anywhere from 50,000 to 90,000 CFA per month (US$100-$180). A gardener/day guard is 40,000-60,000 per month. Keep in mind that you have to register with the Burkinabe employment system an pay an additional up to 20% of the domestics salary to the national retirement system every quarter. This is paid at HR at the Embassy if you are connected to the Embassy and they will then pay it to the system. - Jul 2013
Readily available, though you may have to do a bit of training. We had a large family and house and paid about $200 per month for 5 days a week of house cleaning, laundry and ironing, preparation of one meal a day, and errands every so often. Most people paid less for their house keepers. We paid our gardener/pool man $60 per month and he came 3 days per week, half days. We did not have a nanny, but they are inexpensive and readily available also. - Jul 2013
Widely available at about 60 to 75 USD a month. - Apr 2013
Very available, normally excellent, and very cheap. We have a gardener and housekeeper. The gardener comes three days a week, takes care of the pool and washes the car and costs $80 a month. The housekeeper comes 5 days a week and costs $120 a month. - Nov 2012
Very easy to find and wages are fairly low. Housekeeper: $50-150 per month; Gardener/Pool: 50-100; cook 100-200; Nanny 100-200; Driver 50-200 depending. - Aug 2010
Most people have a gardener, a cook, a nanny or a house keeper (nannies are called nunus). - Aug 2008
Domestic staff is plentiful - but often of questionable quality. If you have time to train them, they're great, but if not - it can become problematic. Expect to pay between $100-200/mo for most classes of help (drivers and gardeners are a little cheaper).But expect them to see you as a bank and ask for interest-free loans. Set up an agreement from the start to stop these unwelcome requests for money. - Jul 2008
Available and very inexpensive. Full-time (60 hrs/wk) for around US$100/month. - Jun 2008
