American missionary was among Burkina Faso attack victims

'Well-loved' American missionary was among Burkina Faso attack victims

Michael Riddering, 45, ran an orphanage and women’s refuge in the country with his wife and had four children, including two adopted Burkinabe

 Michael and Amy Riddering who ran an orphanage in Burkina Faso. Photograph: Carol Boyle/AP

A “well-loved and respected” American missionary was among the 29 people killed in the attack by al-Qaida fighters on a hotel and cafe in Burkina Faso’s capital of Ouagadougou.

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Michael Riddering, 45, from Florida, died in the Cappuccino cafe in Friday’s attack, his mother-in-law Carol Boyle told Associated Press. He was meeting a group that was going to volunteer at the orphanage and women’s crisis center he ran with his wife, Ann Boyle-Riddering

Riddering arrived early and was in the cafe with a pastor. When the attack started they ran in different directions, Boyle said from her home in Weston, Florida.

The pastor had Riddering’s phone, and called Boyle-Riddering to say that they were at the cafe and there was gunfire, but then the line went dead. The pastor hid in the cafe and survived. It was not until a fellow Christian missionary found Riddering in the morgue on Saturday that they knew he was dead.

He leaves behind four children, two of whom were adopted fromBurkina Faso.

“He was extremely well-loved and respected. He wasn’t a hypocrite, he wasn’t a two-face. He had his guiding light, and he followed it,” Boyle said.

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Riddering, who once managed a yacht outfitting company in Cooper City, Florida, and his wife, a graphic designer, sold their property and possessions and moved to the town of Yako to run the Les Ailes de Refuge orphanage in 2011, Boyle said. The complex also includes a clinic, classrooms and a home for abused women and widows.

“They were looking forward to continuing to working in Burkina Faso and raising their children together,” said a statement from Sheltering Wings, the missionary organization that sponsored the orphanage. “Tragically and unexpectedly, Mike’s life was cut short. We grieve with Amy and her family, and all who knew Mike.”

John Anderson, a Sheltering Wings board member, remembered Riddering as “a wonderful, godly man” who managed to find spare time to help teams of volunteers from other organizations who dug wells for local residents.

“During the Ebola crisis, when it was hard to find people to do the digging, Mike would go out and join them so they could continue doing the work,” Anderson said. “And that’s backbreaking work. He never stopped moving and never stopped helping.”

At least 29 people died in the attack by fighters, which triggered a siege lasting more than 12 hours. The dead, which included victims from 18 different countries, included the wife and young daughter of the Italian cafe owner, two French citizens, two Swiss citizens, and six Canadians.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday: “We offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of all those killed. We have offered assistance to the Burkinabe authorities in their investigation of this terrible crime.”

The federal government did not identify the six Canadians but a government source said some were humanitarian workers.

The Quebec government said the dead people were all from the French-speaking Canadian province.

In a statement published Saturday, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard condemned the attacks. “Nothing can explain such cowardly and gratuitous acts,” Couillard said in the statement. “These odious acts remind us that we can never compromise on our values of liberty, democracy and tolerance.”