Statement
Burkina Faso is an essentially agricultural country dependent upon climatic variations. These are characterized by an 8-month drought and a rainy season which usually occurs from May to September. The variation in rainfall (ranging from 500 to 750 mm per year for the north-central area) makes agriculture dependent on rain, meaning that most of the country is unable to secure regular food supply.
The socio-economic situation of Burkina has been in decline since the events of the Ivory Coast and the mass return of exiled people to Burkina, therefore depriving the country of any income from animal exports and the financial transfesr of emigrant workers of Burkina.
In Burkina, the literacy rate remains low: a modest 21.8% of the population above the age of 15 can read and write, as of 2003. The same applies to the healthcare system which has encountered many difficulties (the rate of health coverage in the region is 21%). Only 34% of households have access to drinking water. A 1998/99 health and population survey revealed that 37% of children under the age of 5 suffered from chronic malnutrition. On top of this alarming state of sanitation, there is an estimated rate of 6.5% of people infected by the HIV/ AIDS virus.
Project Objectives
The objective of this project is to improve the conditions of everyday life, health, and education of children in the towns of Foubé and Guiendebila in the Barsalogho district. The struggle against illiteracy is the first step in making the rural communities overcome their ignorance and inability in believing that they can act upon their own development.
Secondly, the project will endeavour to promote a favourable environment for the integrated early childhood development: improvement in sanitary conditions, education and health, maternal health and a follow-up on mother and infant welfare, nutritional status of the child, access to early-learning centres, improvement in the level and quality of schooling (especially amongst girls), access to sporting activities and the reinforcement of community skills. It is up to the communities and more specifically the parents to take care of the integrated development of their children.
Location
The two sanitary areas of Foubé and Guendebila are rural areas where the main economic resource is agriculture or more specifically cattle rearing. The population's regular food supply is directly linked to the precarious weather conditions. The absence of any road infrastructure has slowed down the area's economic growth. The literacy rate estimated at 12.5% is in itself a major obstacle to socio-cultural development and productivity. The school attendance rates are 15% and 7% for Foubé and Guiendebila respectively and only 8% and 4% amongst girls. The reason is twofold, firstly due to the reluctance of parents to school their children, secondly and more significantly, the insufficient amount of vacancies in the existing schools.
Beneficiaries
Local Partners
The project will include all the participants involved in taking care of the children.
- The children themselves through the 'peer groups'.
- the village health units and the executive health team of the area.
- The school's teaching staff and the provincial executive inspectorate for education.
- Parents and pupils' mothers' associations from the schools that are supported.
Project Duration: 2004 - 2007
Funding
State Department for Cooperation to Development (SLCD) and other funding sources (both public and private).
Staff
- An expatriate responsible for the project starting from the second year.
- A local coordinator for the entire duration of the project.
- Three organizers in charge of setting up activities in each area and in charge of the organization between the various contributors of the project.
- An account administrator and a logistician.
