In Burkina Faso, women live in challenging social conditions. They are more vulnerable to poverty, injustice, violence, illness, discrimination, and significant lack of access to resources and services
That’s why we have designed projects for women’s empowerment aimed at positively influencing their lives and ensuring that women are heard, that their knowledge and experiences are recognized, and that their aspirations, needs, and opinions are taken into account, giving them a voice in decision-making processes. In our early years of presence in Ouagadougou, we are taking the first steps in this area with a few initiatives.
Ongoing Projects
“Food for All”
“Food for All” was launched in 2019 with the aim of addressing the needs of the population living in our mission in Ouagadougou.
Through networking with neighborhood committees, who have a good understanding of the families’ situation in the area, we identified 150 women in need of support to start or strengthen small informal businesses.
The results achieved in the first year are very encouraging. Being promoters of income-generating activities has allowed the project beneficiaries to break free from economic dependency, meet the needs of their families with autonomy, regain self-confidence, and increase their self-esteem.
The project provides:
- Training on microfinance
- Training on business management
- Support for beneficiaries in starting their projects
- Funding for business activities.
The training covers topics chosen based on the GERME methodology, which is in use in Burkina Faso, and is responsive to the needs of the beneficiaries.
During the first year of implementation, we assisted women in the following areas:
- Agriculture and livestock (23 women)
- Entrepreneurship (54 women)
- Traditional fabric production (33 women)
- Small-scale catering (42 women)
- Hairdressing (2 women).
Literacy
Shortly after our arrival in Ouagadougou, we conducted a study on the social issues in the area, which revealed a strong need for literacy classes for women aged 15 to 30. Illiteracy primarily affects the female population, with many reaching adulthood without having received formal education.
This led to the establishment of the literacy project, which offers participants classes in grammar, written and spoken French, reading, mathematics, history, and geography. The curriculum is similar to that of primary school. Classes are held from Monday to Friday in the evenings. Since we do not have our own facilities, we rely on public schools that provide us with the necessary resources for teaching, which are also used by children during their morning classes.
In the future, there are also plans to integrate training programs aimed at:
- Developing an entrepreneurial mindset and starting income-generating businesses;
- Improving the quality of children’s nutrition through nutrition courses;
- Providing training on women’s rights.
During the first two years of the project, 300 women have already participated in these courses.
