146.5mm FLAP
148.5mm BACK
Challenge and change in Burkina Faso
Real progress
This year, the long period of drought finally broke in Burkina Faso, but the heavy rains that followed caused widespread flooding in many parts of the country. There was also a major outbreak of meningitis, and we thank all those sponsors who made a special donation to save children’s lives from this killer disease.
With the support of Plan, children and adults in Burkina Faso are working together to develop their communities and claim their right to a better future. And real progress is being made. Last year, our work included:
Aside from our emergency work, Plan is working with vulnerable families in Burkina Faso to provide their children with better health services, quality education, clean water and sanitation and to protect them from HIV/AIDS. Communities are leading the way in development planning, and their children’s voices are heard in every project we work on together. “Communities are responsible for their own development.” explains Fritz Foster, Plan’s Country Director. “Their children and young people need to be part of that process.” In this Country Progress Report we highlight one successful project where communities are now taking charge of life’s most basic necessity: clean water.
p Building new scho ols is part of our work to improve education in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso country facts Population: 13.2 million
Children engaged in child labour: 57%
Capital: Ouagadougou
Children attending primary school: 32%
UN Human Development Index ranking: 174th (of 177 countries)
(Sources: the UN, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office)
• Giving 215,000 children the chance to be properly equipped for lessons by providing them with school supplies
• Protecting young infants from
• Enabling 1,552 rural women to participate in savings schemes, so they could take out loans to start small businesses
• Working with UNICEF and the government of Burkina Faso on a campaign
Plan’s greatest successes come from a joint effort combining the hard work and determination of communities, children, volunteers, staff, and partner organisations. The ongoing support of our sponsors is a vital ingredient, too. It’s their generosity and commitment that allows us to continue to help children in 49 of the poorest countries in the world. So on behalf of the children and communities we work with, thank you to all our sponsors!
BFA
Any enquiries please contact: Nick Burton. e: nick@bright-uk.com m: 07884 367567. d: 020 7620 8150 Size (Prod)
Colours(Prod)
Art (A/D)
Copy (C/W)
Content (Acc.)
Burkina Faso
to register the births of 19,000 children, giving them an identity and a place in society.
Plan UK Registered Charity No: 276035
0407 100647 PLAN 0407_Burkina Faso 05.12.07 210x443.5mm FOLD TO A5 Client proof: 4 4
p A commun ity is shown ho w to erect a be vital to the pre d-net: vention of ma laria
potentially life-threatening malaria by distributing bed-nets impregnated with insecticide to expectant mothers and their children
People without clean drinking water: 39%
Admagic No: Bright No: Client name: File name: Date: Size: Studio proof:
148.5mm FRONT
Country Progress Report 2007
146.5mm FLAP
148.5mm BACK
Challenge and change in Burkina Faso
Real progress
This year, the long period of drought finally broke in Burkina Faso, but the heavy rains that followed caused widespread flooding in many parts of the country. There was also a major outbreak of meningitis, and we thank all those sponsors who made a special donation to save children’s lives from this killer disease.
With the support of Plan, children and adults in Burkina Faso are working together to develop their communities and claim their right to a better future. And real progress is being made. Last year, our work included:
Aside from our emergency work, Plan is working with vulnerable families in Burkina Faso to provide their children with better health services, quality education, clean water and sanitation and to protect them from HIV/AIDS. Communities are leading the way in development planning, and their children’s voices are heard in every project we work on together. “Communities are responsible for their own development.” explains Fritz Foster, Plan’s Country Director. “Their children and young people need to be part of that process.” In this Country Progress Report we highlight one successful project where communities are now taking charge of life’s most basic necessity: clean water.
p Building new scho ols is part of our work to improve education in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso country facts Population: 13.2 million
Children engaged in child labour: 57%
Capital: Ouagadougou
Children attending primary school: 32%
UN Human Development Index ranking: 174th (of 177 countries)
(Sources: the UN, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office)
• Giving 215,000 children the chance to be properly equipped for lessons by providing them with school supplies
• Protecting young infants from
• Enabling 1,552 rural women to participate in savings schemes, so they could take out loans to start small businesses
• Working with UNICEF and the government of Burkina Faso on a campaign
Plan’s greatest successes come from a joint effort combining the hard work and determination of communities, children, volunteers, staff, and partner organisations. The ongoing support of our sponsors is a vital ingredient, too. It’s their generosity and commitment that allows us to continue to help children in 49 of the poorest countries in the world. So on behalf of the children and communities we work with, thank you to all our sponsors!
BFA
Any enquiries please contact: Nick Burton. e: nick@bright-uk.com m: 07884 367567. d: 020 7620 8150 Size (Prod)
Colours(Prod)
Art (A/D)
Copy (C/W)
Content (Acc.)
Burkina Faso
to register the births of 19,000 children, giving them an identity and a place in society.
Plan UK Registered Charity No: 276035
0407 100647 PLAN 0407_Burkina Faso 05.12.07 210x443.5mm FOLD TO A5 Client proof: 4 4
p A commun ity is shown ho w to erect a be vital to the pre d-net: vention of ma laria
potentially life-threatening malaria by distributing bed-nets impregnated with insecticide to expectant mothers and their children
People without clean drinking water: 39%
Admagic No: Bright No: Client name: File name: Date: Size: Studio proof:
148.5mm FRONT
Country Progress Report 2007
148.5mm INSIDE
Working together for safer water Standing beside the new borehole in Silome Banawa, south-west Burkina Faso, Poussy Bila is a happy man. Looking around his village, the children are healthy and the women no longer have to walk miles in search of clean water. Poussy has a responsible job in his community – he’s in charge of keeping the borehole in good repair. “Once every three months, I do the necessary maintenance work on the pump,” he says, “and I make sure it is functional.” It’s a role he takes seriously. He knows the borehole is a precious lifeline to families in Silome Banawa, and particularly their children. Life in this small, rural community is very different today from how it was before the community drilled the borehole. Although the Silome Banawa area enjoys relatively high rainfall compared to the rest of the country, water safe enough to drink, cook with and bathe in was in extremely short supply.
The borehole is a precious lifeline to families in Silome Banawa, and particularly their children. Traditionally, the women in the village would walk over three miles a day to fetch water from the river. “They knew
p The community takes respon sibility for maintaining the new borehole
that the river water was not drinkable,” recalls Amie, 18, “but they had no choice, because there was no clean water in the village and in its immediate environment.” Disastrously, every drop of river water the children drank put them at risk of falling seriously ill with waterborne diseases. Noelie is 12 and remembers vividly: “The children used to bathe with river water, and were also drinking that water. They had skin diseases, stomach-ache and diarrhoea.” Diarrhoea, although minor in the UK, is
148.5mm INSIDE
one of Burkina Faso’s biggest killers of children under five.
Determined to succeed The villagers in Silome Banawa were determined to protect their children – so determined in fact that they decided to start a fund towards installing a borehole. The men were each asked to contribute 1,500 West African Communauté Financière d’Afrique Francs (or CFA, the local currency), and the women 1,000 CFA. Within no time, they had saved over 100,000 CFA (around £100), an enormous sum in a country where over a fifth of the people live on less than 50 pence a day. After putting the money in the nearest community bank, the villagers approached Plan to help them drill the borehole and learn how to maintain it. With our support, they began by electing a water management committee; a group of local men and women who would manage the project and ensure the borehole would be kept in good working order. Then, work began in earnest. With Plan supplying technical expertise and materials and with funding and help provided by the community, a borehole
was sunk in a place where the whole village would be able to reach it easily. The sides of the borehole were constructed so that cattle could also drink there, helping to keep the animals away from the water used by families. Since the villagers own their new borehole, it is their responsibility to service it. Poussy hopes his training in basic maintenance, supported by Plan, will be enough to cover most minor faults, but to fund any further work, the water management committee collects a small fee of 50 West African CFA (about 5 pence) from each villager at the end of every month.
Changing lives Now they’re no longer forced to drink dirty river water, the children are far less vulnerable to diseases like diarrhoea. They’re spending more time in the classroom, learning the skills they will need to build their community’s future. The women too, have learned just how life-changing easy access to clean water can be. Their daily trek to the river is over. Now, they are free to spend more time with their children, or cultivating their crops, or even starting small
146.5mm INSIDE
businesses. In time, these will bring them extra income to spend on their children’s education, or to buy medicines when they are ill. Poussy believes the project has changed the entire community. “Plan’s approach, which consists of trusting the beneficiaries with responsibilities, is very practical,” he says. Planning and p Collecting water is now much easier, and the water from the borehole is clean and safe managing the water project with Plan has given Silome Banawa valuable experience in identifying problems, In Silome Banawa, the new borehole working as a team, raising funds, has given the villagers far more than commissioning labour and putting clean water. It’s given them more time solutions in place that will last for to spend with their families or in the generations to come. fields. Most importantly, it’s given them healthier, stronger children – their hope “Plan’s approach, which consists for a better future.
in trusting the beneficiaries with responsibilities, is very practical.” Such collaboration is the foundation of all Plan’s work with vulnerable communities. We know that families and their children want to take charge of their own development, and with the right support and training they are determined to achieve their goals.
Some names have been changed for privacy and child protection reasons.
148.5mm INSIDE
Working together for safer water Standing beside the new borehole in Silome Banawa, south-west Burkina Faso, Poussy Bila is a happy man. Looking around his village, the children are healthy and the women no longer have to walk miles in search of clean water. Poussy has a responsible job in his community – he’s in charge of keeping the borehole in good repair. “Once every three months, I do the necessary maintenance work on the pump,” he says, “and I make sure it is functional.” It’s a role he takes seriously. He knows the borehole is a precious lifeline to families in Silome Banawa, and particularly their children. Life in this small, rural community is very different today from how it was before the community drilled the borehole. Although the Silome Banawa area enjoys relatively high rainfall compared to the rest of the country, water safe enough to drink, cook with and bathe in was in extremely short supply.
The borehole is a precious lifeline to families in Silome Banawa, and particularly their children. Traditionally, the women in the village would walk over three miles a day to fetch water from the river. “They knew
p The community takes respon sibility for maintaining the new borehole
that the river water was not drinkable,” recalls Amie, 18, “but they had no choice, because there was no clean water in the village and in its immediate environment.” Disastrously, every drop of river water the children drank put them at risk of falling seriously ill with waterborne diseases. Noelie is 12 and remembers vividly: “The children used to bathe with river water, and were also drinking that water. They had skin diseases, stomach-ache and diarrhoea.” Diarrhoea, although minor in the UK, is
148.5mm INSIDE
one of Burkina Faso’s biggest killers of children under five.
Determined to succeed The villagers in Silome Banawa were determined to protect their children – so determined in fact that they decided to start a fund towards installing a borehole. The men were each asked to contribute 1,500 West African Communauté Financière d’Afrique Francs (or CFA, the local currency), and the women 1,000 CFA. Within no time, they had saved over 100,000 CFA (around £100), an enormous sum in a country where over a fifth of the people live on less than 50 pence a day. After putting the money in the nearest community bank, the villagers approached Plan to help them drill the borehole and learn how to maintain it. With our support, they began by electing a water management committee; a group of local men and women who would manage the project and ensure the borehole would be kept in good working order. Then, work began in earnest. With Plan supplying technical expertise and materials and with funding and help provided by the community, a borehole
was sunk in a place where the whole village would be able to reach it easily. The sides of the borehole were constructed so that cattle could also drink there, helping to keep the animals away from the water used by families. Since the villagers own their new borehole, it is their responsibility to service it. Poussy hopes his training in basic maintenance, supported by Plan, will be enough to cover most minor faults, but to fund any further work, the water management committee collects a small fee of 50 West African CFA (about 5 pence) from each villager at the end of every month.
Changing lives Now they’re no longer forced to drink dirty river water, the children are far less vulnerable to diseases like diarrhoea. They’re spending more time in the classroom, learning the skills they will need to build their community’s future. The women too, have learned just how life-changing easy access to clean water can be. Their daily trek to the river is over. Now, they are free to spend more time with their children, or cultivating their crops, or even starting small
146.5mm INSIDE
businesses. In time, these will bring them extra income to spend on their children’s education, or to buy medicines when they are ill. Poussy believes the project has changed the entire community. “Plan’s approach, which consists of trusting the beneficiaries with responsibilities, is very practical,” he says. Planning and p Collecting water is now much easier, and the water from the borehole is clean and safe managing the water project with Plan has given Silome Banawa valuable experience in identifying problems, In Silome Banawa, the new borehole working as a team, raising funds, has given the villagers far more than commissioning labour and putting clean water. It’s given them more time solutions in place that will last for to spend with their families or in the generations to come. fields. Most importantly, it’s given them healthier, stronger children – their hope “Plan’s approach, which consists for a better future.
in trusting the beneficiaries with responsibilities, is very practical.” Such collaboration is the foundation of all Plan’s work with vulnerable communities. We know that families and their children want to take charge of their own development, and with the right support and training they are determined to achieve their goals.
Some names have been changed for privacy and child protection reasons.
148.5mm INSIDE
Working together for safer water Standing beside the new borehole in Silome Banawa, south-west Burkina Faso, Poussy Bila is a happy man. Looking around his village, the children are healthy and the women no longer have to walk miles in search of clean water. Poussy has a responsible job in his community – he’s in charge of keeping the borehole in good repair. “Once every three months, I do the necessary maintenance work on the pump,” he says, “and I make sure it is functional.” It’s a role he takes seriously. He knows the borehole is a precious lifeline to families in Silome Banawa, and particularly their children. Life in this small, rural community is very different today from how it was before the community drilled the borehole. Although the Silome Banawa area enjoys relatively high rainfall compared to the rest of the country, water safe enough to drink, cook with and bathe in was in extremely short supply.
The borehole is a precious lifeline to families in Silome Banawa, and particularly their children. Traditionally, the women in the village would walk over three miles a day to fetch water from the river. “They knew
p The community takes respon sibility for maintaining the new borehole
that the river water was not drinkable,” recalls Amie, 18, “but they had no choice, because there was no clean water in the village and in its immediate environment.” Disastrously, every drop of river water the children drank put them at risk of falling seriously ill with waterborne diseases. Noelie is 12 and remembers vividly: “The children used to bathe with river water, and were also drinking that water. They had skin diseases, stomach-ache and diarrhoea.” Diarrhoea, although minor in the UK, is
148.5mm INSIDE
one of Burkina Faso’s biggest killers of children under five.
Determined to succeed The villagers in Silome Banawa were determined to protect their children – so determined in fact that they decided to start a fund towards installing a borehole. The men were each asked to contribute 1,500 West African Communauté Financière d’Afrique Francs (or CFA, the local currency), and the women 1,000 CFA. Within no time, they had saved over 100,000 CFA (around £100), an enormous sum in a country where over a fifth of the people live on less than 50 pence a day. After putting the money in the nearest community bank, the villagers approached Plan to help them drill the borehole and learn how to maintain it. With our support, they began by electing a water management committee; a group of local men and women who would manage the project and ensure the borehole would be kept in good working order. Then, work began in earnest. With Plan supplying technical expertise and materials and with funding and help provided by the community, a borehole
was sunk in a place where the whole village would be able to reach it easily. The sides of the borehole were constructed so that cattle could also drink there, helping to keep the animals away from the water used by families. Since the villagers own their new borehole, it is their responsibility to service it. Poussy hopes his training in basic maintenance, supported by Plan, will be enough to cover most minor faults, but to fund any further work, the water management committee collects a small fee of 50 West African CFA (about 5 pence) from each villager at the end of every month.
Changing lives Now they’re no longer forced to drink dirty river water, the children are far less vulnerable to diseases like diarrhoea. They’re spending more time in the classroom, learning the skills they will need to build their community’s future. The women too, have learned just how life-changing easy access to clean water can be. Their daily trek to the river is over. Now, they are free to spend more time with their children, or cultivating their crops, or even starting small
146.5mm INSIDE
businesses. In time, these will bring them extra income to spend on their children’s education, or to buy medicines when they are ill. Poussy believes the project has changed the entire community. “Plan’s approach, which consists of trusting the beneficiaries with responsibilities, is very practical,” he says. Planning and p Collecting water is now much easier, and the water from the borehole is clean and safe managing the water project with Plan has given Silome Banawa valuable experience in identifying problems, In Silome Banawa, the new borehole working as a team, raising funds, has given the villagers far more than commissioning labour and putting clean water. It’s given them more time solutions in place that will last for to spend with their families or in the generations to come. fields. Most importantly, it’s given them healthier, stronger children – their hope “Plan’s approach, which consists for a better future.
in trusting the beneficiaries with responsibilities, is very practical.” Such collaboration is the foundation of all Plan’s work with vulnerable communities. We know that families and their children want to take charge of their own development, and with the right support and training they are determined to achieve their goals.
Some names have been changed for privacy and child protection reasons.
146.5mm FLAP
148.5mm BACK
Challenge and change in Burkina Faso
Real progress
This year, the long period of drought finally broke in Burkina Faso, but the heavy rains that followed caused widespread flooding in many parts of the country. There was also a major outbreak of meningitis, and we thank all those sponsors who made a special donation to save children’s lives from this killer disease.
With the support of Plan, children and adults in Burkina Faso are working together to develop their communities and claim their right to a better future. And real progress is being made. Last year, our work included:
Aside from our emergency work, Plan is working with vulnerable families in Burkina Faso to provide their children with better health services, quality education, clean water and sanitation and to protect them from HIV/AIDS. Communities are leading the way in development planning, and their children’s voices are heard in every project we work on together. “Communities are responsible for their own development.” explains Fritz Foster, Plan’s Country Director. “Their children and young people need to be part of that process.” In this Country Progress Report we highlight one successful project where communities are now taking charge of life’s most basic necessity: clean water.
p Building new scho ols is part of our work to improve education in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso country facts Population: 13.2 million
Children engaged in child labour: 57%
Capital: Ouagadougou
Children attending primary school: 32%
UN Human Development Index ranking: 174th (of 177 countries)
(Sources: the UN, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office)
• Giving 215,000 children the chance to be properly equipped for lessons by providing them with school supplies
• Protecting young infants from
• Enabling 1,552 rural women to participate in savings schemes, so they could take out loans to start small businesses
• Working with UNICEF and the government of Burkina Faso on a campaign
Plan’s greatest successes come from a joint effort combining the hard work and determination of communities, children, volunteers, staff, and partner organisations. The ongoing support of our sponsors is a vital ingredient, too. It’s their generosity and commitment that allows us to continue to help children in 49 of the poorest countries in the world. So on behalf of the children and communities we work with, thank you to all our sponsors!
BFA
Any enquiries please contact: Nick Burton. e: nick@bright-uk.com m: 07884 367567. d: 020 7620 8150 Size (Prod)
Colours(Prod)
Art (A/D)
Copy (C/W)
Content (Acc.)
Burkina Faso
to register the births of 19,000 children, giving them an identity and a place in society.
Plan UK Registered Charity No: 276035
0407 100647 PLAN 0407_Burkina Faso 05.12.07 210x443.5mm FOLD TO A5 Client proof: 4 4
p A commun ity is shown ho w to erect a be vital to the pre d-net: vention of ma laria
potentially life-threatening malaria by distributing bed-nets impregnated with insecticide to expectant mothers and their children
People without clean drinking water: 39%
Admagic No: Bright No: Client name: File name: Date: Size: Studio proof:
148.5mm FRONT
Country Progress Report 2007