The Manegdbzanga Association and Solidar Suisse The Manegdbzanga Association and Solidar Suisse are launching a new program to benefit rural populations for the period 2021-2024.
On May 28, 2021, the launch ceremony for the AM-Solidar Suisse program for the period 2021-2024 was held in the city of vegetables. This new program is the fruit of a fruitful collaboration, which has now lasted thirty (30) years, between the NGO Solidar Suisse and the Manegdbzanga association. The ceremony was held under the patronage of the region’s highest authority, Madame Fatoumata BENON/YATASSAYE, Governor of the Plateau Central, and was well attended by people from the various communes and villages of Oubritenga and the region. With an overall cost of around seven hundred and ten million (710,000,000) Swiss francs, this program will directly benefit 3,427 producers and 256 adolescents and young people in the province of Oubritenga. And that’s not all. For the Central Plateau region alone and its three (3) provinces (Oubritenga, Kourwéogo and Ganzourgou), Solidar Suisse will inject a total of two billion fifty million (2,050,000,000).
It’s 11:20 am in Loumbila on May 28, 2021, when the convoy of Madame Fatoumata BENON/YATASSAYE, Governor of the Plateau Central region, enters the main gate of the Manegdbzanga association headquarters in Nomgana. She was greeted as soon as she got out of the car by her hosts for the day, Mr. Kassoum ILBOUDO, President of the Manegdbzanga association, accompanied by Mr. Dieudonné ZAONGO, Country Representative of Solidar Suisse Burkina Faso, the Secretary General of the region, the High Commissioner of the Oubritenga province, the representative of the Mayor of the Loumbila commune, the Prefect of the Loumbila department, the Country Representative of Oxfam Burkina Faso, as well as the administrative, military and paramilitary authorities of the region. The population did not bargain for the trip, and so it was with great pleasure that everyone stood to welcome the Governor and her delegation.
Loumbila and Oubritenga open their doors to you
The first message to be delivered at the ceremony came from the Mayor of Loumbila, in a solemn address read by his representative Mr. Jean Baptiste BOEMA. The words of welcome, thanks and blessings were addressed to the Manegdbzanga association, its technical and financial partner Solidar Suisse, and the Governor. While urging the beneficiaries of the new program to redouble their efforts to produce convincing results, he also invited the commune’s population to continue supporting the actions of Manegdbzanga and Solidar Suisse. Following the mayor’s message, the host of the ceremony announced an atypical troupe, made up exclusively of teenage girls from the Nomgana B bilingual school. Young and talented, they got the adults moving to Moaga rhythms and sounds, against a backdrop of a message of civic-mindedness, social cohesion and love of country.
Thank you, thank you and thank you for everything!
“On behalf of the beneficiaries of this program, we would like to say thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything you have done and are doing for us”. These are some of the words of Mr. Salif BEMBAMBA, representative of the beneficiaries of this new AM-Solidar Suisse 2021-2024 program. With these words of thanks, addressed to the donors, Mr. BEMBAMBA left the lectern, while making way for Odela la OUANGUETTE, a musician evolving in tradi-modern music. In a style and rhythm adopted from military songs, she paid tribute to the country of men of integrity, and reminded us that Burkina Faso is indeed a country to live in, and that each and every one of us must do our part to see it shine for the happiness of all.
30 years of collaboration and sacrifice for rural populations
1991-2021 marks thirty (30) years that Solidar Suisse has been working alongside the Manegdbzanga association through various development projects and programs. 30 years of collaboration to strengthen the resilience of the populations of the Central Plateau, 30 years of promoting financial inclusion for more inclusive economic development in Burkina Faso. With this reminder, Mr. Kasoum ILBOUDO, president of the Manegdbzanga association, congratulated himself on the success of the former 2017-2020 program in the areas of food security and vocational training, before beginning the presentation of the new AM-Solidar Suisse program for the period 2021-2024. This new program contains two projects: The project to promote young people’s access to vocational training and decent incomes (PRAJERED-FP) and the project to strengthen the livelihoods of vulnerable populations (PROREMO-PV). Among other things, the first project will give young people access to vocational training. They will also benefit from support in the form of installation kits, practical training courses, entrepreneurship training, etc. The second project aims to strengthen the resilience of the populations of the Central Plateau region in the face of poverty. This is why, according to President Kasoum ILBOUDO, for each type of activity to be carried out, the “training-equipment-application of techniques learned” principle will be applied. Thanks to the financing of the program to the tune of seven hundred and ten million (710,000,000) CFA francs by Solidar Suisse, through support for the establishment of solidarity granaries, cash crops, subsidies for livestock breeding and market gardening, technical support for the promoters of economic units, etc., 4327 people will be able to meet their food and nutritional needs.
For a more socially, politically and economically just society with Solidar Suisse
“This program is the continuation of a fruitful partnership begun exactly 30 years ago with the Manegdbzanga association. Thanks to the support of Solidar Suisse, several thousand producers and young people have improved their living conditions through subsidies in the fields of animal husbandry, market gardening, agriculture, literacy, vocational training and entrepreneurship”. With these words, Mr. Dieudonné ZAONGO, Country Representative of Solidar Suisse, presented the Solidar Suisse-AM partnership. A precise and concise speech that began with Oubritenga, through the program with the Manegdbzanga association, and then continued in Kourwéogo and Ganzourgou to present Solidar Suisse’s other partners in the Central Plateau region, the associations Tind Yalgré (ATY) and Beoog-Neeré du Ganzourgou (ABN-G). For the Central Plateau region alone, the sum of two billion fifty million (2,050,000,000) will be invested over four (4) years for the benefit of 15,368 small producers and 509 young people, in sectors such as agriculture, market gardening, livestock breeding, vocational training and the creation of decent jobs for young people, according to the Country Representative. The announcement of this amount was warmly applauded by the audience, starting with Madame Governor, who was delighted by this substantial investment in her region. The speech by Solidar Suisse’s Country Representative was followed by a musical performance by the Yarma troupe from Komongo, who brought the audience to their feet with a lively traditional performance.
Creating the conditions for inclusive growth
The highlight of this official ceremony to launch the activities of the AM-Solidar Suisse 2021-2024 program was of course the speech by Madame Fatoumata BENON/YATASSAYE, Governor of the Plateau Central and patron of the ceremony. She reminded the audience that the vision underlying this program is to strengthen the Government’s social action to ensure that people have better access to socio-economic development services. ” The concern here is to create the conditions for inclusive growth, capable of promoting a better redistribution of wealth. This will undoubtedly boost the population’s desire for self-fulfillment and active participation in the country’s production and wealth-creation chain”, she stressed. The Governor was also keen to point out that, given the participatory nature of the program, a “clear roadmap” should be drawn up for each party. In her view, this would help maintain the commitment of all stakeholders. In addition, she stressed that “the formulation of an effective communication plan would enable better sharing of the results of the program’s action plan, and maintain the commitment of the players involved in its implementation”. Before declaring the activities of the 2021-2024 phase of the AM-Solidar Suisse program officially launched, Madame le Gouverneur thanked Solidar Suisse, through its Country Representative, Mr . Dieudonné ZAONGO, for all its efforts and constant commitment to the people of her region for three (3) decades now. The launch ceremony ended with a symbolic handover of animals and installation kits to the beneficiary communities.
